Heritage Learners of Spanish

Potowski, Kim

doi:10.1002/9781118584347.ch23

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The linguistic abilities of heritage speakers have been compared in recent years to both monolingual speakers and to L2 learners showing that heritage language acquisition typically results in transfer from the dominant language, a better ability with receptive than productive language, and linguistic gaps that resemble the patterns attested in L2 acquisition (Montrul, 2011; Montrul, Bhatt, & Bhatia, 2012; Polinsky, 2006; Rothman, 2007). Even though the phonetic abilities of heritage speakers have recently received more attention, there are still considerably fewer studies on the production, perception, and processing of the heritage language, especially in comparison to research focusing on heritage language morphosyntactic knowledge or studies aimed at devising pedagogy tailored to meet heritage language learners’ linguistic needs (Potowski, 2013; Rao & Ronquest, 2015). Heritage language researchers have urged investigators to experimentally test the assumption that heritage speakers maintain ‘good phonology’ in their minority language (Polinsky & Kagan, 2007), and these heritage speakers can provide new, valuable data for testing and advancing theoretical models of bilingual phonological acquisition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Type of early bilingualism and its effect on the acoustic realization of allophonic variants: Early sequential and simultaneous bilinguals

Amengual

2017

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study examines the acoustic realization of phrase-initial voiced stops (/b, d, g/) and intervocalic voiced approximants ([β, ð, ɣ]) in Spanish by three groups of Spanish–English bilinguals: simultaneous bilinguals, early sequential bilinguals, and late second language (L2) Spanish learners to investigate if the type of early bilingualism has an effect on the acoustic realization of language-specific phonological processes. Design/Methodology/Approach: Early bilinguals were divided into two groups (simultaneous and sequential bilinguals), and together with late learners (L2 Spanish learners) they were recorded producing words eliciting phrase-initial and intervocalic voiced stops. Data and Analysis: The acoustic analyses examined the difference between the intensity minimum during the consonant and the intensity maximum of the following tautosyllabic vowel (intensity difference). The dataset comprised a total of 3,569 acoustic measurements. Findings/Conclusions: The group of early sequential bilinguals shows a significantly stronger tendency to produce a more lenited intervocalic segment than simultaneous bilinguals and L2 learners, who produce a more constricted realization. These data indicate that simultaneous bilinguals and L2 learners, who were exposed to English since birth, differ from early bilinguals who were exclusively exposed to Spanish for the first years of their life when applying the Spanish allophonic rule governing the distribution of voiced stops and spirants. Originality: This is one of the first studies that investigates the effects of the type of early bilingualism on bilingual phonetic performance in adulthood, especially in terms of bilingual phonetic production. These novel data examine the acoustic realization of Spanish heritage speakers, a largely understudied bilingual population. Significance/Implications: The findings suggest that the type of early bilingualism in language development, even at a very early age, still has consequences on the acoustic realization of allophonic variants in adulthood.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Type of early bilingualism and its effect on the acoustic realization of allophonic variants: Early sequential and simultaneous bilinguals

Amengual

2017

International Journal of Bilingualism

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“…Heritage speakers, along with other bilinguals, are confronted with ideologies that often conflate issues related to language proficiency and language variety (e.g., who speaks the "correct" variety of Spanish) with social issues such as ethnic identity (Potowski 2012;Showstack 2017). Given the dynamism of the U.S. Spanish-speaking community, where second-generation Latinos are beginning to outnumber Spanish-speaking immigrants (Abdi 2011), it should come as no surprise that language ideologies are in flux.…”

Section: Language Ideologies and Attitudes In The Spanish Heritage Co...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the dynamism of the U.S. Spanish-speaking community, where second-generation Latinos are beginning to outnumber Spanish-speaking immigrants (Abdi 2011), it should come as no surprise that language ideologies are in flux. For example, U.S.-born Latinos seem to place less importance on proficiency than Latinos who have immigrated to the U.S. (Potowski 2012). Despite this potential change in attitudes and ideologies, the relationship between language and identity remains complex.…”

Section: Language Ideologies and Attitudes In The Spanish Heritage Co...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Social Information on Speech Intelligibility within the Spanish Heritage Community

Staggs

Baese‐Berk²,

Nagle³

2022

Languages

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Previous research in speech perception has shown that perception is influenced by social factors that can result in behavioral consequences such as reduced intelligibility (i.e., a listeners’ ability to transcribe the speech they hear). However, little is known about these effects regarding Spanish speakers’ perception of heritage Spanish, Spanish spoken by individuals who have an ancestral and cultural connection to the Spanish language. Given that ideologies within the U.S. Latino community often equate Latino identity to speaking Spanish “correctly” and proficiently, there is a clear need to understand the potential influence these ideologies have on speech perception. Using a matched-guised methodology, we analyzed the influence of speaker social background information and listener social background information on speech perception. Participants completed a transcription task in which four different Spanish heritage speakers were paired with different social guises to determine if the speakers were perceived as equally intelligible under each guise condition. The results showed that social guise and listener social variables did not significantly predict intelligibility scores. We argue that the unique socio-political culture within the U.S. Latino community may lead to different effects of language ideology and social expectation on speech perception than what has been documented in previous work.

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“…HL users are also widely diverse as regards their cultural background and home language variety. Though some debate exists as to who can be labelled a HL user, as well as regarding the term itself (Wiley, 2001), the of immigration or those born abroad who immigrated before school age or before their teen years (Potowski, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on Heritage Spanish Phonetics and Phonology: Pedagogical and Curricular Implications

Rao

Kuder

2016

J. New Approaches Educ. Res.

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This paper creates a novel link between research on linguistics and education by discussing what we know about the sound system of heritage language users of Spanish and how these findings can inform practices implemented in heritage Spanish courses in the USA. First, we provide an overview of terminology associated with heritage language research, situating heritage Spanish programs within the educational context of the USA, and explaining why heritage Spanish phonetics and phonology remain relatively unexplored. Next, we delve into previous linguistic research on the heritage Spanish sound system in terms of individual vowels and consonants, as well as at the level of intonation, rhythm, and stress, while highlighting any observed differences between the system of heritage Spanish and those of Spanish speakers of other backgrounds. Finally, motivated by the phonetic/phonological insight of previous work, in addition to existing pedagogical and curricular research on heritage Spanish, we consider how and why the inclusion of specific types of soundsystem-based commentary and practice in the educational experience of heritage users of Spanish could be beneficial.

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Heritage Learners of Spanish

Cited by 6 publications

References 42 publications

Type of early bilingualism and its effect on the acoustic realization of allophonic variants: Early sequential and simultaneous bilinguals

Type of early bilingualism and its effect on the acoustic realization of allophonic variants: Early sequential and simultaneous bilinguals

The Influence of Social Information on Speech Intelligibility within the Spanish Heritage Community

Research on Heritage Spanish Phonetics and Phonology: Pedagogical and Curricular Implications

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