2007/09/01 by Maria Polinsky, Olga Kagan · 870 citations
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Multilingual Education and Policy #Phonetics and Phonology Research #Linguistic Variation and Morphology #Heritage language #Linguistics #Syntax #Variation (astronomy) #Phonology #Computer science #Cultural heritage #History #Archaeology
paper · open access · doi:10.1111/j.1749-818x.2007.00022.x
published in Language and Linguistics Compass 1(5), 368-395 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2007/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
Abstract Heritage speakers are people raised in a home where one language is spoken who subsequently switch to another dominant language. The version of the home language that they have not completely acquired – heritage language – has only recently been given the attention it deserves from linguists and language instructors. Despite the appearance of great variation among heritage speakers, they fall along a continuum based upon the speakers’ distance from the baseline language. Such a continuum‐based model enables researchers and instructors to classify heritage speakers more accurately and readily. This article discusses the results of research on lower‐proficiency speakers, identifying recurrent features of heritage languages in phonology, morphology, and syntax. Preliminary results indicate that different heritage languages share a number of structural similarities; this finding is important for the understanding of general processes involved in language acquisition. The article also presents implications of the main findings for language education and identifies areas needing further study.