Addressing challenges in formal research on moribund heritage languages: A path forward

Roberta D'Alessandro; David Natvig; Michael Putnam

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700126

Addressing challenges in formal research on moribund heritage languages: A path forward

Roberta D'Alessandro, David Natvig, Michael Putnam

Pennsylvania State University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

The substantial uptick in research on heritage languages over the past three decades has enhanced our understanding of the development of bilingual grammars throughout the lifespan. This interest has been accompanied by a noticeable increase of experimental work, often combined with some degree of formal rigor. Exclusively and predominantly formal research on these languages—especially studies whose empirical focus centers on moribund heritage varieties—occasionally encounters criticism, due primarily to a lack of understanding of the methodology and objectives of this body of research as a whole. The purpose of this positional essay is to once again elucidate with clarity the motivation and importance of formal linguistic research on these languages, providing a fruitful path forward for continued work in this well-established field of linguistic inquiry.

Original language	English
Article number	700126
Journal	Frontiers in Psychology
Volume	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700126
Publication status	Published - 29 Jul 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding. This work was funded by the European Research Council ERC CoG 681959_MicroContact, the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie grant agreement number 838164, and the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project number 223265.

Funding Information:
This work was funded by the European Research Council ERC CoG 681959_MicroContact, the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement number 838164, and the Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence funding scheme, project number 223265.

Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 D'Alessandro, Natvig and Putnam.

Keywords

heritage languages
language description
linguistic analysis
moribund languages
theoretical linguistics

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10.3389/fpsyg.2021.700126Licence: CC BY

fpsyg-12-700126 (1)Final published version, 285 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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abstract = "The substantial uptick in research on heritage languages over the past three decades has enhanced our understanding of the development of bilingual grammars throughout the lifespan. This interest has been accompanied by a noticeable increase of experimental work, often combined with some degree of formal rigor. Exclusively and predominantly formal research on these languages—especially studies whose empirical focus centers on moribund heritage varieties—occasionally encounters criticism, due primarily to a lack of understanding of the methodology and objectives of this body of research as a whole. The purpose of this positional essay is to once again elucidate with clarity the motivation and importance of formal linguistic research on these languages, providing a fruitful path forward for continued work in this well-established field of linguistic inquiry.",

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Addressing challenges in formal research on moribund heritage languages: A path forward

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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