Heritage language
A heritage language is defined as any language spoken by individuals or families that is not the dominant language of their local community. In the United States, this typically refers to any language other than English, while in other countries, it may include various regional languages. Heritage languages are often learned at home during childhood before children shift to the dominant language spoken in their community, leading to varying levels of proficiency. The speakers of heritage languages can be categorized into two profiles: those who speak Indigenous languages or those from immigrant families who wish to maintain their cultural heritage.
Heritage language acquisition usually occurs within the home environment, although formal education programs can also support this process. These educational initiatives aim to promote cultural education and facilitate intergenerational language transfer. Linguistic studies identify two types of bilinguals among heritage language learners: simultaneous bilinguals, who are exposed to multiple languages from a young age, and sequential bilinguals, who learn their heritage language first before acquiring the dominant language. Heritage languages are vital for preserving cultural identity and history, serving as a link to one’s origins and community. Despite declining usage, many Americans remain connected to their heritage languages, underscoring the importance of nurturing these languages in future generations.
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Heritage language
A heritage language is any language spoken by an individual, family, or group that is not the dominant local language. In the context of the United States, a heritage language is any language other than English. Other countries have multiple official and locally dominant languages. In these situations, a heritage language would be any language other than those widely spoken within the regional social context. Some experts use an alternate, more precise definition of heritage languages. These models consider them minority languages learned at home during childhood before shifting to the dominant language of the community. In these cases, speakers do not usually become full native speakers of the heritage language. They may remain proficient in the heritage language to varying degrees but adopt the locally dominant language as their mother tongue. Such individuals are sometimes called unbalanced bilinguals.
Background
Most heritage language speakers conform to one of two common profiles. First, they may speak an Indigenous language native to the local population. This occurs most often in countries whose modern histories began with a period of colonization. They may also belong to an immigrant family with one or more family members who have limited or no proficiency in the dominant local language; for example, immigrants to the US who learn English as a second language. Similarly, immigrant families sometimes wish to preserve aspects of their cultural backgrounds in their new living environment, which is met by speaking the heritage language at home.
Among children who learn heritage languages, linguists also distinguish between simultaneous bilinguals and sequential bilinguals. Simultaneous bilinguals are children who are directly and regularly exposed to more than one language prior to age three. They typically go on to develop equal or comparable proficiency in both languages, speaking them fluently at or near the level of a native. Sequential bilinguals, also known as successive bilinguals, are children who speak only one language prior to age three before gaining exposure to one or more other languages. Sequential heritage language bilinguals usually learn the heritage language first through home interactions with parents and family members. They then gain and build familiarity with the locally dominant language in later childhood as they interact with its speakers in school and social settings.
In the United States, heritage languages are usually grouped into three categories: immigrant, Indigenous, and colonial. Immigrant heritage languages are spoken at home or within localized communities by people who immigrated to the United States. Indigenous heritage languages are spoken in Indigenous American homes and communities by members of groups who have preserved their traditional Indigenous American languages. Colonial heritage languages are those belonging to the European groups who first settled and populated the United States. According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, colonial heritage languages of the United States include Dutch, German, Finnish, French, Spanish, and Swedish. They sometimes overlap with immigrant heritage languages, as is the case with Spanish.
Overview
Heritage language learning usually takes place in the home environment, though some individuals, families, and groups choose to supplement home-based speaking with formal language education. These programs may be offered at the community level, in public or private schools, through language camps, or by postsecondary institutions. Their main objectives include cultural education and intergenerational transfer of the heritage language. According to the Center for Applied Linguistics, there is no centrally tracked list of all heritage languages that are taught in the United States. However, in 2001, drawing on research performed during the 1980s, American linguist Joshua Fishman identified at least 145 different heritage languages taught in the United States through formal education programs. Of those, ninety-one belonged to the Indigenous heritage languages group. In 2019, it was estimated there were over 69 million Americans who spoke a heritage language.
In comparing language acquisition among childhood speakers of multiple languages, researchers note specific patterns that define both simultaneous and sequential bilingualism. Simultaneous bilinguals proceed through three distinct phases: the early phase (birth to age three), the middle phase (ages three and four), and the later phase (ages five and six). During the early phase, children come to understand approximately one thousand words, but they may command more vocabulary in one of the languages they speak. They also “code-switch,” mixing together words and linguistic elements from multiple languages. Code-switching recedes during the middle phase, at which time children build their vocabularies quickly and establish strict separations between the heritage and locally dominant languages. For instance, a child may only speak to a parent in the heritage language, even if the parent speaks to the child in the locally dominant language. By the later phase, simultaneous bilinguals can compose sentences of six words or more in both languages and also know when and with whom to speak each language. They also strengthen their grasp of words with multiple meanings.
Sequential bilinguals follow a different developmental paradigm, proceeding through four main stages as they build language proficiency. The first stage is defined by the exclusive use of the heritage language, in which the child speaks only the heritage language, regardless of the language being used by others around them. Next, the child proceeds into an observational and listening stage, having realized that speakers of the locally dominant language do not understand their heritage language. During this phase, the child learns by listening to others speak the dominant language and may begin to practice speaking the dominant language quietly and in private. Third, the child moves into the telegraphic and formulaic speech stage, during which they begin speaking the locally dominant language. Initially, the child will typically be prone to grammatical errors known as overgeneralization, which are marked by incorrect verb conjugations (such as saying “goed” instead of “went”). These errors recede as the child moves into the fourth and final phase, the productive use stage, during which they display an increasingly strong grasp of the dominant language and develop the command of a native speaker.
Heritage languages play a crucial role in preserving cultural identity and history for younger generations. They serve as a bridge to a place, even if the speaker resides far away. Speaking a heritage language is often a significant part of a person's cultural identity. Given that children have a greater capacity for learning multiple languages, it is essential to encourage and nurture the learning and speaking of heritage languages. Despite the fact that many no longer speak the language, the US Department of Education reports that over 200 million Americans maintain a connection to a heritage language in their cultural and family histories.
Bibliography
Aalberse, Suzanne, Ad Backus, and Peter Muysken. Heritage Languages: A Language Contact Approach. John Benjamins Publishing, 2019.
Helmer, Kimberly. Learning and Not Learning in the Heritage Language Classroom: Engaging Mexican-Origin Students. Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications, 2020.
“Heritage Languages in America.” Center for Applied Linguistics, 2016, www.cal.org/heritage/research/faqs.html#1. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.
Kelleher, Ann. “What Is a Heritage Language?” Center for Applied Linguistics, 2010, www.cal.org/heritage/pdfs/briefs/What-is-a-Heritage-Language.pdf. Accessed 17 Sept. 2021.
Kelleher, Ann. “What Languages Are Taught as Heritage Languages in the United States?” Center for Applied Linguistics, 2010, www.cal.org/heritage/pdfs/briefs/what-languages-are-taught-as-heritage-languages-in-the-united-states.pdf. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Lima, Thalita. “What is a Heritage Language and Why Is it Important?” Bureau Works, www.bureauworks.com/blog/what-is-a-heritage-language-and-why-is-it-important. Accessed 20 May 2024.
Montrul, Silvina. The Acquisition of Heritage Languages. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
Polinsky, Maria. Heritage Languages and Their Speakers. Cambridge UP, 2018.
Schmid, Monika S. and Barbara Kopke, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Language Attrition.Oxford UP, 2019.
Stein, Kathleen. “Our Diverse U.S. Culture, Heritage Languages, and International Education.” ERIC, 19 May 2021, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1292876.pdf. Accessed 20 May 2024.