The Phonetics and Phonology of Heritage Languages

The first book-length treatment of the phonetics and phonology of heritage languages, spanning a range of linguistic areas and communities.

Rajiv Rao (Edited by)

9781108833103, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 22 February 2024

402 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.7 cm, 0.71 kg

'The sound system of heritage languages is one of the least understood areas of their grammar. Impressive in depth and breath, this volume is an urgently needed collection of contributions from many heritage languages that delves into the nature of the phonological 'advantage' of heritage speakers and their 'heritage accent.' Kudos to Rajiv Rao for this welcome addition to the field.' Silvina Montrul, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

In recent times, the study of heritage languages has rapidly grown as an area of enquiry. However, until now, less has been known about the sounds and sound systems of heritage languages. Bringing together researchers from around the globe, this volume is the first full, book-length treatment of the phonetics and phonology of heritage languages. Each chapter examines understudied bilingual dyads in a broad range of geographic and social contexts, and through a wide variety of methodological and theoretical orientations. A wide range of heritage language sound system issues are addressed: at the segmental level, production of vowels and various consonants, segmental perception, and the perception of written forms signalling phonological variation; and at the suprasegmental level, declarative and question intonation, stress, focus, and lexical tone. It is essential reading for academic researchers and students in heritage languages, bilingualism, phonetics and phonology, sociolinguistics, and language variation and change.

Introduction Rajiv Rao and Maria Polinsky
1. Front rounded vowels of Heritage Korean in Northern China Yoonjung Kang, Sungwoo Han, Na-Young Ryu, Jessamyn Scherts, and Suyeon Yun
2. Phonetic Influence from the minority language: the case of American English heritage speakers in Israel Kyle S. Jones
3. Phonological transfer in Heritage Japanese in Australia: L1 and L2 comparisons, and literacy and community contributions Kaya Oriyama
4. Phrasal prosody of heritage speakers of Samoan in Aotearoa New Zealand Sasha Calhoun, Corinne Seals, Toaga Christina Alefosio, and Niusila Faamanatu-Eteuati
5. Stress placement in English loanwords by speakers of Mirpur Pahari in the UK Sehrish Shafi and Sam Hellmuth
6. Intergenerational transmission of laterals in Punjabi-English heritage bilinguals Sam Kirkham and Maya Zara
7. Perception and production of phonemic contrasts in Heritage Russian and Polish in Germany Bernhard Brehmer, Tatjana Kurbangulova, Dominika Steinbach, and Vladimir Arifulin
8. Focus realization in Heritage Spanish: the case of German-Dominant speakers of Peninsular Spanish Ingo Feldhausen and Maria del Mar Vanrell
9. Language-Specific phonology of heritage perception: the case of Korean intervocalic stops Seung-Eun Chang
10. An individual-differences perspective on variation in Heritage Mandarin speakers Charles B. Chang and Yao Yao
11. Childhood language exposure: does early experience with Arabic affect sound perception and production in speakers with early interrupted exposure? Rawan Hanini, Laura Spinu, Yasaman Rafat, and Anwar Alkhudidi
12. The intonation of declaratives and polar questions in modern versus Heritage Icelandic Nicole Dehé and Meike Rommel
13. Functional load and vowel merger in Toronto Heritage Cantonese Holman Tse
14. Have Cantonese tones merged in spontaneous speech? Naomi Nagy, Holman Tse, and James N. Stanford
15. Phonetics of stop voicing in heritage and Homeland Polish Naomi Nagy, Paulina Łyskawa, Emily Moran, and Mateusz Urban
16. Perception and production of English and Portuguese voiceless stops by heritage learners Anabela Rato and Vanina Machado
17. Prosodically – Conditioned variation: Rhotics in Brazilian Veneto Natália Brambatti Guzzo.

Subject Areas: Phonetics, phonology [CFH]