Chapter 8. Processability Theory as a tool in the study of a heritage speaker of Norwegian
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Arnstein Hjelde
Abstract
In this article, we employ aspects of Processability Theory (PT) to study the language of one fourth generation heritage speaker of Norwegian in America. This man, who we refer to as Lars, was almost 50 years old when we first met and recorded him in 2010, and to our knowledge he is among the youngest Norwegian-Americans still able to speak Norwegian as a heritage language in the Upper Midwest. His dominant language was Norwegian until he started school, when English took over this role. When we met him the first time, he had not spoken Norwegian to any substantial extent for several decades.
When we examine his language, we find a number of grammatical deviations from the baseline – the language as spoken in the old world, and we discuss the possible explanations for these; are they related to the quality of the input, are they due to attrition or are they the result of incomplete acquisition? In the discussion, we include certain aspects of PT, and based on this, we claim that attrition is the most likely explanation for the reduced structures in Lars’ Norwegian.
Abstract
In this article, we employ aspects of Processability Theory (PT) to study the language of one fourth generation heritage speaker of Norwegian in America. This man, who we refer to as Lars, was almost 50 years old when we first met and recorded him in 2010, and to our knowledge he is among the youngest Norwegian-Americans still able to speak Norwegian as a heritage language in the Upper Midwest. His dominant language was Norwegian until he started school, when English took over this role. When we met him the first time, he had not spoken Norwegian to any substantial extent for several decades.
When we examine his language, we find a number of grammatical deviations from the baseline – the language as spoken in the old world, and we discuss the possible explanations for these; are they related to the quality of the input, are they due to attrition or are they the result of incomplete acquisition? In the discussion, we include certain aspects of PT, and based on this, we claim that attrition is the most likely explanation for the reduced structures in Lars’ Norwegian.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Chapter 1. Contextualising issues in Processability Theory 1
-
Section 1. Language production and comprehension processes
- Chapter 2. Towards an integrated model of grammatical encoding and decoding in SLA 13
- Chapter 3. Productive and receptive processes in PT 49
- Chapter 4. Is morpho-syntactic decoding governed by Processability Theory? 73
-
Section 2. Language acquisition features across typological boundaries
- Chapter 5. Case within the phrasal procedure stage 105
- Chapter 6. Developing morpho-syntax in non-configurational languages 131
-
Section 3. Language use and developmental trajectories
- Chapter 7. Using the Multiplicity framework to reposition and reframe the Hypothesis Space 157
- Chapter 8. Processability Theory as a tool in the study of a heritage speaker of Norwegian 185
- Chapter 9. Discourse-pragmatic conditions for Object topicalisation structures in early L2 Chinese 207
- Chapter 10. Modelling relative clauses in Processability Theory and Lexical-Functional Grammar 231
- Chapter 11. Early development and relative clause constructions in English as a second language 255
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Section 4. Language learning and teaching issues in relation to classroom and assessment contexts
- Chapter 12. Exploiting the potential of tasks for targeted language learning in the EFL classroom 285
- Chapter 13. Teaching the German case system 301
- Chapter 14. Development of English question formation in the EFL context of China 327
- Chapter 15. Can print literacy impact upon learning to speak Standard Australian English? 349
- Chapter 16. The role of grammatical development in oral assessment 371
- Chapter 17. How does PT’s view of acquisition relate to the challenge of widening perspectives on SLA? 391
- Index 399
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements ix
- Chapter 1. Contextualising issues in Processability Theory 1
-
Section 1. Language production and comprehension processes
- Chapter 2. Towards an integrated model of grammatical encoding and decoding in SLA 13
- Chapter 3. Productive and receptive processes in PT 49
- Chapter 4. Is morpho-syntactic decoding governed by Processability Theory? 73
-
Section 2. Language acquisition features across typological boundaries
- Chapter 5. Case within the phrasal procedure stage 105
- Chapter 6. Developing morpho-syntax in non-configurational languages 131
-
Section 3. Language use and developmental trajectories
- Chapter 7. Using the Multiplicity framework to reposition and reframe the Hypothesis Space 157
- Chapter 8. Processability Theory as a tool in the study of a heritage speaker of Norwegian 185
- Chapter 9. Discourse-pragmatic conditions for Object topicalisation structures in early L2 Chinese 207
- Chapter 10. Modelling relative clauses in Processability Theory and Lexical-Functional Grammar 231
- Chapter 11. Early development and relative clause constructions in English as a second language 255
-
Section 4. Language learning and teaching issues in relation to classroom and assessment contexts
- Chapter 12. Exploiting the potential of tasks for targeted language learning in the EFL classroom 285
- Chapter 13. Teaching the German case system 301
- Chapter 14. Development of English question formation in the EFL context of China 327
- Chapter 15. Can print literacy impact upon learning to speak Standard Australian English? 349
- Chapter 16. The role of grammatical development in oral assessment 371
- Chapter 17. How does PT’s view of acquisition relate to the challenge of widening perspectives on SLA? 391
- Index 399
