John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 5. What can Cantonese heritage speakers tell us about age of acquisition, linguistic dominance, and sociophonetic variation?
Abstract
For many individuals, the first acquired language is also the linguistically dominant language, but what are the implications for sociophonetic variation if the linguistically dominant language is a second acquired childhood language, as is the case for many heritage speakers? This chapter addresses two correlates of linguistic dominance on the production of L2-influenced vowels in heritage Cantonese sociolinguistic interview data. Results show that Cantonese Production Score (CPS), an externally measured proficiency proxy, is consistently a better predictor than Ethnic Orientation (a self-reported identity metric) in accounting for speakers who are most likely to produce English influenced vowels. While a distinction between child vs. adult language acquisition remains important, these results highlight linguistic dominance as an interacting factor in sociophonetic variation.
Abstract
For many individuals, the first acquired language is also the linguistically dominant language, but what are the implications for sociophonetic variation if the linguistically dominant language is a second acquired childhood language, as is the case for many heritage speakers? This chapter addresses two correlates of linguistic dominance on the production of L2-influenced vowels in heritage Cantonese sociolinguistic interview data. Results show that Cantonese Production Score (CPS), an externally measured proficiency proxy, is consistently a better predictor than Ethnic Orientation (a self-reported identity metric) in accounting for speakers who are most likely to produce English influenced vowels. While a distinction between child vs. adult language acquisition remains important, these results highlight linguistic dominance as an interacting factor in sociophonetic variation.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- List of tables ix
- List of figures xiii
- Acknowledgements xv
- Editors and contributors xvii
- Chapter 1. Variation and second language acquisition 1
- Chapter 2. An investigation of the use of the multifunctional particle ‑ le by second language learners of Mandarin Chinese 15
- Chapter 3. Production and evaluation of sociolinguistic variation in Mandarin Chinese among children in Singapore 43
- Chapter 4. Cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of L3 variation 71
- Chapter 5. What can Cantonese heritage speakers tell us about age of acquisition, linguistic dominance, and sociophonetic variation? 97
- Chapter 6. Spanish rhotic variation and development in uninstructed immersion 127
- Chapter 7. Linguistic variation and second language Spanish 159
- Chapter 8. Acquiring sociolinguistic competence during study abroad 199
- Chapter 9. Variation in choice of prepositions with place names on the French L1–L2 continuum in Ontario, Canada 223
- Chapter 10. Variation, identity and language attitudes 253
- Chapter 11. Sociostylistic variation in L2 French 279
- Chapter 12. Differential object marking in heritage and homeland Italian 311
- Chapter 13. On (not) acquiring a sociolinguistic stereotype 337
- Author index 359
- Subject index 363
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- List of tables ix
- List of figures xiii
- Acknowledgements xv
- Editors and contributors xvii
- Chapter 1. Variation and second language acquisition 1
- Chapter 2. An investigation of the use of the multifunctional particle ‑ le by second language learners of Mandarin Chinese 15
- Chapter 3. Production and evaluation of sociolinguistic variation in Mandarin Chinese among children in Singapore 43
- Chapter 4. Cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of L3 variation 71
- Chapter 5. What can Cantonese heritage speakers tell us about age of acquisition, linguistic dominance, and sociophonetic variation? 97
- Chapter 6. Spanish rhotic variation and development in uninstructed immersion 127
- Chapter 7. Linguistic variation and second language Spanish 159
- Chapter 8. Acquiring sociolinguistic competence during study abroad 199
- Chapter 9. Variation in choice of prepositions with place names on the French L1–L2 continuum in Ontario, Canada 223
- Chapter 10. Variation, identity and language attitudes 253
- Chapter 11. Sociostylistic variation in L2 French 279
- Chapter 12. Differential object marking in heritage and homeland Italian 311
- Chapter 13. On (not) acquiring a sociolinguistic stereotype 337
- Author index 359
- Subject index 363
