<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
Hi Alex, </div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
The HALA test might be useful to you from the psycholinguistic literature. Basically reaction time on basic body part vocab provides information about language dominance, designed for situations where individuals are highly bilingual. I tried it informally
with some Kaqchikel speakers in Guatemala and it was instructive, particularly for younger speakers. Using real photos worked better than the line drawings in other types of tasks. </div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<a href="https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/dd9bc1bb-f28e-4df0-9e2e-6bdf97a993c1/content">https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/dd9bc1bb-f28e-4df0-9e2e-6bdf97a993c1/content</a></div>
<div id="Signature" class="elementToProof">
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<p class="elementToProof" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(111, 11, 19);"><b>Raina Heaton, Ph.D.</b></span></p>
<p class="elementToProof" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: black;">Associate Professor | Native American Studies</span></p>
<p class="elementToProof" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: black;">Associate Curator | Sam Noble Museum </span></p>
<p class="elementToProof" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: black;">The University of Oklahoma</span></p>
<p class="elementToProof" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: black;">2401 Chautauqua Ave | Norman, Oklahoma 73019</span></p>
<p class="elementToProof" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: black;">405-325-7588 |
</span><span style="font-family: Aptos, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(152, 36, 30);"><a href="https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/" target="_blank" id="LPlnk348469" title="https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="margin: 0px;">samnoblemuseum.ou.edu</a></span></p>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Aptos, Aptos_EmbeddedFont, Aptos_MSFontService, Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
</div>
<div id="appendonsend"></div>
<hr style="display:inline-block;width:98%" tabindex="-1">
<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces@listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of Alexander Rice via Lingtyp <lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, October 21, 2026 12:05 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> LINGTYP <lingtyp@listserv.linguistlist.org><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Lingtyp] Approaches to measuring langauge proficiency/dominance in minority/low resource languages</font>
<div> </div>
</div>
<style>
<!--
#x_pfptBannerx9ma724
{display:block!important;
visibility:visible!important;
opacity:1!important;
background-color:#d04b4c!important;
max-width:none!important;
max-height:none!important}
html:root, html:root > div
{display:block!important;
visibility:visible!important;
opacity:1!important}
-->
</style>
<div>
<div style="display:none!important; display:none; visibility:hidden; font-size:1px; color:#ffffff; line-height:1px; max-height:0px; opacity:0; overflow:hidden">
Dear typologists I apologize in advance if this question is outside the scope of linguistic typology. However, given that many of us work with minority/low resource language communities, I think this could be a good forum for finding some perspectives. </div>
<div style="display:none!important; display:none; visibility:hidden; font-size:1px; color:#ffffff; line-height:1px; max-height:0px; opacity:0; overflow:hidden">
ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerStart</div>
<div dir="ltr" lang="en" id="x_pfptBannerx9ma724" style="display:block!important; text-align:left!important; margin:0 0 10px 0!important; padding:7px 16px 8px 16px!important; border-radius:4px!important; min-width:200px!important; background-color:#d04b4c!important; background-color:#d04b4c; border-top:4px solid #d89d9d!important; border-top:4px solid #d89d9d">
<div id="x_pfptBannerx9ma724" style="float:left!important; display:block!important; margin:1px 0 1px 0!important; max-width:600px!important">
<div id="x_pfptBannerx9ma724" style="display:block!important; visibility:visible!important; background-color:#d04b4c!important; color:#000000!important; color:#000000; font-family:'Arial',sans-serif!important; font-family:'Arial',sans-serif; font-weight:bold!important; font-weight:bold; font-size:14px!important; line-height:1.29!important; line-height:1.29">
External Email </div>
<div id="x_pfptBannerx9ma724" style="display:block!important; visibility:visible!important; background-color:#d04b4c!important; color:#000000!important; color:#000000; font-weight:normal; font-family:'Arial',sans-serif!important; font-family:'Arial',sans-serif; font-size:12px!important; line-height:1.5!important; line-height:1.5; margin-top:2px!important">
</div>
</div>
<div style="clear:both!important; display:block!important; visibility:hidden!important; line-height:0!important; font-size:0.01px!important; height:0px">
</div>
</div>
<div style="display:none!important; display:none; visibility:hidden; font-size:1px; color:#ffffff; line-height:1px; max-height:0px; opacity:0; overflow:hidden">
ZjQcmQRYFpfptBannerEnd</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>Dear typologists</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I apologize in advance if this question is outside the scope of linguistic typology. However, given that many of us work with minority/low resource language communities, I think this could be a good forum for finding some perspectives.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>I'm looking for opinions on methods for establishing metrics for language proficiency in bilingual communities in which one of the languages is a minority/endangered/low resource language and many of the participants are non-literate.
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Previously, I have used the <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://blp.coerll.utexas.edu/__;!!GNU8KkXDZlD12Q!-k0jXtO1k17uoFjfj-06LzQOoSBcEa-4UZFoXj-_zPBIv-oFHf7nbscqw0G8kQRSX84q5WA5RLvurUoh9LzPNfw0z7r1$">
BLP</a> when doing fieldwork in bilingual communities in South America, but I have found that survey-style "rate your ability to speak/understand X language on a scale from 1-6" are not always useful. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Likewise, there can be issues with other tests like the MINT or other picture-naming tests, depending on how interpretable the line drawings are or whether loan words are commonly used for the objects represented therein. </div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Overall, I'm curious if anyone here has experiences they'd like to share or refer to about attempting to measure language proficiency in these kinds of situations.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>best,</div>
Alex
<div><span class="x_gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br>
<div dir="ltr" class="x_gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<p style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0"><font size="1"><span style="color:black!important; font-family:Segoe UI,sans-serif">Alexander Rice, PhD</span></font></p>
<div>
<p style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif; margin:0px"><font size="1"><span style="color:black!important; font-family:Segoe UI,sans-serif">Postdoctoral Scholar</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif; margin:0px"><font size="1"><span style="color:black!important; font-family:Segoe UI,sans-serif">Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif; margin:0px"><font size="1"><span style="color:black!important; font-family:Segoe UI,sans-serif">Native American and Indigenous Studies Center</span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p style="font-family:Aptos,sans-serif; margin:0px"><font size="1"><span style="color:black!important; font-family:Segoe UI,sans-serif; background-color:white!important">Florida State University</span></font></p>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>