28.1359, Diss: La atrición en las lenguas de contacto: el caso de los inmigrantes españoles en Brasil

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-28-1359. Mon Mar 20 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.1359, Diss: La atrición en las lenguas de contacto: el caso de los inmigrantes españoles en Brasil

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Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 16:22:32
From: María Carolina Capilla [mcarolina at unb.br]
Subject: La atrición en las lenguas de contacto: el caso de los inmigrantes españoles en Brasil

 
Institution: Universidad Complutense de Madrid 
Program: Lengua Española y sus Literaturas 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2016 

Author: María Carolina Calvo Capilla

Dissertation Title: La atrición en las lenguas de contacto: el caso de los
inmigrantes españoles en Brasil 

Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): Portuguese (por)
                     Spanish (spa)


Dissertation Director(s):
María del Carmen Cazorla Vivas

Dissertation Abstract:

This dissertation explores the process of first language attrition, observed
as part of the normal changes that occur in linguistic competence over time
(de Bot et al., 2007; Herdina and Jessner, 2002). The leading purpose is to
analyse the effects experienced by the L1 of hispanophone Spanish adult
immigrants residing in Brazil, exposed to a prolonged contact with the
L2/Portuguese.

Spanish immigrants in Brasilia do not form a real community, nor are they
concentrated in neighbourhoods or have clubs; they have been quickly
integrated in Brazilian society, disappearing as a distinct minority. They are
generally isolated individuals, not exposed to contact varieties as it is the
case in immigrant communities (Köpke and Schmid, 2013). Therefore, it is a
case of intragenerational change or attrition, which is manifested as a
progressive reduction of the proficiency of a previously completely acquired
L1 by individuals who migrated past the age of puberty, and began to use the
L2 intensively, with the consequent reduction of the use of the L1 (Gürel and
Yilmaz, 2013, p. 37). In general, it does not mean a total loss of knowledge
of the L1, but a displacement or convergence towards the L2. 

The research studied the speech of twenty Spanish bilingual adult immigrants
with more than ten years of residence in Brazil. To achieve a realistic view
of their speech (Schmid, 2004), the study used the free speech obtained by
semi structured interviews in Spanish. These interviews were recorded
individually, and later transcribed and analysed to describe the linguistic
features or attrition signs that typify the Spanish/L1 of the participants.
Köpke (1999, p. 176), Raso (2003, pp. 17-45), Schmid (2002, pp. 80-81), and
Silva-Corvalán (1994; 2011) models were applied with some adaptations. A
sociolinguistic questionnaire was also implemented to provide personal
information to identify the impact of extra-linguistic factors (age,
immigration length, education, use of L1, and attitudes). 

The analysis of the free speech corpus allowed us to identify, classify and
describe the linguistic features of the participants’ L1/Spanish in the form
of divergences from monolingual Spanish, and that can be interpreted as signs
of attrition. Disfluencies were also observed, and in this case, the results
revealed differences with the control group on the predominant type of
disfluencies. As Schmid and Fägersten Beers (2010, pp. 758-759) argue, due to
the heavier cognitive load of bilinguals, cognitive disfluencies (silent
pauses, repetitions, and repairs) were more numerous among immigrants than in
the control group, which used more semantic disfluencies (filled pauses, and
lengthening of sounds).

An evaluation of the foreign accent of the immigrants was also performed by
native Spanish speakers without contact with Portuguese. A foreign accent
index was calculated, and accordingly, 25 % of the immigrants was considered
non-native, and 35 % native with interference, whereas in the control group
they were all considered natives.

The statistical analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between
the L1 contact and choice index, and the ratio of deviations per 1,000 words.
Those who use the L1 the most do it for professional reasons; this
circumstance protects them from erosion (de Leeuw, Schmid & Mennen 2010,
Schmid & Dusseldorp 2010). Contrary to what was predicted, in this study the
attitudes index did not present the explanatory power that has been shown
elsewhere (Pavlenko 2004, Schmid 2002).




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