34.2504, Review: Native Speakers, Interrupted

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-2504. Wed Aug 16 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.2504, Review: Native Speakers, Interrupted

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Date: 02-Jul-2023
From: Chloe Castle [chloe.castle at outlook.com]
Subject: Language Documentation, Sociolinguistics: Montrul (2022)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.460

AUTHOR: Silvina Montrul
TITLE: Native Speakers, Interrupted
SUBTITLE: Differential Object Marking and Language Change in Heritage
Languages
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2022

REVIEWER: Chloe Castle

SUMMARY
‘Native Speakers, Interrupted’ by Silvina Montrul is a monograph which
explores language change at the individual and community levels
through the lens of heritage language speakers and their use of
Differential Object Marking. It draws parallels with McWhorter’s
(2007) concept of ‘interruption’, applying it to the heritage speaker
experience with incomplete acquisition, exposure, and input. The book
brings together literature on psycholinguistics, language acquisition,
sociolinguistics, and historical linguistics in its thorough
consideration of the processes behind language change. It is unique in
its positioning of the heritage speaker as a driver of language
change, and its suggestion that bidirectional influence occurs between
the heritage speaker and the L1 attriter. Its comprehensive approach
makes it a must-read for those with a background in multilingualism,
heritage languages, language acquisition, and language change.
In the introduction section, Montrul takes care to define key terms
important to understanding the content and theoretical frameworks
drawn upon in the book. In alignment with current works on heritage
languages, she states her aim to move away from a loss-based
perspective and towards an investigation of the structural properties
of heritage languages in different domains as dynamic language change.
Heritage speakers are defined here as second-generation migrants:
immigrant children or children of immigrants in the US. Montrul
introduces the idea of heritage speakers as the potential agents of
diachronic change in the heritage variety of their languages here. A
brief description of each book chapter is then provided.
In Chapter 1, ‘On Heritage Speakers as Native Speakers’, Montrul
provides a brief overview of academic and personal definitions and
categorisations of native speakers, considering factors such as
fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and place of birth. She then
creates a much-needed typology of native speakers in terms of
monolingual and bilingual contexts, and follows up with a discussion
on acquisition, ultimate attainment and linguistic stability,
non-native speakers, and measuring native-likeness. She argues that
there are at least two types of native speaker: monolingually raised
speakers and bi/multilingual speakers. L2 learners, who have
traditionally been posited as agents of language change in the
literature, are of the former type. Montrul suggests that the terms
‘native speaker’ and ‘monolingual speaker’ thus cannot be used
interchangeably: bilinguals are regular native speakers and should be
the central focus of linguistic research. Indeed, she points out that
there is also much variability in monolingually raised native
speakers, dependent on level of education, socioeconomic status (SES),
ethnicity, gender, style and identity and location. She focuses on
education level and knowledge of another language in this chapter, as
these are most pertinent to the studies presented in this book. This
is followed by a short section on L1 attrition and a longer section on
bilingual and multilingual native speakers. She shows that, for both
L1 attriters and heritage speakers, there exists a considerable amount
of variation (visualised in a bilingual continuum). The interaction of
both languages activated in the bilingual brain allow for
cross-linguistic influence in bi/multilingual speakers, which results
in differing outcomes for a diverse range of bilingual types e.g.,
simultaneous child bilinguals, sequential child bilinguals, adult L2
learners, child L2 learners, heritage speakers, and L1 attriters.
Montrul links this and other factors (i.e., incomplete acquisition,
processing difficulty) to language change in the diaspora varieties of
the language.
In Chapter 2, ‘Structural Changes in Heritage Language Grammars’,
Montrul presents common structural patterns characteristic of heritage
language grammars from the literature, including a helpful table
summarising the domains of change with examples and sources. She
places a particular focus on intergenerational studies, as these are
most pertinent in highlighting the relationship between
first-generation immigrants and heritage speakers in terms of
attrition. She first outlines the groups that heritage speakers have
historically been compared to, recognising the debate regarding
comparison with a baseline of monolingually raised native speakers in
the homeland. She ultimately concludes that the choice of baseline
group should depend on the research questions of the study. Common
linguistic processes in heritage language development include
simplification or reduction of forms, overregularization, reanalysis,
and a preference for transparent mappings. Montrul then considers
sources of variability in heritage language speech, including quantity
of input, quality of input, the effect of linguistic modularity (i.e.,
not all properties develop at the same time or to the same level) in
interaction with sociolinguistic variables (e.g., school starting
age), age, the socio-affective dimension, dominant language transfer,
interface vulnerability, and language processing limitations.
Chapter 3, ‘Differential Object Marking’ (DOM) gives an overview of
the phenomenon. DOM is determined by animacy, referentiality,
topicality, and affectedness of the object, as helpfully indicated in
her Figure 3.1. Montrul discusses the phenomenon in light of the three
languages of focus of the book (Spanish, Hindi, and Romanian), noting
that they all have two-dimensional systems, wherein DOM is triggered
by animacy and referentiality (definiteness and specificity), though
the weighting of these factors differs. She gives a comprehensive
outline of DOM in each language, exploring variability and changes
occurring in different language varieties (particularly in Spanish),
and discussing syntactic analyses from within generative grammar. The
fact that the Differential Subject Markers (DSM) for dative
experiencer subjects have the same surface form as DOM in Spanish and
Hindi (and Romanian, in some cases) is also noted. This becomes
relevant later in the book, where dative subjects with psych
predicates are used to demonstrate the parallels between heritage
language development and natural diachronic processes. However, she
also notes that developments in the heritage language do not always go
in the same direction as monolingual varieties. Montrul finishes the
chapter with a summary of the distribution of DOM in the three
languages of interest (Table 3.7).
In Chapter 4, ‘Language Change and the Acquisition of Differential
Object Marking’, Montrul provides a model of language change which
incorporates individuals, societies, and nations, and which links
different subfields of linguistics with different time periods. She
asserts the importance of subfields such as historical linguistics,
psycholinguistics, language acquisition, and sociolinguistics
collaborating, as every change begins with individuals and then
spreads to groups and societies. Understanding the sociolinguistic
factors (environmental, situational) surrounding the change is
critical for the interpretation of its extent and spread. Montrul
brings us back to basics with a summary of generative and variationist
approaches to language acquisition and generational change. She
follows up by critically engaging with the contact and acquisition
literature regarding DOM and bringing to light key questions yet to be
answered or agreed upon in these fields. She indicates that it may not
be the monolingual child that is the agent of language change (as in
theories of diachronic change), but rather L2 learners and bilinguals.
Chapter 5, ‘The Vulnerability of Differential Object Marking in Three
Heritage Languages’, explains the research questions and hypotheses
relating to each of the possibly relevant factors in heritage language
speaker performance regarding DOM (situational, linguistic, patterns
of language change in the homeland varieties, direct generational
language transmission). Montrul explains her predictions based on the
different hypotheses. She continues with an explanation of the
methodology and procedure. Participants engaged in a language
background questionnaire, written proficiency tests, production
measures (oral narrative task, elicited production task, elicited
written production task), an auditory/written comprehension task, and
a bimodal acceptability judgment task (AJT).
In Chapter 6, ‘Differential Object Marking in Spanish as a Heritage
Language’, Montrul presents the results for the Spanish language
experiments. Starting with an overview of the Spanish-speaking
population in the US, Montrul notes that there are more than 60
million Spanish speakers in the country, making Spanish the second
most spoken language (Krogstad and Neo-Bustamente, 2020). She
discusses the role of Spanish as an important minority language in the
US, where there are great tensions between its expansion from
continuous immigration and positive value as the most studied foreign
language in the country on the one hand, and its contraction from
intergenerational language loss and negative value associated with
high numbers of low SES undocumented immigrants on the other.
Information on participant biographical variables, self-rated
proficiencies, preferred languages, reasons for wanting to improve
Spanish, and patterns of language use in different time periods in
childhood are given here. The Spanish heritage speakers are quite
fluent in Spanish, using it within the family and in their
professional lives. Input and use of Spanish diminish with age and
across generations. Montrul then presents the results of the
linguistic tasks, finding that DOM omission with animate, specific
direct objects occurs more in heritage speakers in comparison with
homeland speakers in Mexico. This erosion of DOM was also attested in
first-generation immigrants, particularly for those who had lived in
the US for a long time, were older, and who acquired English later in
life. Age of onset of bilingualism and amount and quality of language
use did not play a role in the results of the heritage speakers.
Chapter 7, ‘Differential Object Marking in Hindi as a Heritage
Language’, describes the Hindi/Urdu speaking population in the US.
This group is different from the others in several ways, including a
higher SES, knowledge of English, and level of education. Hindi does
not enjoy the same level of vitality as Spanish in the US, with a
smaller population of speakers, though one with strong social
networks. Information on the same background variables and linguistic
task results are given in this chapter. DOM omission with animate,
specific direct objects was found in the heritage speaker group.
However, unlike for Spanish, the first-generation group showed no
attrition of DOM in comparison with the Hindi speakers in India. The
simultaneous bilinguals showed the greatest DOM omission of all the
groups, as predicted due to lesser relative input in early childhood.
Montrul suggests that the DOM omission observed in these heritage
speakers cannot be attributed to the parental generation.
In Chapter 8, ‘Differential Object Marking in Romanian as a Heritage
Language’, Montrul outlines the results for the Romanian language
experiments. This population of speakers moved to the US in several
waves in the 20th and 21st centuries, resulting in a community
including a range of SES and educational backgrounds. Participants in
the study had an overall good command of Romanian. Information
regarding the same background variables and linguistic task results
are also given in this chapter. As with the Hindi group, there were no
differences in DOM between the first-generation immigrant group and
the homeland groups, but the heritage speakers did show variability.
Age of onset and bilingualism effects are present for this group.
Montrul states that for the Romanian speakers the variability in the
heritage speaker group cannot come from first-generation immigrants.
There was also less DOM omission in the Romanian group than the
others, possibly due to the more salient accusative clitic doubling
co-occurring with DOM in this language.
In Chapter 9, ‘Comparing the Three Heritage Languages’, findings from
the three studies are brought together and compared. Montrul considers
a range of factors in theorising and explaining the differences within
and between the groups in terms of DOM use, including: biographical
variables; linguistic factors (grammatical complexity, majority
language transfer, language processing and lexical access, acoustic
salience of DOM markers, other language-particular properties, e.g.,
definiteness and specificity); and situational factors (size and
vitality of the language, education, and SES). To detect whether the
erosion of DOM present in first-generation Spanish speaking immigrants
is unique to the variety of Spanish spoken by the participants
(heritage Mexican Spanish in the Chicago area), Montrul carried out a
follow-up study on speakers of other varieties of Spanish in the US
and in the respective homelands (Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela). She found
that the same pattern holds for these speakers, indicating the
development of a widespread ongoing language change in US Spanish. She
ultimately concludes that a combination of sociolinguistic and
structural factors explains why the erosion and variability of DOM is
different in Spanish compared to Hindi and Romanian in the US. She
indicates that qualitatively different input from the first-generation
immigrants can be related to variable use of DOM only for the US
Spanish speakers.
In Chapter 10, ‘Intergenerational Transmission’, Montrul uses the
findings from the three studies to posit a new possibility for
language change: the bidirectionality of influence between
first-generation immigrants and heritage speakers of Spanish in the
US. She suggests that the variability observed in both populations is
arrived at independently, constrained by individual psycholinguistic
processes of structural activation and competition. The
first-generation immigrants take some time in the US for their use of
DOM to ‘attrite’, at which point this attrition may be reinforced by
variable input from the heritage speaker generation. Montrul adapts
Yang’s (2000: 232) figure of the dynamics of language acquisition and
language change for DOM in Spanish in the US (Figure 10.3), linking
children’s E-language (externalised language as the input) back to the
parents’ I-language (internalised abstract grammar). She concludes
that the situation for US Spanish indicates an emerging dialectal
feature: optionally non-DOM marked animate specific direct objects.
For Hindi and Romanian, however, she suggests that there is broken
transmission of DOM between heritage speakers and first-generation
immigrants.
In the final chapter, ‘Implications’, Montrul summarises the findings
of the book. She discusses the importance of moving from a deficit
view of bilingualism to one where the normality of linguistic
diversity is recognised. With this recognition, educational policies
can be shaped toward supporting bilingual speakers’ heritage
languages. Montrul demonstrates the contributions of this book to the
linguistic literature, including: her assessment of the connection
between heritage language acquisition and diachronic language change
with a focus on individuals in real time; the proposal that heritage
speakers are active agents in the diachronic evolution of Spanish as a
distinct language variety of the US; and the demonstration of how the
main source of input to the heritage speakers may have contributed to
the patterns of variability present in their speech.

EVALUATION
This book represents the first treatment of the relationship between
heritage language development and diachronic change. It provides an
extensive comparative analysis of three heritage languages in the US,
addressing links between language development, variation, and change
from both a psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspective. Montrul
takes care to explain her proposal that the heritage speaker is a
driver of language change, skilfully weaving her convincing argument
throughout the book and culminating with her interpretations of the
data in conjunction with relevant linguistic theory.
A minor point of criticism is the lack of comparison with
first-generation immigrants without children. This might have helped
to further confirm her claim regarding the bidirectionality of
language change. However, as Montrul mentions in her book, this is a
possible future direction for her research. I am looking forward to
seeing the results of this continuation.
Overall, this incredibly comprehensive book is a valuable resource for
anyone interested in language contact, language acquisition, heritage
languages, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics. It is especially
nice to see work linking traditionally separated fields of linguistics
in striving to answer important questions.

REFERENCES
Krogstad, Jens Manuel & Luis Noe-Bustamante. 2020. Key facts about US
Latinos for national Hispanic heritage month. Pew Research Center.
McWhorter, John. 2007. Language interrupted: Signs of non-native
acquisition in standard language grammars. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Chloe Castle is a postdoctoral researcher in the AcqVA Aurora Lab at
UiT The Arctic University of Norway. Her research interests include
multilingualism, language acquisition, language attrition, heritage
and community languages, and language change and variation. She is
interested in taking a combined psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic
approach to examining these research areas. Her previous research has
focussed on grammatical borrowing and replication between Czech and
English in two parallel communities, namely Czech South Australians
and L1 English Ln Czech speakers in Prague. Her current research as
part of the ADIM project focuses on morphosyntactic crosslinguistic
influence in L3 and Ln acquisition.



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