[Lingtyp] Approaches to measuring langauge proficiency/dominance in minority/low resource languages

[Alexander Rice]

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.

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.

Previously, I have used the BLP <https://blp.coerll.utexas.edu/> 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.

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.

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.

best,
Alex
-- 

Alexander Rice, PhD

Postdoctoral Scholar

Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics

Native American and Indigenous Studies Center

Florida State University
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/lingtyp/attachments/20261021/65936138/attachment.htm>