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

[Heaton, Raina]

Hi Alex,

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.

https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/dd9bc1bb-f28e-4df0-9e2e-6bdf97a993c1/content


Raina Heaton, Ph.D.

Associate Professor | Native American Studies

Associate Curator | Sam Noble Museum

The University of Oklahoma

2401 Chautauqua Ave | Norman, Oklahoma 73019

405-325-7588 | samnoblemuseum.ou.edu<https://samnoblemuseum.ou.edu/>



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From: Lingtyp <lingtyp-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org> on behalf of Alexander Rice via Lingtyp <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2026 12:05 PM
To: LINGTYP <lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org>
Subject: [Lingtyp] Approaches to measuring langauge proficiency/dominance in minority/low resource languages

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. 
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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://urldefense.com/v3/__https://blp.coerll.utexas.edu/__;!!GNU8KkXDZlD12Q!-k0jXtO1k17uoFjfj-06LzQOoSBcEa-4UZFoXj-_zPBIv-oFHf7nbscqw0G8kQRSX84q5WA5RLvurUoh9LzPNfw0z7r1$> 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

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