36.2081, Reviews: Formal approaches to complexity in heritage language grammars: Maria Polinsky, Michael T. Putnam (eds.) (2024)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-36-2081. Mon Jul 07 2025. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 36.2081, Reviews: Formal approaches to complexity in heritage language grammars: Maria Polinsky, Michael T. Putnam (eds.) (2024)

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Date: 07-Jul-2025
From: Laura Domínguez Solera [ladosol99 at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics, Morphology, Syntax: Maria Polinsky, Michael T. Putnam (eds.) (2024)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35-3153

Title: Formal approaches to complexity in heritage language grammars
Series Title: Current Issues in Bilingualism
Publication Year: 2024

Publisher: Language Science Press
           http://langsci-press.org
Book URL: https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/389

Editor(s): Maria Polinsky, Michael T. Putnam

Reviewer: Laura Domínguez Solera

REVIEW
Please write or copy and paste your review of Formal approaches to
complexity in heritage language grammars here.
When you have finished your review, please go to
https://linguistlist.org/reviews/submit and click the button under
this book title.
Guidelines for what should appear in each of the following sections
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SUMMARY
“Formal approaches to complexity in heritage language grammars”
questions the notion of complexity in the language through exploration
of different approaches and treatments of complexity in the heritage
languages (HL) and speakers’ contexts. Through the seven chapters of
this book, we can dive into the various approaches that explain the
difficulty that some linguistic constructions, due to their level or
type of complexity, present to speakers with different HL.
Chapter 1 presents the visions of complexity that have been defended
by different authors, giving a compilation that can serve as an aid to
enrich the HL field and lead to future investigation. Besides, there
are some misconceptions about the complexity of languages and
specifically, of the HL complexity, that are exposed here. For
instance, the idea that heritage languages are less complex, i.e.,
simpler than monolingual grammars, has detrimental effects on the
understanding of heritage bilingualism. There are several properties
and ways to understand the phenomenon that go beyond those ideas.
First, we can note a distinction between language-specific and global
complexity, and more specifically between complexity in the signal and
complexity in the content. Another suggestion is that there are two
types of complexity: formal and processing. Among possible ways to
measure complexity, the most common are frequency differences (a
complex form or expression may be said to appear less frequently),
cross-linguistic distribution (associated with naturalness, in the
sense that the most cross-linguistically common realizations are
considered more natural, i.e., less complex) and age of acquisition
(with less complex forms said to be learned first).
Chapter 2 talks about the complexity behind language-specific
preferences, e. g., the case of the diminutive expression in heritage
Twi. It is stated that Twi heritage speakers use the diminutive
morpheme (-ba/-wa) or adjectival construction (with the word ketewa,
which means ‘little’) to express “smallness”. Kpogo et al. demonstrate
that speakers from the first generation chose the more morphological
strategy than speakers from the second generation, who generally
prefer the syntax strategy. This supports the idea that the
morphological diminutive can be considered more complex than the
syntactic diminutive, and the study concludes that this phenomenon
doesn’t occur as a universal tendency in the language but takes place
due to complexity minimization and cross-linguistic influence.
Chapter 3 explains how the difficult structures in monolingual and
bilingual language acquisition are due to different types of
complexity. Taking Portuguese as a starting point, the behavior of
heritage speakers with specific linguistic constructions is examined.
Four types of complexity are considered: derivational complexity
(inflected infinitives in concessive constructions: Os pais foram à
livraria para comprarem os livros ‘The parents went to the bookstore
to buy the new school books’), irregular lexical forms that are
memory-based (contracted forms of prepositions: em + a/o = na/no),
context dependent rules (changes in clitic pronouns -o(s)/-a(s) due to
phonetic reasons), and multi form-function mappings (que as a relative
pronoun and consecutive conjunction). It is shown that the linguistics
constructions are among the most difficult constructions, independent
of the contact language. Therefore, the struggle of the bilingual
children would not be associated with crosslinguistic influence.
Instead, the difficulties are found in the language itself, so
monolinguals should have the same difficulties as bilinguals.
Chapter 4 examines how word order patterns appear in heritage Russian
speakers. Lakeko examines the distribution of canonical and
non-canonical word order structures, the tendencies that exist in the
heritage grammar and whether their manifestation in the HL is due to
different levels of complexity in the language system. She
demonstrates that the heritage language change is not a product of a
process or a product of inexorable simplification. Rather, patterns of
simplification coexist with tendencies to conserve or even increase
complexity in other cases.
Chapter 5 provides a model of morphological complexity in heritage
languages analyzing the typical structures from agglutinating
languages. Lohndan and Putnam establish linguistic behaviors relative
to complexity in heritage languages taking three heritage speaker
language communities as a base: Labrador Inuktitut, Cherokee and
American Hungarian. They show that there are two processes that can be
extrapolated to more heritage languages: a tendency to increase
analyticity (e.g., to display a greater number of morphemes and show a
transparent structure of one-form to one-meaning) and to employ what
is called generalized exponence, that is, a morphological exponence
used in more contexts than in an established baseline.
Chapter 6 constitutes a study that questions the idea that heritage
languages inevitably imply a simplification or less complexity with
respect to languages that are not considered to be heritage languages.
Rather than assuming heritage languages undergo only simplification,
Varatharaj et al. explore the dynamic changes in complexity across
generations and how reductions in morphological complexity lead to
increases in syntactic complexity, and vice versa. The authors state
that when languages with vastly different morphological structures,
like Ukrainian and English, merge in a heritage speaker's mind, the
resulting heritage grammar tends to simplify its morphology. As a
result, this simplification often leads to an increased complexity on
syntax. By using information-theoretic metrics, the study of
word-order and word-structure complexity in heritage languages
provides evidence for complexity trade-offs, in such a way that
certain aspects of heritage languages become more complex, while
others simplify.
Chapter 7 is a study that examines patterns of change in various
heritage languages that result in two properties. Firstly,
monotonicity (monotonicity bias), the property of a function that
consistently increases or decreases without changing direction.
Secondly, uniformity in computation, that is, consistency of rules or
operations across different inputs or structures. Heritage languages
tend to simplify in the areas of language related to grammar and
feature simplification of semantic complexity in the inflectional
system. Examining complexity and variation in sequence at
word-internal level and sequence at sentence level from different
heritage languages, D’ Alessandro and Terenghi find that when a
sequence of linguistic features includes different values, the point
where the change happens (the "switching point") marks the beginning
of structural shifts in heritage languages. Ultimately, the main cause
of syntactic change in heritage languages appears to be complexity, as
speakers tend to favor simpler, more consistent (monotonic) structures
in their speech.
EVALUATION
This book contains a very complete and adequate review of the idea of
complexity in the configuration and manifestation of languages,
specifically heritage languages. Although there is no single
definition, a heritage language can be understood as a language
acquired from childhood and spoken at home that is not the dominant
language in the society in which its speakers live (Rothman 2009,
Polinsky 2018, Montrul 2016). We speak of a bilingual system to the
extent that two languages, one dominant and the other non-dominant
from a social point of view, coexist in the reality of the speakers.
The link between HL and complexity is provided by the misconception
that they are linguistically "simpler" or more simplified than their
traditional counterparts, whose grammars evolve in isolation from any
influence. This point of view opens the door to a more concrete and
detailed study of inherited grammars, as well as linguistic phenomena
arising from language contact, such as code-switching, borrowing,
grammaticalization processes, etc.
Chapter 1, as an introduction, presents in a concentrated but detailed
manner the different treatments of complexity. First, complexity must
be understood across various levels, including phonetics and
underlying phonological structures, morphology and morphosyntax,
semantics and vocabulary, as well as dialects and registers. This
chapter gathers diverse approaches from which complexity can be
understood, and the literature review permits the reader to understand
complexity in broad strokes. These key elements that characterize the
concept prepare the reader to dive into the six studies presented in
the book, in which complexity is studied in different linguistic
systems and from different perspectives.
The studies in the book have a very similar division of sections
(introduction, methodology, discussion and conclusions), but they
differ in the way the content is distributed within them. Chapter 2
starts with an introduction where the authors state the objective of
the research, the hypotheses from which they start and the
contribution made to the field of study, which, in addition, raises
questions that could be of interest for future research. The second
section constitutes the theoretical framework on which the study is
based, giving specific examples of the linguistic constructions that
have been analyzed and explaining how they work from the dimension of
complexity. The framework is followed by a methodology section, which
explains the procedures followed in the research, such as recruitment
of participants, tasks performed in the experiments and data
collection. In the next section we have the results displayed
numerically in graphs and described, followed by a discussion, where
the research questions are satisfactorily resolved and demonstrated by
the data obtained, and a conclusion indicating possible directions for
future research that may be significant to the field of study.
Chapter 6 has a very similar structure. In the introduction the
authors explain in short how to measure complexity and some features
of the complexity in grammars, beside the information regarding the
aim of the study and how they organized the information. The
‘Background’ section is reserved to specify the type of complexity
they have analyzed and to expose the studies whose frameworks were
taken to carry on the present research. This is followed by a
methodology section explaining the data collected and the measurement
processes. Then there are results and discussion with conclusions
sections.
The organization is slightly different in Chapter 4, since the
introduction starts with diverse approaches to heritage languages and
complexity variation in order to contextualize and defend the point of
view that Lakeko adopts to carry out her analysis. In the theoretical
framework, she presents a description of different work done with
similar objectives to this one. Subsequently, she states that there is
no agreement in the matter (taking an impartial vision), the research
is not abundant, and studies focused on the case of Russian are
practically nonexistent. This is interesting because it helps her to
objectively defend that his study is relevant to the field. Besides,
in this chapter the hypothesis and research questions are explained in
detail in the methodology section, and the discussion and conclusions
are exposed together in the last section.
The research presented in Chapters 5 and 7 differs from the others in
the sense that they are a theoretical study rather than experimental.
Therefore, at the structural level, the clearest difference is that it
does not have a methodology section. In Chapter 5 the authors display
an extended theory about how complexity manifests in agglutinate
heritage languages, with the aim of integrating existing theoretical
analyses of heritage language morphology with discussions on their
linguistic complexity. On the other hand, in Chapter 7, instead of
analyzing the complexity procedures in specific heritage languages,
proposes new ways to measure this phenomenon in HL in general, based
on the monotonicity bias principle.
Although a certain uniformity is observed in the structure of the
studies presented in the book, it is interesting to highlight that
only Chapter 3 has a different organization. This study exposes first
the methodology, and the data extracted from the four types of
Portuguese constructions observed. The functioning of these linguistic
expressions, from a monolingual and bilingual perspective is then
explained. Consequently, the literature review appears after the
results, which contrasts with the rest of the chapters. However, given
that the introduction already outlines the research questions and the
four types of complexity examined, this structure allows for a more
immediate understanding of how these complexities are analyzed in
practice. By first laying out the data, participant profiles, and
analytical procedures, the study ensures that the subsequent
discussion on monolingual and bilingual acquisition is better
contextualized.
Taken together, the clear, coherent and consistent structure of the
chapters is particularly effective in a volume like this one, where
multiple studies are presented. This format allows readers to quickly
identify the research questions, understand the linguistic phenomena
under analysis, and follow how data from heritage speakers are
interpreted. For instance, the methodology sections often provide
detailed descriptions of participant profiles and elicitation tasks,
which is especially valuable in heritage language research, where
population and context vary greatly.
In terms of content, each chapter in the volume offers a clearly
defined context and a well-developed theoretical framework, which
allows readers to grasp the linguistic phenomenon under analysis, even
if they are not specialists in the field. The methodological approach
in each study is also explained in detail, often including formal
representations, formulas, etc., to enhance clarity. Moreover, every
key concept introduced for the first time is thoroughly explained,
ensuring maximum accessibility and understanding for a broad audience.
Furthermore, each chapter offers a discussion of linguistic complexity
from different perspectives, such as its defining features, the ways
it can be measured, and the implications it has for linguistic
analysis. This multifaceted approach ensures that the reader
constantly remains aware of what is meant by complexity throughout the
book. As a result, there is no need to revisit earlier chapters or
sections to recall definitions or conceptual clarifications.
Similarly, a definition of heritage speakers is always provided in
each contribution, and this thoughtful repetition enhances the
accessibility and coherence of the volume, particularly for readers
who may choose to read the chapters independently or out of order.
In sum, this book offers a comprehensive and insightful overview of
linguistic complexity in heritage languages. By addressing this
phenomenon from multiple perspectives, it not only deepens our
understanding of its various dimensions but also opens the door to
future research that may propose new ways of measuring complexity.
Furthermore, the diverse studies included in the volume provide
valuable groundwork for the development of pedagogical methodologies
that are sensitive to the specific challenges heritage language
learners may face in the classroom.
REFERENCES
Montrul, S. (2016). The acquisition of heritage languages. Cambridge
University Press.
Polinsky, M. (2018). Heritage languages and their speakers (Vol. 159).
Cambridge University Press.
Rothman, J. (2009). Understanding the nature and outcomes of early
bilingualism: Romance languages as heritage languages. International
journal of bilingualism, 13(2), 155-163.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Laura Domínguez Solera is a Ph.D student in the Department of Spanish
and Portuguese Studies at the University of Florida. Holding a degree
in Hispanic Philology and a master’s in Spanish as a Second Language,
both from the Complutense University of Madrid, she has extensive
training and experience in teaching Spanish as a foreign language at
various educational levels in Spain, the United Kingdom, and the US.
She is currently teaching Spanish courses to undergraduate students at
the University of Florida.



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