Morpho-Syntactic Development of Heritage Language: a study of young bilingual children

• In Event: Facing Contemporary Multilingualism

Abstract

While extensive research has focused on children’s acquisition of dominant languages, limited attention has been given to the development of heritage languages in multilingual contexts (Polinsky 2016). Despite parental support and educational assistance, bilingual children, especially those with Lithuanian as their heritage language (HL) and English as their second language (L2), exhibit varied proficiency levels and diverse developmental trajectories in acquiring morphological structures.
This study investigates morpho-syntactic transformations in Lithuanian within a group of 40 typically developing bilingual children. The analysis, based on data obtained from semi-spontaneous and experimental tasks, specifically examines noun and verb morphology. While some similarities were observed compared to a controlled monolingual group, the study also highlights differences in the types and quantities of morphological deviations.
Drawing on theories of language contact, particularly language transfer (Montrul 2022, Polinsky 2018), this research sheds light on how bilingual speakers’ languages interact differentially across linguistic domains, leading to systematic changes in the heritage language. The findings underscore the profound impact of limited linguistic input on vulnerable linguistic categories within the development of heritage languages in children. By providing insights into the morpho-syntactic challenges faced by bilingual Lithuanian-English children, this study contributes to our understanding of heritage language development in multilingual settings.

Short Bio

Dr. Ineta Dabašinskienė is Professor of Linguistics at the Department of Lithuanian Studies and Head of the Research Centre for Multilingualism at Vytautas Magnus University. Her research interests include, but are not limited to language policy and multilingualism, monolingual and bilingual language acquisition, heritage language, language education, as well as grammar and pragmatics of spoken language.

Author

• Ineta Dabašinskienė, Vytautas Magnus University