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Spanish Heritage Speakers’ Perspectives sobre el español, inglés, y Spanglish: A Mixed-Methods Study
No full textSometimes defined as US Spanish or the combination of Spanish-English (Fuller & Leeman, 2020), Spanglish is a controversial term since certain institutions (RAE, 2014) have assigned it pejorative connotations. Although academic and larger societal attitudes towards Spanglish are known (e.g., Otheguy & Stern, 2011; Zentella, 2016), the literature lacks information about how Spanish heritage speakers (SHS) perceive it compared to standardized uses of Spanish and English.
Taking this knowledge gap into consideration, the present study explores 38 SHS’ attitudes (enrolled in an undergraduate SHS class at the time of study) towards Spanish, English, and Spanglish. Participants first completed a matched-guise test that included Spanish, English, and Spanglish oral guises by two SHS. Participants rated the guises on 6-point semantic differential scales: Uneducated-Educated, Unintelligent-Intelligent, Lower class-Upper class, Non-US citizen-US citizen, Ugly-Beautiful, and Native Spanish speaker-Native English speaker. Then, participants answered four explicit open-ended questions to express their views on the use of these three language practices. This mixed-methods study considers four independent predictors: previous SHS instruction, linguistic profile, birth country, and SES.
Statistical analyses in the matched-guise test (factor analysis and ordinal regressions) indicate that Spanglish is significantly more associated with speakers of lower SES by US born participants, while Spanish is not considered as pertaining to the US. However, no statistical differences are observed for previous SHS instruction and linguistic profile. Regarding the explicit questions, a bottom-up thematic analysis revealed that Spanish in the US is mainly associated with having a Latin-American heritage and community belonging. Codeswitching or Spanglish is mainly perceived as normal, positive, and as an exposure-related practice despite less common negative perspectives are also present.
Henceforth, this paper suggests that, although explicit data might not show a trend of negative attitudes towards Spanish and Spanglish in the US per se, implicit data reveal the influence of hegemonic US language ideologies regardless, for instance, of previous SHS instruction. This indicates the necessity to explicitly acknowledge and revert negative linguistic ideologies in the classroom and encourage the use of varying linguistic practices by professors, so that non-standard forms are destigmatized, validated, and respected (Burgo, 2021; McEvoy, 2017)
Adverbial adventures: adult heritage Spanish speakers\u27 placement of adverbs by semantic class
Get PDFZagona (2002) identifies five classes of Spanish VP-adverbs and their syntactic distribution: Time adverbs (ayer) occupy any position (see (1), where x represents possible adverb location); Place adverbs (aquí) occupy any position, but their use in SVAdvO is restricted; Degree adverbs (casi) only appear in SAdvVO; and Manner (bien) and Quantity (mucho) adverbs only appear post-verbally. While this is a welcome theoretical account, it has not been fully examined in empirical studies, and research on adverb placement in Spanish heritage speakers (HSs) in general is limited. Camacho and Kirova (2018) found that adult HSs accepted adverbs both pre- and post-verbally, but preferred pre-verbal (SAdvVO). Gómez Alzate et al. (2023) examined frequency (time) and manner adverbs in heritage and monolingual Spanish children, and, related to the present study, found a preference for SVOAdv with manner adverbs in both populations.
(1) x – Subj – x – V – x – Obj – x (Zagona, 2002, p. 163)
Here we examine the distribution of place, degree, manner, and quantity adverbs (Table 1) in the Spanish of English-dominant adult HSs and a group of Spanish-dominant bilinguals. Participants (n=50) completed a Sentence Construction Task (SCT), an Acceptability Judgment Task (AJT), a standard proficiency measure, and the Bilingual Language Profile (Birdsong et al., 2012).
In the SCT, all groups most frequently place adverbs sentence-finally (SVOAdv), followed by SAdvVO, then SVAdvO, with minimal AdvSVO (Fig. 1). As proficiency increases, HSs are more likely to use SVOAdv and less likely to use SVAdvO. Across classes (Figs. 2-3), degree adverbs are placed most frequently in SAdvVO, while place and manner adverbs appear most in SVOAdv. Quantity adverbs appear most in SVOAdv for HSs, but in SVAdvO for Spanish-dominant participants. AJT results (Figs. 4-7) generally reflect the same patterns. All mean group ratings are highest in SAdvVO for degree adverbs, in SVOAdv for place and manner adverbs, and vary between SVAdvO and SVOAdv for quantity adverbs.
These results will be discussed in further detail, taking into consideration individual variation by participant and adverb, and considering the implications of the latter on the proposed classifications. Ultimately, our dataset is fairly consistent with Zagona (2002), but suggests these patterns emerge as tendencies, rather than absolutes, in the bilingual grammar
Sociolinguistic variation in Chilean Spanish: sensitivity to subtle sociophonetic traits in child language development
No full textPrevious studies show that the acquisition of sociolinguistic variation begins early in our lives. The process is mainly characterized by a strong correlation between the linguistic production of children and their main caregivers; and interestingly, that usage patterns depend on the type of variable under analysis in which both, linguistic and social factors are involved (Foulkes et al., 2005; Miller, 2013; Roberts 1994; Smith et al., 2007, 2009).
This study aims to analyze the acquisition and use of two of the most salient variable sociophonetic traits in Chilean Spanish: allophonic variation of /tʃ/ phoneme, and variable production of /tɾ/ consonant cluster. This is of relevance as: (a) it allows us to look at the acquisition of variation, considering fine-grained phonological details, (b) to explore potential language change-in-progress, and (c) according to our knowledge, there are no previous studies looking at how children acquire those variables, and how adults use them in child-directed speech (CDS).
Six child-mother dyads (ages 5;9-6;6) were audio-recorded in their houses over 4-5 one-hour sessions while they were interacting alone (i.e., playing, doing homework, preparing meals, etc.), using lavalier microphones. In order to compare usage patterns, we also recorded those mothers interacting with another adult (ADS). Each token was identified and manually delimited on Praat by native speakers of Chilean Spanish, while subsegmental acoustic measures were performed automatically using a Praat script. A total of 1,250 occurrences were analyzed and coded by linguistic and extralinguistic factors.
Our results reveal similar usage patterns between children and their mothers, in line with previous studies. Furthermore, this correlation is seen even at a subsegmental level, showing that children are sensitive to, and able to produce, very subtle sociophonetic traits. We did not find an effect for sex of the child speaking or being spoken to, but we found a geographic origin/residence effect: stereotypically stigmatized variants are produced by participants from rural areas; although, mother’s production is accommodated in CDS (cf. production in ADS). Finally, participants from urban areas produce variants that, at a subsegmental level, are closer to the prestigious ones, suggesting possible change in progress
Structural constraints in late L2 code-switching: Investigating the effect of acquisition order
No full textThis study explores late second language (L2) code-switching (CS) acceptability, specifically aiming to determine if late L2 bilinguals can acquire structural constraints that mirror those observed in bilinguals who acquire both languages at a young age. Although previous research has shown that these patterns can be acquired by L1-English L2-Spanish bilinguals (Giancaspro, 2015; Koronkiewicz, 2018; Toribio, 2001), there has not been a comparison that looks at bilinguals who learned the same two languages in different orders. As such, it is unclear whether acquisition order has an effect. This study seeks to test how widespread such CS restrictions are across bilingual groups with distinct backgrounds.
Two parallel groups of Spanish-English bilinguals who were late L2 learners of Spanish (n=38) or English (n=45) were compared alongside heritage speakers of Spanish (n=41) (i.e., 2L1 bilinguals). Participants completed an acceptability judgment task with a 7-point Likert scale where they evaluated two different types of code-switched sentence restrictions (Koronkiewicz, 2020, 2022), subject-pronoun switches (n=24) (1) and adverb-order switches (n=24) (2), which were randomized alongside filler stimuli (n=27).
(1) a. Juana cree que yo vivo near the beach.‘Juana thinks that I live near the beach.’
b. * Juana cree que yo live near the beach.‘Juana thinks that I live near the beach.’
(2) a. Henry carefully lee las instrucciones.‘Juana thinks that I live near the beach.’
b. * Antonio lee carefully the instructions.‘Juana thinks that I live near the beach.’
Full data analysis is ongoing, but the preliminary results suggest consistency across all groups in distinguishing between grammatical and ungrammatical CS. Age of acquisition and order of acquisition does not seem to influence acceptability patterns. These findings suggest that there is a convergence in the acquisition of such structural constraints on CS even despite the different language backgrounds. Ultimately, this study enhances our understanding of bilingual competence, by first confirming that the previous findings regarding late L2 CS were not specific to a particular acquisition order. It also demonstrates the robustness of certain CS restrictions across varied bilingual experiences, reaffirming the non-arbitrary nature in which many bilinguals mix their languages.
References
Giancaspro, D. (2015). Code-switching at the auxiliary-VP boundary: A comparison of heritage speakers and L2 learners. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 5(3), 379-407. https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.5.3.04gia
Koronkiewicz, B. (2018). Acquiring L1-English L2-Spanish code-switching: The role of exposure to language mixing. Languages, 3(3), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages3030026
Koronkiewicz, B. (2020). Subject-predicate code-switching: Testing the need of a matrix language through embedding. In A. Morales-Front, M. J. Ferreira, R. P. Leow, & C. Sanz (Eds.), Hispanic linguistics: Current issues and new directions (pp. 249-264). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.26.12kor
Koronkiewicz, B. (2022). Adverbs in Spanish-English code-switching: Comparing verb raising and non-raising. International Journal of Bilingualism 26(2), 227-254. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069211057955
Toribio, A. J. (2001). On the emergence of bilingual code-switching competence. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4(3), 203-231. https://doi.org/10.1017/S136672890100041
Gradience vs. Categories: Compensatory Voiced Fricatives and the role of duration in Western Andalusian Spanish
Get PDFThis paper examines the role of duration in the perception of Compensatory Voiced Fricatives (CFVs) [v ð ɣ] in Western Andalusian Spanish (WAS). These allophones result from the interaction of two phonological processes in WAS, the debuccalization of /s/ and spirantization of /b d g/. In a previous project, we observed that the sequence [u.na.β̞a.ka] versus [u.na.va.ka] resulted in the strong association of plural with the labiodental fricative productions. We showed that a singleton fricative connotes a phonological /s/, which implies new fricative allophones that phonologically compensate for the lost /s/. In an examination of the production of the CVFs, we also found that these fricative productions had a longer duration than their approximant counterparts.
The current paper seeks to investigate the role of duration in the phonological categorization of CVFs in WAS using a Visual Analog Slider task. Two voice actors recorded six word types of /b d g/ using singular-plural triplets (e.g., [u.na.β̞a.ka] versus [u.na.va.ka] versus [u.nas.β̞a.kas]). The duration of fricative productions was modified to create five versions of each word type with an increment of 15ms. (i.e., 30ms., 45ms., 60ms., 75ms., 90ms.). The approximant and overt /s/ + /b d g/ productions remained unmodified to serve as comparison. 21 participants completed an online questionnaire where they listened to each stimulus at a time, and then dragged and dropped a slider that ranged from 100% singular in the left side to 100% plural in the right side (Figure 1).
Results show that while the unmodified approximant [β̞ ð̞ ɣ̞] and overt /s/+ /b d g/ productions were identified as 100% singular and 100% plural respectively, fricative segments with a shorter duration (30 ms. and 45 ms.) were associated with the singular form of the tokens, and fricative segments with longer duration (75 ms. and 90 ms) were mostly identified as plural (Figure 2). These results suggest that it is not a simple matter of approximant vs. fricative production to differentiate between singular and plural tokens in WAS, but that the duration of the fricative segment plays a crucial role in the phonological discrimination of both sounds
Tod@/e/xs opinan: Actitudes implícitas hacia el lenguaje inclusivo en español
No full textEl lenguaje inclusivo (LI) se define como el uso de la lengua que reconoce la diversidad, expresa respeto hacia todas las personas, es sensible a las diferencias, y promueve igualdad de oportunidades (Linguistic Society of America, 2016). Esta es un área de investigación en auge en parte debido a crecientes fuerzas en contra del sexismo, desigualdad, y discriminación. Por ejemplo, el español siendo una lengua que distingue entre sustantivos masculinos y femeninos, no cuenta con ninguna forma ni método de expresar la identidad de género no binario de forma prescriptiva (Papadopoulos, 2022). Al respecto se han publicado varios trabajos narrativos y descriptivos (e.g., Papadopoulos, 2022; Parra & Serafini, 2022), pero no son muchos los que han centrado su atención en las actitudes que hablantes y aprendices del español tienen hacia el LI de forma sistemática y con métodos empíricos (e.g., Michnowicz et al., 2023; Rodríguez Iglesias, 2018).
Considerando esta falta de investigación, este estudio explora las actitudes hacia las diversas formas de uso del LI en español (-@, -e, -x, y -o/a) y las compara con el uso por defecto del masculino (-o). Estudiantes de español en una universidad estadounidense (N = 114) completaron una encuesta de técnica imitativa usando una escala de diferencial semántico con 6 puntos. Además, los participantes contestaron preguntas explícitas sobre las actitudes hacia cada forma de LI.
Los resultados estadísticos (análisis factorial y regresiones lineales) indican la existencia de interacciones significativas entre la variable dependiente y los cinco indicadores sociales extraídos de los participantes: género, orientación sexual, nivel de español, opinión política, y uso del LI por parte del docente. Concretamente, el uso de -e es percibido como el uso más inclusivo, mientras que -o es considerado como poco inclusivo. Por su parte, las otras formas no-binarias también son consideradas como inclusivas, aunque menos que -e. Por tanto, los resultados de la técnica imitativa, junto con el análisis temático de las actitudes explícitas, sugieren que los estudiantes de español son sensibles hacia las formas de LI en español, percibiéndolas de forma positiva y con distintos grados de inclusividad dependiendo de su forma
Eye-tracking shows that digital training improves L2 learning of stress-suffix associations
Get PDFProsody assists us in parsing continuous speech and recognize words. For instance, native speakers use prosodic information such as tone and stress to predict word endings (see Roll et al., 2022, for a review). In contrast, beginning L2 learners struggle perceiving L2 prosodic cues used differently in their L1 (e.g., Sagarra & Sagarra, 2018). Prosody is often neglected in L2 classrooms (Gosselke Berthelsen et al., 2023), but Schremm et al. (2017) found that digital gaming improved L1 non-tonal beginning learners of a tonal L2 acquire L2 tone-suffix associations. Since this improvement could be due to practice effects, tone learning, or only segmentals, we asked L2 learners to complete an eye-tracking pretest/posttest that assessed their ability to apply what they learned in the digital game to new instances, we examined another segmental—lexical stress (oxytone, paroxytone)—, and we explored a suprasegmental—syllabic structure (CV, CVC).
Twenty L1 English-L2 Spanish beginning learners played a digital game for 15 minutes per day for ten days. Participants heard the beginning of a sentence cut at the verb’s initial syllable (la amiga pes- ‘the friend weigh-”), selected a present or a past suffix, and received feedback. Before and after training, participants completed an eye-tracking task assessing their ability to use the stress of a Spanish disyllabic verb’s first syllable to predict the verb’s suffix. None of the target verbs in the eye-tracking tasks were part of the training.
Generalized Additive Mixed Models (GAMMs) revealed that playing the digital game increased accuracy and decreased reaction times. Furthermore, before playing the game, learners did not use prosodic information to make stress-suffix associations, but after playing the game, learners anticipated word endings in the CVC oxytone condition, which represents the less frequent pattern. This result aligns with previous studies showing that predictive processing is facilitated when cues are associated with fewer lexical competitors. These findings suggest that training can help L2 learners gain more nativelike predictive processing. The data support models positing that L2 learners can acquire segmentals and suprasegmentals different from their L1 and that prosody influences lexical access Keywords: second language learners; prosody; training, prediction.
References
Gosselke Berthelsen, S., & Roll, M. (2023). Computer-aided L2 prosody acquisition and its potential in second language learning. ASLA:s skriftserie, 30, 157-182. https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/30c68231-a9fc-4e16-bc20-cdc015ebd7e8
Roll, M. (2022). The predictive function of Swedish word accents. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 910787. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.910787
Sagarra, N., & Casillas, J. V. (2018). Suprasegmental information cues morphological anticipation during L1/L2 lexical access. Journal of Second Language Studies, 1(1), 31-59. https://doi.org/10.1075/jsls.17026.sag
Schremm, A., Hed, A., Horne, M., & Roll, M. (2017). Training predictive L2 processing with a digital game: Prototype promotes acquisition of anticipatory use of tone-suffix associations. Computers & Education, 114, 206-221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.07.00
An exploration of anxiety sources in study abroad contexts through a qualitative lens
No full textTraditionally, the study abroad (SA) context has been assumed to be the most beneficial for language learning (Freed, 1998). However, research has shown that immersion alone does not guarantee acquisition (Sanz & Morales-Front, 2018), and that external factors such as the amount and quality of feedback (Bryfonski & Mackey, 2018; Bryfonski & Sanz, 2018) and program features (Stewart, 2010), but also individual differences, such as race and ethnicity (Quan, 2018) and emotions (McGregor, 2014) can affect the learning process. Within emotions, anxiety, which is commonly understood as negative for the acquisition of languages (Teimuri et al., 2019; Yashima et al., 2018), has received the most attention in the context of language instruction (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014). The topic has also gained interest among SA researchers, who have identified factors associated with anxiety such as destination, proficiency level, and previous experience abroad (Anya, 2018; Dewey et al., 2018; Thompson & Lee, 2014). To date, however, the relative weight of those and other factors as well as their potential relationship with each other remains to be investigated.
The present study analyzes the occurrence of anxiety themes in journals and their relation with factors from the Language Contact Profile (LCP: Freed et al., 2004). Through the creation of ID clusters for qualitative cluster analysis, this study seeks to achieve two objectives: (a) to identify sources of anxiety, and (b) to understand the relationships among anxiety sources and selected factors from the LCP. Data were collected from intermediate/advanced undergraduate students participating in 5-6 week programs in Spain and Ecuador. Results show that for this sample, target language use, academic demands, and features of program design are the most common anxiety sources in the SA experience. Relationships between anxiety sources and LCP factors suggest connections with destination and language-related aspects, but not previous SA experience
Learning to See: Wittgenstein and Perception in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line
Get PDFThis paper reflects on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s influence on the work of filmmaker Terrence Malick. After calling attention to the connection between the American director and the Austrian philosopher, I note central components of Wittgenstein’s philosophical aims, particularly highlighting his comments on “aspect change,” his methodology of difficulty, and his linking of the ethical and aesthetic as “transcendental.” With these insights in hand, and following recent scholarship on Malick’s cinematic ethics, the paper examines Malick’s 1998 film The Thin Red Line as an exemplary case for considering Malick as a filmmaker fundamentally concerned with ways of seeing the world. The analysis of this theme in the film centers on the alternative perspectives of Sergeant Welsh and Private Witt. In closing, this paper examines the ethical ends of these opposing visions and the way Malick’s depiction of them allows one to see them as perspectives
My Father\u27s Daughter
Get PDFThis is a film review of My Father\u27s Daughter (2024), directed by Egil Pedersen