The Acquisition Of Heritage Languages

The Acquisition of Heritage Languages is a recent area of focus in linguistics and applied linguistics, which examines the development of minority languages spoken by native speakers at home. Due to societal pressure, these heritage languages may not fully develop. This field of study looks at the grammatical development and learning trajectory of heritage speakers, drawing from recent experimental research. The book provides a global perspective and includes examples from heritage languages worldwide. It is written in an accessible style and is recommended for professionals, students, and researchers in sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, education, language policies, and language teaching.

Heritage speakers are native speakers of a minority language they learn at home, but due to socio-political pressure from the majority language spoken in their community, their heritage language does not fully develop. In the last decade, the acquisition of heritage languages has become a central focus of study within linguistics and applied linguistics. This work centres on the grammatical development of the heritage language and the language learning trajectory of heritage speakers, synthesizing recent experimental research. The Acquisition of Heritage Languages offers a global perspective, with a wealth of examples from heritage languages around the world. Written in an accessible style, this authoritative and up-to-date text is essential reading for professionals, students, and researchers of all levels working in the fields of sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, education, language policies and language teaching.