Marie-Michelle Monéreau-Merry MS, MPhil, CCC-SLP Loraine K. Obler, Ph.D Maria Polinsky, Ph.D

Marie-Michelle Monreau-MerryMS, MPhil, CCC-SLPLoraine K. Obler, Ph.DMaria Polinsky, Ph.DMartin Gitterman, Ph.D

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Incomplete Acquisition in a LanguageLate language learnersEarly learnersHeritage Speakers a) Broad definition b) Narrow definition

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Developmental Path of the Heritage Language Among U.S. Born Heritage Speakers*

Continuum Among Heritage Speakers(Polinsky & Kagan, 2007) *Baseline

Sudden Language Interruption (Pallier et al.,2008)*

Problematic Areas in the Heritage LanguageSemi-literate or illiterate in the heritage language (Montrul, 2008)Limited vocabulary skillsReduced speech rate when compared to native speakers (Polinsky, 2008)Difficulty with gender inflection (Anderson, 2001; Silva-Corvaln, 2003; Polinsky, 2008) Poor control of morphology (Sekerina, 2005; Montrul, 2008)

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Section II:

Heritage language of study Haitian-CreoleGenesis of Haitian-Creole*

Haitian-CreoleBona fide language in par with French (DeGraff, 2000)Developed on the island of Haiti (Saint-Domingue)Haitian-Creole is a combination of a 17th and 18th century French variety and West African languages.*

Genesis of Haitian-CreoleLanguage bioprogram hypothesis (Bickerton, 1984) Basilectilization process (Chaudenson, 1992)Relexification hypothesis (Lefebvre, 1999)*

Post-Nominal DeterminersA hallmark of French Creoles around the world is post-nominal determiners.Post-nominal determiners in Haitian-Creole may be evidence of first language interference by adult Africans who were attempting to acquire the French variety (LeFebvre,1996).

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Comparative Syntax

Haitian-Creole

Fongbe

M manje krab la. I eat crab (Det)TranslationI ate the crab. (in question/that we know of).

N du ason o. I eat crab (Det)TranslationI ate the crab. (in question/that we know of)

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Comparative SyntaxHaitian-CreoleStandard French

pwason anfish the (det) Translation the fish

le poissonthe (det) fishTranslation the fish

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Section III

Definite articles in Haitian-Creole*

Definite Article RulesIf a word ends in a nasal consonant the definite article is nan or *lan.If a word ends with a nasal vowel or if the final vowel is preceded by a nasal consonant, the definite article is an.If the word ends in a non-nasal vowel, than the definite article is *a or in some regions it is *anOtherwise la/lan is utilized.*

If the final position of the word is a nasal consonant, the correct phonological form of the definite article becomes nan: Kann nan *Kann lan*

AnIf the final position of the word is an oral vowel and is preceded by a nasal consonant, the correct phonological form of the definite article becomes an: Fami an

*

AnIf the final position of the word is a nasal vowel, the phonological form of the definite article becomes an: Chyen an *

AIf the last sound of the word is an oral vowel and is preceded by an oral consonant, the correct phonological form of the definite article becomes a: Krapo a *Krapo an

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If the last sound of the word is a consonant and is preceded by an oral vowel, it becomes la: *Chat laChat lan

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Section III:

Purpose of the studyResearch questionsPredictions

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Research Question I Are there differences in the production of the morphophonological form of the definite articles during a translation task comparing two groups of early learners of Haitian-Creole?

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Prediction I The responses of the heritage speakers during the definite article translation task, will differ from the responses of the native speakers.

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Prediction I cont.Heritage speakers will reanalyze the definite articles as characterized by omission and substitution differences, and native speakers will perform at ceiling or near ceiling level. *

Research Question IIAre there differences in the definite article recognition task, between the two groups of early learners of HC, whereby the participants will be required to select the definite articles that correspond with the same forty-four nouns as in the translation task?

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Prediction II In the definite article recognition task, the heritage speakers, as a group, will perform significantly better than they did on the translation task, however not at ceiling. *

Prediction II cont.Their correct responses will not be characterized with automaticity. By contrast, the native speakers responses will be accurate and immediate.

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Research Question III Are there differences in the frequency of definite articles produced, between the two groups of early learners of HC, during a narrative discourse task?

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Prediction III There will be significant differences between heritage speakers and native speakers in the production of definite articles during the narrative discourse task. Heritage speakers will produce fewer definite articles than native speakers, and demonstrate deletion and substitution errors.

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Summary The heritage speakers will deviate from the native controls in the following categories:Translation of sentences with definite articlesSelecting the definite articles that correspond with the nounsProducing and employing definite articles correctly during narrative discourse*

Section IV

ParticipantsResearch Design

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Participants5 Heritage Speakers of HCBilinguals

2 Native Speakers of HCTrilingual

Age (29-35)M = 30.0 (SD =1.0)M = 32.0 (SD =4.2)Sex M: 2 / F: 3F: 2

EducationHigh: 4 / Medium: 1College education and graduate school for those with high education. Three years of college for the participant with medium education.

2 : High educationFrench Medium Elementary and High SchoolCollege and Professional School in the U.S.

Length of residency in the U.S.U.S. born (dominant in English)12 years AOA to U.S.: 18

(i) Socio-economic status during childhood and adulthood

(ii) Attending church services during childhood and adulthood conducted in ethnic languages (iii) Age of arrival of parents to the U.S

(iv) Residing with a non-English speaking grandparent during childhood

(v)Experiences with translation

(vi) Attitude towards the heritage language

(vii) Residing in a community with a significant population of Haitian-Americans during childhood and adulthood

(viii) Proficiency in Haitian-Creole and French

(ix) Educational attainment of the participants

(x) Personal ethnic identity

(xi) Literacy in the heritage languages

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Social Language DataPilot data collected from the social language questionnaire form indicated that 80% of the heritage speakers reported that they were literate in the heritage language, and during their childhood they attended religious services conducted in the ethnic language. In addition, they also indicated that they resided with non-English speaking grandparents during their childhood. All participants indicated they had experience with translation.

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Translated responses were analyzed as: (i) correct/incorrect (ii) types of reanalysis (e.g., omissions and substitutions) (iii) form distribution of reanalysis

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Task 2Participants were instructed to select the definite articles that corresponded with the same forty-four nouns as in the first task. Five trial items of the definite articles were presented with each noun (e.g., a, an, nan, la, lan).

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Task 2: contThe CatChat aChat anChat nanChat laChat lan*

Task 2: ScoringResponses were measured in the following categories: (i) immediately correct (ii) correct after a short pause (5 sec) (iii) correct after a longer pause (more than 5 sec) (iv) incorrect (v) uncertain

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*Narrative Discourse

Section V:

Results *

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Chart1

29

33

26

27

31

41

44

Definite Article

Score

Sheet1

SubjectsDef. Artpic nam# of pages#def artError in def articleLexical Borrowing

HSP129/4439/76396601

HSP233/4441/76415207

HSP326/4435/76352810

HSP427/4435/76356400

HSP531/4442/764210500

NSP641/4460/76602400

NSP744/4457/76572500

Definite ArticleNumber of PagesNumber Definite ArticlesErrors in Definite ArticlesLexical Borrowing

HSP129

HSP233

HSP326

HSP427

HSP531/

NSP641

NSP744

29

33

26

27

31

41

44

Sheet2

Sheet3

* Substitution choices

TargetDefiniteArticlesla/lanaannanla/lan11a3an1nan13 (la)

Summary of Translation TaskHeritage speakers produce reanalysis on definite articlesDeletionsSubstitutionsNan was more vulnerable to reanalysisLa/lan were less susceptible to reanalysis

*

*(Z= -1.95, p= 0.051)

Errors

523

210

120

70

20

00

Heritage

Native

Type

Sum of Errors

Total Number of Errors by Language Origin

Score

34.25.72

440

Average Score

Speaker

Average Score

Native vs. Heritage: Average Definite Article Judgement Score

Sheet1

IDLanguageAgeGenderScoreDeletionsSubstitutionsCueingLexical BorrowingInterferenceTranslateTotal

1Heritage29Male2895722025


3Heritage31Female26144210021



6Native29Female413000003


552112720

TOTALSDeletionsSubstitutionsPhonemic CueingLexical BorrowingInterferenceTranslate

NativeHeritage522112720

HeritageNative300000

552112720

Average ScoreSD

Heritage Speakers34.25.72

Native Speakers440

Sheet2

Sheet3

*

Chart1

38

41

30

27

35

44

44

Definite Article

Participants

Scores

Individual Responses

Sheet1


HSP129/4439/76396601

HSP233/4441/76415207

HSP326/4435/76352810

HSP427/4435/76356400

HSP531/4442/764210500

NSP641/4460/76602400

NSP744/4457/76572500


HSP138

HSP241

HSP330

HSP427

HSP535/

NSP644

NSP744

29

33

26

27

31

41

44

Sheet2

Sheet3

*

Chart1

290

80

10

130

Heritage

Native

Distribution of Errors/Differences on the Recognition Task

Score

32.97.06

376.69

Average Score

Task

Average Score

Definite Article Translation vs. Judgement Scores

Sheet1









552112720

TOTALSaanla/lannan


HeritageNative0000

298113

Average ScoreSD

Translation32.97.06

Judgement376.69

Sheet2

Sheet3

Patterns of Substitution*

Target Definite ArticlesLa/lanaannanLa/lana26an5 (la)12nan11 (la)3

*Translation vs. Recognition Task(Z= -1.84, p= 0.066)

Chart1

297.06

34.26.69

Average Score

Average Score

Errors

523

210

120

70

20

00

Heritage

Native

Type

Sum of Errors


Sheet1









552112720




552112720

Average ScoreSD

Translation297.06

Recognition34.26.69

Sheet2

Sheet3

SummaryHeritage speakers reanalyzed the definite articles that corresponded to the nouns.The definite articles a and nan were more vulnerable to reanalysis than la/lan.Heritage speakers performed more comparable to the natives on the recognition task than on the translation task.However they required multiple repetitions and demonstrated greater processing time in selecting the definite articles.

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Task III: Narrative Discourse*

Reanalysis of Definite Articles*(z = -2.02, p = 0.04)

Chart1

3.44.82

00

Average Score

Average Score

Reanalysis of Definite Articles

Errors

523

210

120

70

20

00

Heritage

Native

Type

Sum of Errors


Sheet1









552112720




552112720

Average ScoreSD


Native Speakers00

Sheet2

Sheet3

*

Chart1

1

1

12

1

2

0

0

Definite Article

Participants

Scores

Reanalysis of Definite Articles

Sheet1


HSP129/4439/76396601

HSP233/4441/76415207

HSP326/4435/76352810

HSP427/4435/76356400

HSP531/4442/764210500

NSP641/4460/76602400

NSP744/4457/76572500


HSP11

HSP21

HSP312

HSP41

HSP52/

NSP60

NSP70

29

33

26

27

31

41

44

Sheet2

Sheet3

*

Chart1

6.31

5.35

9.1

2.11

3.51

11.21

10.29

Definite Article

Time

Time Frame to Tell the Story

Sheet1


HSP129/4439/76396601

HSP233/4441/76415207

HSP326/4435/76352810

HSP427/4435/76356400

HSP531/4442/764210500

NSP641/4460/76602400

NSP744/4457/76572500


HSP16.31

HSP25.35

HSP39.1

HSP42.11

HSP53.51/

NSP611.21

NSP710.29

29

33

26

27

31

41

44

Sheet2

Sheet3

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ParticipantsWords Produced During Narrative DiscourseWords Produced During the First MinuteHS162991HS257665HS382786HS419787HS527872NS 1940102NS2943101

Section VI

DiscussionClinical Implications*

DiscussionConsistent with the review of the literature on heritage speakers, the results of this study suggest that heritage speakers have poor control of morphology. Despite exposure to Haitian-Creole during their childhood, heritage speakers from this cohort, differed in the production of the definite articles.

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DiscussionSome definite articles were more vulnerable to reanalysis than others (eg., a, nan). Substitution choice among the heritage speakers were the definite articles la/lan.Incomplete acquisition or language attrition?Emergence of a new variety among New York second Haitian-Americans?

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ConclusionImportant to study the pediatric population of this ethnolinguistic group to gain clarity on the developmental path of the heritage language.These findings will permit educators to provide appropriate services to: i) school age immigrant children ii) U.S. born school age heritage speakers

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AcknowledgementsDr. Loraine K.Obler Dr. Maria PolinskyDr. Robert MathesisDr. Irina SekerinaDr. Martin GittermanDr. Gail SmithE. Vincent Merry Esq.Isaiah and Pierre MerryMarie-Lourdes Neree MonreauCarolyne Monereau-St. LouisYoungmi ParkParticipants*

*Mesi anpil!Merci beaucoup!Thank you very much!

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Errors

523

210

120

70

20

00

Heritage

Native

Type

Sum of Errors


Score

8.610.2

00

Average Score

Speaker

Average Score

Native vs. Heritage: Lexical Borrowing from the English Language

Sheet1









552112720




552112720

Average ScoreSD


Native Speakers00

Sheet2

Sheet3

*

Naming

26

7

7

0

3

0

0

Definite Article

Participants

Scores

Lexical Borrowing Using English Language

Sheet1


HSP129/4439/76396601

HSP233/4441/76415207

HSP326/4435/76352810

HSP427/4435/76356400

HSP531/4442/764210500

NSP641/4460/76602400

NSP744/4457/76572500


HSP126

HSP27

HSP37

HSP40

HSP53/

NSP60

NSP70

29

33

26

27

31

41

44

Sheet2

Sheet3

*In extreme cases a heritage language can completely attrite with sudden language interruption.*Partial mastery of grammatical rules. Sekerina 2005: eye-tracking study of heritage speakers of RussianReading structural ambiguities in Russian monolinguals and heritage speakers

*Definite articles are a hallmark of French Creoles around the world. They are unique in HC because they are phonologically governed.*973-2891306*********When the heritage speakers perform substitution errors, what definite articles are they **They completed the story in a relatively shorter time frame than HS3.*Partial mastery of the definite articles.*973 887 5143*

Marie-Michelle Monéreau-Merry MS, MPhil, CCC-SLP Loraine K. Obler, Ph.D Maria Polinsky, Ph.D

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Transcript of Marie-Michelle Monéreau-Merry MS, MPhil, CCC-SLP Loraine K. Obler, Ph.D Maria Polinsky, Ph.D