Identity, accent aim, and motivation in second language users: New Scottish Gaelic speakers’ use of phonetic variation

Abstract

This paper examines the use of phonetic variation in word-final rhotics among nineteen adult new speakers of Scottish Gaelic, i.e. speakers who did not acquire the language through intergenerational transmission. Our speakers learned Gaelic as adults and are now highly advanced users of the language. We consider variation in their rhotic productions compared to the productions of six older, traditional speakers. Previous approaches to variation in second language users have either focussed on how variable production will eventually result in native-like 'target' forms (Type 1 study), or have investigated the extent to which second language users reproduce patterns of variation similar to 'native speakers' (Type 2 study). We additionally draw on sociocultural approaches to Second Language Acquisition and apply notions of accent aim, identity construction, and learning motivation in order to fully explore the data. In doing so, we advocate a 'Type 3' approach to variation in second language users.Bheir am p aipear seo s uil air caochlaideachd fh ogharach an cois fhuaimean le ruis (/r/) dheireannach am measg naoi deug luchd-labhairt ura na G aidhlig, i.e. luchd-labhairt nach do thog a' Gh aidhlig tro thar-chur eadarghinealach. Dh'ionnsaich an luchd-labhairt seo a' Gh aidhlig nan inbhich, agus tha iad uile a' cleachdadh na G aidhlig aig ıre ard san latha an-diugh. Sa ph aipear seo bheir sinn s uil air caochlaideachd nan ruisean aig an luchdlabhairt seo ann an coimeas ris a' chleachdadh a tha aig sia luchd-labhairt dualchasach na G aidhlig a tha nas sine. Gu ruige seo tha rannsachadh air caochlaideachd am measg luchd-labhairt d arna c anain air f ocas a chur air mar a dh'fh asas caochlaideachd ch ananach nas fhaisge air cleachdaidhean dualchasach na c anain 'targaid' (sgr udadh Se orsa 1), no air an ıre gus an cleachdar p atranan dualchasach caochlaidh le luchd-labhairt den t-se orsa ud (sgr udadh Se orsa 2). A thuilleadh air sin cleachdaidh sinn bunbheachdan s oisio-chultarach ann an Togail D arna C anain san sgr udadh againn, a' cleachdadh amasan dualchainnt, cruthachadh f ein-aithne agus adhbharan ionnsachaidh airson rannsachadh iomlan a dh eanamh air an d ata. Na l uib, molaidh sinn sgr udadh 'Se orsa 3' airson rannsachadh air Journal of Sociolinguistics 20/2, 2016: 164-191

The effects of language dominance switch in bilinguals: Galician new speakers' speech production and perception

“…This definition is more restrictive than those used for new speakers in other European minority communities (e.g., Scotland: Nance, 2015, Nance et al, 2016Corsica: Jaffe, 2015;Catalonia: Pujolar & Puigdevall, 2015), but matches the majority use of this label in the Galician case (Ramallo, 2013;Ramallo & O'Rourke, 2014). Although neofalantes thus represent a small proportion of the total population 1 , O'Rourke and Ramallo (2015) have argued for "neofalantismo" as a social movement, with neofalantes an active minority.…”

New speakers: Challenges and opportunities for variationist sociolinguistics

“…In cases where severe endangerment is coupled with embryonic revitalisation efforts, new speakers not only represent an important proportion of the total speakers of the language, but they are also influential arbiters in emergent normative practices. They can therefore ‘occupy greater positions of authority in the language's social hierarchy than many second language users would do’ (Nance, McLeod, O'Rourke, & Dunmore, : 168). Moreover, labels such as ‘L2 speaker’ or ‘learner’ are increasingly contested, mostly because they imply some deviation from an implicit native‐speaker norm, as has been detailed extensively in the Applied Linguistics literature (see e.g.…”

“…Indeed, in recent years, an increasing number of papers in typologically dissimilar contexts have revealed many common themes and findings. New‐speaker studies are now available on Baseldytsch (Del Percio, ), Belarusian (Woolhiser, ), Catalan (Frekko, ; Pujolar & Puigdevall, ), Cornish (Sayers, ; Sayers & Renkó‐Michelsén, ), Corsican (Jaffe, ), Francoprovençal (Bichurina, ; Kasstan, ; Kasstan & Müller, ), Galician (O'Rourke & Ramallo, ; Tomé Lourido and Evans, ; ), Giernesiei and Jèrriais (Sallabank & Marquis, ; Wilson, Johnson, & Sallabank, ), Irish (Walsh, , O'Rourke & Walsh, ), Lemko (Hornsby, ), Louisiana Creole (Mayeux, ), Manx (Ó hIfearnáin, ), Occitan (Costa, ), Scottish Gaelic (McLeod & O'Rourke, ; Nance, ; Nance et al, ), Welsh (Morris, ; Robert, ), Western Armenian (Manoukian, ), and Yiddish (Hornsby, ). Owing to the observations set out above that new speakers are frequently characterised as employing linguistic variants that differ from traditional norms, it is surprising that so few studies have made use of quantitative variationist methods to better understand the social significance of this variation, or to connect variation in production with broader questions of linguistic diffusion and change.…”

“…Similarly, Nance et al () explore linguistic variation among new speakers of Scottish Gaelic in Glasgow and Edinburgh, where revitalisation initiatives have driven a rise in employment opportunities requiring the language. The study focuses on word‐final realisation of rhoticity, where palatalised or alveolar rhotic consonants are constrained by the quality of final vowel.…”

Support, transmission, education and target varieties in the Celtic languages: an overview

“…Others do not enjoy this status. These ideological classifications are found in small languages also (Ó Murchadha et al, in press) and are attested in the Celtic varieties (Hornsby, 2005;Jones, 1998;MacCaluim, 2007;Nance, McLeod, O'Rourke, & Dunmore, 2016;Ó Murchadha, 2013Ó Murchadha, , 2016Ó Murchadha & Ó hIfearnáin, in press;Robert, 2009;Sayers, 2012). Thus, debates on target varieties for Celtic language users have been characterised by contention.…”