Language shift and sentence processing in Moroccan Arabic

Aissati, A. El

doi:10.1075/impact.1.08ais

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…3.For the purpose of the present discussion, we will focus on L2 influence on L1 in late bilinguals, and not consider treatments of second generation speakers or early bilinguals such as in El Aissati (1997), Hirvonen (1995), or Vago (1991). …”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism

Hopp

Schmid

2011

Applied Psycholinguistics

145

118

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This study investigates constraints on ultimate attainment in second language (L2) pronunciation in a direct comparison of perceived foreign accent of 40 late L2 learners and 40 late first language (L1) attriters of German. Both groups were compared with 20 predominantly monolingual controls. Contrasting participants who acquired the target language from birth (monolinguals, L1 attriters) with late L2 learners, on the one hand, and bilinguals (L1 attriters, L2ers) with monolinguals, on the other hand, allowed us to disentangle the impacts of age of onset and bilingualism in speech production. At the group level, the attriters performed indistinguishably from controls, and both differed from the L2 group. However, 80% of all L2ers scored within the native (attriter) range. Correlational analyses with background factors further found some effects of use and language aptitude. These results show that acquiring a language from birth is not sufficient to guarantee nativelike pronunciation, and late acquisition does not necessarily prevent it. The results are discussed in the light of models on the role of age and cross-linguistic influence in L2 acquisition.Studies on age effects in second language (L2) acquisition show that pronunciation accuracy in the target language is one of the most difficult skills to acquire for late learners. Such investigations consistently demonstrate that postpuberty learners across different acquisition contexts are detectably different in speech production from monolingual native speakers and from early L2 learners (L2ers). The most robust finding is that foreign accent ratings show a negative correlation with age of acquisition (AOA); that is, the later an L2er is exposed to the L2, the stronger the foreign accent tends to be at the endstate of the acquisition process

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism

Hopp

Schmid

2011

Applied Psycholinguistics

145

118

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“…2.See also El Aissati (1996) and Boumans and de Ruiter (2002) for studies of second-generation Moroccan speakers in Holland.…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grammatical Features of Egyptian and Palestinian Arabic Heritage Speakers’ Oral Production

Albirini

Benmamoun

Saadah

2011

Stud Second Lang Acquis

127

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This study presents an investigation of oral narratives collected from heritage Egyptian and Palestinian Arabic speakers living in the United States. The focus is on a number of syntactic and morphological features in their production, such as word order, use of null subjects, selection of prepositions, agreement, and possession. The degree of codeswitching in their narratives was also investigated. The goal was to gain some insights into the Arabic linguistic competence of this group of speakers. The results show that although Arabic heritage speakers display significant competence in their heritage colloquial varieties, there are gaps in that knowledge. There also seems to be significant transfer from English, their dominant language.

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“…Research on heritage speakers has focused mainly on heritage speakers’ knowledge of specific linguistic areas of CA, such as syntax, morphology, phonology, and the lexicon (see Montrul, 2015). The aim has often been to compare heritage speakers’ linguistic knowledge to first and second language learners and to identify gaps in their knowledge of the heritage language (Albirini, 2014a; Albirini, Benmamoun, & Chakrani, 2013; Benmamoun, Silvina, & Polinsky, 2013; Bos, 1997; El Aissati, 1997). Most of the existing studies indicate that the gaps in heritage speakers’ linguistic knowledge are mainly due to limitations in input and opportunities of use (see Albirini, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Switching codes and registers: An analysis of heritage Arabic speakers’ sociolinguistic competence

Albirini

Chakrani

2016

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims: This study focuses on heritage speakers’ ability to use their Arabic varieties and English in the construction of narratives of personal experience. This is critical because English, Colloquial Arabic (CA), and Standard Arabic (SA) are part of the sociolinguistic reality of the families and communities in which many heritage Arabic speakers live. Design: The study compares and contrastes heritage speakers’ Arabic and English narratives with respect to codes, registers, and functions in the narratives. Data and analysis: Fifteen Arabic and 15 English narratives from five participants, fluent in Arabic and English, were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Findings: The results reveal that, despite their fluency in their heritage language, respondents lack the sociolinguistic competence to socially and pragmatically deploy CA and SA appropriately in their narratives. In the Arabic narratives, respondents alternated frequently between CA and SA, but they were not always able to maintain the asymmetrical functions of CA and SA. English was used mainly as a compensation strategy, yet participants were able to integrate contextually appropriate English registers in discourse. In the English narratives, participants switched parsimoniously to Arabic for fillers and culturally specific terms and expressions. Moreover, they displayed a greater register control based on the events in their narratives. Originality: This is one of few studies focusing on the sociolinguistic competence of heritage Arabic speakers. It is the first study to examine the distribution and functions of Arabic varieties and English in personal narratives rendered in Arabic and English. Implications: The study indicates that a full understanding of heritage language acquisition requires an evaluation of the sociolinguistic aspects of language use. Heritage speakers are influenced by contextual factors and by the lack of a community of practice, elements that are key in understanding their sociolinguistic competence.

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Language shift and sentence processing in Moroccan Arabic

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism

Perceived foreign accent in first language attrition and second language acquisition: The impact of age of acquisition and bilingualism

Grammatical Features of Egyptian and Palestinian Arabic Heritage Speakers’ Oral Production

Switching codes and registers: An analysis of heritage Arabic speakers’ sociolinguistic competence

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