For a long period of time, The U.K has had a migration tradition with people from other neighbouring European countries residing in the country following their immigration. The important part of this migration movement into the UK is comprised of both Europeans as well as Non-Europeans thus suggesting the absence of closeness in immigration flows. Therefore, the heritage as well as non-heritage speakers could easily be identified and differentiated. These cultures could be confusing when the mainstream culture in the new nation does not pay attention to the language of the immigrants. Therefore, this study aims to look at the correlation between language and identity for the research perspective that involved Portuguese respondents who are aged between 16 to 22 year and whose parents are both Portuguese and immigrated to Ipswich U.K. while they were between 8 to 15 years. This study will establish why immigrant Portuguese in Ipswich communicate using English instead of their native dialect despite the fact that they are heritage speakers. This study used qualitative approach and findings suggest that there is progressive shift of language among Portuguese children in Ipswich U.K. The Portuguese are affected by the language shift because since they are more comfortable using English as opposed to their mother tongue. It is evident, based on this study, that the Portuguese immigrants had already obtained their language before they came to the U.K.
CONTENTS
ABSTRACT. 2
LIST OF TABLES. 5
LIST OF FIGURES. 5
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: HERITAGE PORTUGUESE SPEAKERS. 6
INTRODUCTION.. 6
Research questions. 7
Significance of the study. 7
Outline of methods. 8
Outline content of chapters. 8
Background of the study. 9
Conclusion. 10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW... 11
INTRODUCTION.. 11
Language Acquisition. 11
Understanding heritage language acquisition. 14
Portuguese heritage speakers in United Kingdom.. 16
Bilingualism and identity. 18
Effects of immigration on Language Acquisition. 19
Agency, identity, and language use. 20
Predictions on heritage language acquisition. 21
Interactional sociolinguistics. 22
Intentional choices speakers. 24
Conclusion. 25
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY.. 26
INTRODUCTION.. 26
Research methodology. 26
Participants. 26
Variable. 28
Instrument 28
Procedure. 29
Validity and reliability of the methodology. 29
Limitations. 30
Conclusion. 30
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS. 31
INTRODUCTION.. 31
Demographics of the participants. 31
Are heritage Portuguese speakers in Ipswich proud of their heritage language?. 32
Frequency of Portuguese language use. 33
Reading and writing proficiency. 34
Perception of heritage language. 36
What could be the factors that contribute to language shift among the Portuguese children in Ipswich? 40
Conclusion. 42
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION.. 43
INTRODUCTION.. 43
Heritage in Portuguese language. 44
Limitations of the study. 48
Implications. 48
Conclusion and Recommendations. 49
REFERENCES. 51
Appendices. 57
Appendix 1.0 Questionnaire. 57
Appendix 2.0: Personal Development Plan. 60
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Age classification. 27
Table 2 Gender distribution. 31
Table 3: Speaking proficiency. 32
Table 4 Gender comparison speaking proficiency. 33
Table 5 Age group vs. speaking proficiency comparison. 33
Table 6: Speaking frequency. 34
Table 7 Reading and Writing proficiency. 36
Table 8: Language used among siblings. 37
Table 9: Language used with parents. 37
Table 10 comparison of speaking frequency vs. language used among siblings. 38
Table 11: Possibility of attending Portuguese events. 38
Table 12: Events attended. 39
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Ability to read and write in Portuguese. 35
Figure 2: Attitude towards speaking Portuguese in Public. 40
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE ACQUISITION: HERITAGE PORTUGUESE SPEAKERS
INTRODUCTION
Immigrants who have settled in a country which speaks another language usually face a unique challenge as children while the adults, in most cases, assimilate the issues since they have to take care of matters of cultural as well as personal identity. These factors can increasingly become puzzling when the main culture in the new country does not give any attention to the language of the immigrants. This study therefore, looks at the correlation between language as well as the identity from the research perspective concerning the theme and the author interactions with groups of young Portuguese who are aged between 16 to 22 years and are born of Portuguese parents who immigrated to Ipswich in the UK and the ages of 8 to 15. The study also considers the attitude and perceptions of participants in speaking their heritage Portuguese language.
The function of language is to express as well as construct identity. The essence of expression is to get to understand or be understood in the context of communication. The other function of language is to construct identity; the condition or character of a person. The heritage of a person is essentially his or her cultural identity. Within the language context, heritage is something that is inherited, a culture, value or trait that person can identify with. That said, language is a source of cultural heritage that members of the same group can identify and associate with. According Kelleher (2010, p.2), heritage language refers to non-majority language other than the dominant language. For instance, in the U.K., English is the dominant dialect, thus, any other dialect apart from English is well-thought-out heritage language. Immigrant heritage language refers to language used by immigrants arriving in the United Kingdom.
The study sought to understand why immigrant Portuguese in Ipswich used English to communicate instead of heritage language despite them being able to speak in heritage Portuguese. The study will therefore use the following questions to develop this understanding:
Research questions
1. Are heritage Portuguese speakers in Ipswich proud of their heritage language?
2. How do the participants perceive the issue of Portuguese language loss and maintenance?
3. What is the impact of using English instead of heritage language?
4. Is there any influence of foreign language on immigrants over their heritage language?
5. What are the influences of second language on heritage language for immigrants?
6. In what ways can people prevent disappearance of heritage language?
Significance of the study
People in the modern world live in a multicultural society, implying they have families spread all over the world, sharing different cultures and languages. According to Kanno (2000 p.4), a family made of different generations may be sparsely distributed across different continents, thus residing in a culture that is not their own. In such contexts, not only is the culture different but also their heritage language. Influence exerted on these families make assimilation possible, leading to loss of heritage culture and language. Kanno demonstrates that cultures and language of minority in a dominant culture are lost quickly among children because they tend to adopt and fit with the new language rapidly (p.8). In such settings, if the heritage language is not preserved, the second generation of these families will not be able to pass their heritage language to the next generation (Fishman 2001, p.87). The need to preserve heritage language informs the essence of this study. Therefore, findings of these study may be used to develop an understanding of need to preserve heritage languages.
Outline of methods
The study is ethnographic in nature. The study intends to use qualitative approach, where the researcher will interact with participants in real-life environment to develop deeper understanding of the problem under investigation. The researcher will interact with the group of young Portuguese immigrants, in order to learn about them. The researcher will then use observation, interview and survey to gain valuable understanding of the young immigrants. The essence is to gain an understanding as to why the young heritage speakers use English as their main language of communication amongst themselves and across board. This study intends to adopt a methodology popular in social sciences, with the aim of establishing valid and reliable findings. The study uses the perspective of systematic analysis and the traditional and contemporary approaches of data collection, analysis and comparison as well as the systematic interpretation of the findings. The study consulted a body of existing literature to form an understanding of the problem under investigation. An ethnographic approach would follow consisting of observation, questionnaire, and interview intended to collect information. The aim is to demonstrate why study participants use English intensively amongst themselves, as well as how this upsets continuity of heritage language. The group on which the study will focus will be composed of 7 people aged 16-17, 7 people aged 18-19 and 6 people aged 20-21.
Outline content of chapters
Chapter one: Provides an introduction to language acquisition and introduces problem under investigation. The chapter also covers significance of the study and questions that will be addressed by the study.
Chapter two: provides an in-depth exploration of existing literature regarding language acquisition among heritage speakers.
Chapter three: provides a structure of methods used to sample and collect data from the study participants.
Chapter four: presents the findings of the study including analysis achieved through use of SPSS
Chapter five: provides discussion, summary, and conclusion of the study.
Background of the study
Heritage speakers’ literature has attracted wide attention from sociolinguistics in an attempt to understand heritage language development, loss, and preservation (Kupisch et al 2014, p.351; Cummins 2005, p.574, and Meisel 2014, p.437). The concept of heritage speaker is said to have been coined during the research on heritage bilingualism defining heritage speakers as bilingual speaker who possess a migration background (Cummins, 2005). Another definition provided Montrul (2011) is incomplete acquisition of the home spoken language because of intense exposure to a second language necessitated by change of environment. Either of the definitions agrees to the person who is a heritage speaker as being bilingual. Heritage in the context of language referring to the language that one can identify with, or associate.
Conceptualization of identity and language use is done quite differently in a sociocultural perspective on human activities. In this context, identity is not perceived as a particular, static as well as inherent to the person. Instead, it is perceived as being socially founded, a product that is capable of changing that is reflexive of the political, social and historical context of the experiences of individuals (Esser 2006, p.257). This is a view that helps in setting an innovative direction for research as well as applied linguistics. This study will also attempt to come up with some significant assumptions that are embodied in the contemporary understanding of identity as well as a connection to the culture and use of language. In the study, some part of the recent research concerning culture, identity and language taking is also included.
Conclusion
This chapter presents introduction to the study giving an understanding of the problem of interest. The aim of the study is to establish why young Portuguese immigrants residing in Ipswich use English intensively and how this affects their heritage language. Further, the chapter presents research questions, outline of methods, and significance of the study. Having established that the study will contribute into the body of knowledge of preserving heritage language, the next chapter will present an extensive review of related literature.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides an in-depth exploration of existing literature regarding language acquisition among heritage speakers. The chapter introduces language acquisition and factors influencing acquisition of heritage language. The literature also explores the effects of migration on language development as well as knowledge developed around bilinguals and identity, with focus on heritage speakers.
Development or gaining of a national dialect as a second dialect by immigrants is affected by several factors. Among these factors include the country of origin of immigrants, presence as well as the structure often ethnic community and the living condition of the family and individuals and the circumstances of the migration (Esser 2006, p.261). Age at which migration occurred as well as the period in which one stayed in the country are also factors that are significant. The age of the parents during migration as well as language skills is also considered in the case of immigrant children. A higher education level of immigrants, as well as their parents, also plays noteworthy part in the procurement of the second dialect. On the contrary, there is major proximity of the mother language and the new language. A great level of international importance of the native language acquisition by immigrants and the social-cultural distance between the migrant group and most of the society could deter the acquisition of the second language (Ramirez-Esparz and Garcia-Sierra 2014, p.36).
Language Acquisition
There are factors that affect language acquisition by immigrants and they include, their ethnic concentration in given surrounding, the contact they come with people speaking their native language in a given area, opportunities for communication as well as the availability of media in the first language (Esser 2006, 241). Children have the ability to learn the dialect of the new nation more easily and there can be an identification of a clear threshold in terms of acquisition of the second language in children who are between the ages of 10 and 12 years (Bucholtz 2004, p. 172). This does not mean that it is impossible to acquire a competent language after puberty, however, there is a considerable effort as well as motivation that is needed in order to achieve a high proficiency level and speech that is free from the accent. There are more suitable pragmatic studies already in place that investigate effects of language courses and so there is no possible way to come up with reliable statements in this case.
Significant research on heritage language with significant interest on the United Kingdom and the United states tend to define “heritage speaker” as a person who speaks than one language and have a migration background. Literature on heritage speaker has grown significantly in the last two decades (Flores 2014, p.1). Cummins (2005, p.74) observes that previous studies grouped heritage speakers as a class of bilingual speakers in language populations where their home language is not the dominant language. Similar observations are made by Rothman (2009, p.26), arguing that components that characterise heritage language development as rigorous contact with the heritage language during primary years, specific acquisition setting, and shift on inputs towards acquiring the mainstream dialectal in the late years.
The United Kingdom has an extensive migration history, with people from European realms having almost fourth-generation citizens residing in the country with migration background. Kupisch (2013, p.11) observes that the migration into and out of United Kingdom comprises of both European and non-Europeans, implying absence of cultural closeness in immigration flows. Kipisch’s statements have the merits of precision and concise, in a matter of identifying and differentiating between heritage and non-heritage speaker. Borrowed from Valdes (2001, p.37), heritage speaker is someone brought up in a home where language spoken is non-English. In such contexts, the person might be able to understand or merely comprehend the spoken heritage language. Another characteristic of heritage speaker is being able to converse in English to some degree as well as the heritage language, thus bilingual. It is therefore the person’s choice to maintain or discard the heritage language. As much as there is freedom of choice, there are various factors that influence the choice of a heritage speaker whether to maintain or ignore heritage language. Firstly, is the desire to preserve the home-based dialectal, mostly for the advantage of the future generations. In additions, governments influence the need to preserve and uphold heritage language and cultures. For instance, in the European countries, there are government sponsored programs that are optional for heritage speakers targeting immigrants in a bid to promote and preserve heritage languages. In these programs, attendants receive instructions through heritage language, thereby learning and keeping in touch with their language.
Anybody who has been around children who are still learning how to talk understand that this process occurs in stages. The first is usually understanding, then fooled by one-word utterances, and then two-word phrases and this continues so (Azurmendi, Larrañaga, & Apalategi, 2008, p.47). Students who are acquiring a new language move through 5 predictable stages: these stages are dependent in many factors that include the love of formal education, the amount of time that has been spent in the kingdom and family background (Ellis 1995, p.56).
Esser (2006, p.253) defines individual language users who are internally uniform and coherent in their communication as sharing a common identity, whose features are expressed through language. Due to this universal nature, these systems are considered to be entities that are self-contained and independent and are expected from minds of individuals. This means that while systems of language are founding the minds of individuals, they exist separately so they are removed the people who use them (Saad 2005, p.105).
Language acquisition is almost the same as the process used by students to acquire their first and second languages. This needs relevant contact with the language in question where the speakers have no concern on the form of their utterances, but with the message that they are passing across as well as understanding. There has been a hypothesis there is an order that is fairly stable that is used in the acquisition of organisations that are in language acquisition. This means that one could see several clear resemblances across acquirers on which organisations are mostly picked up promptly and the ones that tend to be picked up late. The acquirers should have a mindful alertness of the rules that they have and they might only correct themselves based on the need to adhere to grammar (Saad 2005, p.100).
There is a key distinction that has been made by language experts concerning learning a language and acquiring a language. Children are known to attain language through a process that is subconscious since they are never aware of the rule of grammar. This is the same in the way that they get to acquire their first language (Ellis 1995, p.52). They need an original communicator. The focus is usually in the communication text as opposed to the form of communication.
Understanding heritage language acquisition
Alternberg (1991, p.68) and Kopke (1999, p.122) document the process of heritage language acquisition. According to their studies, immigrants who leave their home country in adulthood or at an advanced age, their competence in first language tends to linger unchanging throughout their life. There are slight or no erosions at all in their language proficiency. Johnson and Newport (1989, p.72) also shares similar findings citing change in competence in language is probably high when change of environment occurs during early childhood as opposed to in advanced age. Language tends to fluctuate when it is children who migrate (Seliger 1989, p.25). Such deviant development in language is referred to as incomplete acquisition (Montrul 2008, p.19). According to Montrul, incomplete acquisitions tends to occur in childhood because children tend not to reach age-appropriate proficiency levels for developing specific dialect properties because of intense exposure to second language (p.21). Based on this understanding, heritage language speaker is thus a bilingual speaker who characterises deficiency in heritage language, simply for not fully acquiring it. Meisel (2013, p.441) and Pires and Rothman (2009, p.222) are against this interpretation of heritage speaker, arguing that their inbuilt faculty of language arising from birth makes the bilingual children acquire properties present in their input naturally. As such, absence of a property occurs because parent fail to use the language at home or toward them, making the child to lack opportunity to access language. This implies that the kid may lack exposure, thereby failing to obtain the supposed language properties (Kupisch 2013, p.357). Therefore, absence from input causes lack of acquisition of heritage language.
Genesee (2001, p.103) emphasises on nature of input heritage speakers tend to receive rather than deviance competence of heritage, citing particular interest on the 0factors which constraint it. Despite humans being well-wired to acquire two or more languages, it is evident that for a child to develop bilingual competency, he or she needs sufficient exposure to each language. Development of language occurs in stages, thus developing productive skills in each of the languages needs to pass through all stages. Kuhl et al. (2003, p.74) is of the opinion that mere passive contact with language is not sufficient to facilitate language development. For instance, exposure to television or radio is not enough to spur language development. Simply put, there is need for the child to engage in communication actively as well as listen to develop both listening and speaking abilities in the said language. Moreover, the child will need to use the language frequently especially in his/her daily interactions. According to Johnston and Slobin (1979, p.531), children who lack sufficient exposure to a language often fail to produce it. Subsequent generation immigrants face similar situation, especially those residing in countries where majority language is not their heritage dialect (Pires 2011, p.122).
Portuguese heritage speakers in United Kingdom
Immigration from European countries like Portugal to United Kingdom began as early as in the 1960, when United Kingdom was still part of the European Union. There has been a significant inflow and outflow of immigrants in and out Portugal going for educational and economic opportunities in the United Kingdom. Simply put, there is presence of Portuguese immigrants in United Kingdom characterised by grandparents who migrated in the sixties to the recently migrated individuals. The official statistics by Annual Population survey indicated there were 219,000 Portuguese immigrants in the United Kingdom (APS, 2015). By default, there are a lot of differences with regards to sociolinguistic background as well as language habits of Portuguese in Ipswich, United Kingdom. However, there is a close connection between the larger migrant society in the host nation and the motherland. There are some immigrants who have returned to Portugal while other have remained. Some left their children, while others stayed with their children in the host country. That is to say, while some stayed in United Kingdom, some left, implying that several relations among families are alienated between United Kingdom and Portugal. Furthermore, it is usual for immigrants living in United Kingdom to spend holidays in Portugal either in family houses or the houses they bought for vacation. Flores (2014, p.7) argues that government sponsored programs that promote preservation of heritage language ensure its erosion does not occur. In the past, such programs have not been receiving funding owing to constraints experienced by the sponsoring governments escalating from financial crisis. However, there are a few classes where Portuguese is taught in the U.K. targeting Portuguese immigrants, below first grade. However, heritage language programs are optional while the syllabus is only limited to basic literacy skills: reading and writing. As such, there only a small number of young students who attend such classes.
While there remains a seamless connection to the language, Portuguese language remains the feebler language among the people who migrated into the United Kingdom at an early age. Among the many families of such immigrants, Portuguese remains the predominant language within the Portuguese community and main language used at home. While parent speak the language at home, it is rarely the only language used especially among siblings where English, the dominant language is very present. As such, heritage Portuguese speakers are not only exposed to spoken Portuguese but can also read and write in their heritage language. Flores (2014, p.8) argues that the amount of contact with the dominant language significantly influences the language spoken by heritage Portuguese speakers, factoring in the age of emigration, occupation of parents, and family constellation. The contributing factor in shift of language spoken is change in the input conditions notably induced when heritage children start formal education in the country of residence. During the schooling period, heritage Portuguese speakers become erudite in the mainstream language since it the only preferred language of instruction. Furthermore, they begin to construct social networks in United Kingdom. As time goes by, the contact with Portuguese language decreases, tending to remain on oral basis.
According to Flores (201, p.3) in situations where heritage child possesses adequate linguistic experience that supports growth of fecund language skills, then it would be illogical to conclude that induced biological precincts will deter full development of objective linguistic system. Furthermore, the heritage speaker is prone to using a particular structure of language within the presenting contexts, implying that he or she has acquired the desired structure. If the heritage speaker has not acquired the language structure, then he/she will probably not use it. Various studies (Montrul 2010, p.299 and Meisel 2014, p.447) show that heritage speakers often produce confident edifices in target-deviant and target-like manners. As such, having knowledge in a language does not always translate to applying it appropriately. From this understanding, it is only fair to note that there is a proficient heritage speaker, and a novice heritage speaker. The skilled heritage speaker has polyglot ability with native-like perceptions in his or her heritage language, thus is capable of fully acquiring heritage language grammar. Echoing on these findings are Rothman and Treffers-Daller (2014, p.95) who observe that the course of heritage language acquirement is a progression of juvenile experience necessitated when dialect at home is spoken on a daily basis. Early childhood exposure is thus a contributing factor in heritage language development.
Bilingualism and identity
A trend that is clear concerning monolingual adaptation can be seen across various groups of immigrants all over the world. Proficient bilingualism, which means the command of mother tongue as well as the official language at a great level will still be remarkable (Ramirez-Esparz and Garcia-Sierra 2014, p.42) This is because the circumstances that are intended to promote the new language are ordinarily harmful to the holding as well as the command of the first language (Soto-Huerta and Pérez 2015, p.495). The reverse is also true. Therefore, the greater the age of during immigration, the more likely they are to assimilate into the new culture and have a high probability of retaining their first language and have a least possibility of the same when moving towards development of new language (Kanno 2000, p.7).
Preference in school is also, directly and indirectly, related with competence in linguistics and this implies that the proficiency in the national language as well as the instruction language is important. This applies despite the effect of other factors that affect educational opportunities for migrant children. Such factors include pre-school enrolment, school choice, the circumstance of the family and direct as well as indirect discrimination in the educational system. The conditions that affect school’s performance positively in subjects that are language related are almost the same as those that promote the attainment of the national dialect (Kanno 2000, p.7). This includes a young age during immigration and a high level of parents’ education. Moreover, the achievement of children at school is affected badly if the learning is done in schools as well as classrooms that have a higher proportion of students who do not speak the national language (Soto-Huerta and Pérez, 2015, p.497). Moreover, competence in the language of origin lacks the discernible effect of achievement at school. However, empirical research has not yet confirmed that bilingual instruction has a given influence on the acquisition of the national language as well as achievement in schools (Kanno 2000, p.8).
Effects of immigration on Language Acquisition
The issue of immigration and language acquisition, as well as the effect that they have on each other, run deep. However, there is one query that still remains ambiguous, what happens when the immigrants and their children learn the language of the new land (Esser 2006, p.255). While the adults will never earn this language well, their children who are born in this new nation will be able to learn the language all. However, as seen earlier, there are several factors, for instance socioeconomic factors and education that can have an effect on how well the second generation migrants will master the new language.
The language that is spoken by immigrants will, to a greater extent, depend on the location in which they live, and the distance to immigrants who originated from the same place. Other factors that will also affect the manner in which the new generation will use language will have to do with the way the children place themselves in their society or if they are urbanites or not (Esser 2006, p.256). It has been determined by linguists that the effect of immigration, as well as, language could be prevalent with immigrant children who have been brought up in an urban surrounding. The generation of today tends to speak a dialect that is similar to the local language. However, this type of language has its own syntax that simplifies the dialect for the immediate generation too learn as a language. Some might describe it as vernacular while in the real sense this language is a dialect (Esser 2006, p.256).
Agency, identity, and language use
While the groups and communities in which we belong have greatly been shaped by our roles and social identities, people (as individuals) also play a part when it comes to sharing them. However, traditional view ‘linguistics applied’ that perceives agency as a way in which individuals are inherently motivated, it is viewed as a sociocultural mediated capacity to act and therefore it is located in its discursive space that is between personal users as well as the situation of that time (Ellis 1995, p.59). When using our dialect, we are reprinting a given identity at the similar time in which we are constructing it. The extent of personal effort that we can put in order to shape our identities are not in any way equal. It is more of an aspect of the action that is negotiable and it arises from a specific cultural as well as social circumstances that constitute of local contexts of action.
Following this perspective, the individual perspective is always being produced and this is an aftermath of agentive interchanges and not a certainty. When we get to a communicative happening, we achieve this as people with some given arrangements of social personalities that are historically laden (Ellis 1995, p.61). While those social identities have an effect on our dialectal engagements, they do not in any way control them. Instead, they are predisposing us to take part in our undertakings and look at the participation of others in some way.
