Heritage Russian Bilingualism across the Lifespan
A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 December 2023) | Viewed by 7871
Special Issue Editors
Interests: heritage language bilingualism; psycholinguistics of Slavic languages; language acquisition; Slavic (Bulgarian and Russian) morphosyntax
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue focuses on heritage Russian bilingualism, which has played a pivotal role in heritage language linguistics since its early days. Our goals are two-fold: while aiming to enrich the empirical basis of heritage Russian linguistics and to advance its theoretical and methodological foundations, we also seek to align the study of heritage Russian more closely with the current cross-linguistic investigations of heritage language bilingualism (Laleko & Scontras, 2021; Lohndal et al., 2019; Montrul & Polinsky, 2022; Polinsky & Putnam, 2023). Informed by the latest theoretical advancements in heritage linguistics and in the language sciences more generally, research on heritage Russian offers a timely opportunity for a fresher, more methodologically refined analysis of areas of stability and change in heritage language systems and of factors that mediate heritage language development and maintenance under various conditions. In striving to address the multiple dimensions of the bilingual experiences of heritage speakers and their widely ranging competence outcomes, this Special Issue will underscore the need to view heritage languages as continua rather than monolithic phenomena (De Luca et al., 2019; Ivanova-Sullivan, 2014; Polinsky, 2018).
We invite contributions representing a broad range of approaches to the linguistic study of heritage Russian bilingualism. We seek submissions showcasing the most up-to-date linguistic research grounded in various traditions and methods, including but not limited to formal, psycholinguistic, neurolinguistic, sociolinguistic, computational, and corpus-based studies targeting any and all domains of language and their interfaces: phonetics and phonology, prosody, morphology, syntax, semantics, information structure, pragmatics. We welcome submissions providing original, previously unpublished data from heritage Russian speakers of different age groups (children, adolescents, adults), proficiency levels (from overhearers to advanced speakers), literacy skills (naturalistic or instructed learners), and various linguistic backgrounds and in diverse global contexts. We are especially interested in studies that expand the typological diversity of language dyads (Scontras & Putnam, 2020), allowing for broader conclusions about the principles governing heritage Russian bilingualism in different socio-demographic niches and across a wide range of linguistic locales.
We request, prior to submitting a manuscript, that the interested authors first submit a proposed title and an abstract of 250–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors, Dr. Tanya Ivanova-Sullivan ([email protected]) and Dr. Oksana Laleko ([email protected]) before 15 June 2023. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purpose of ensuring their proper fit within the purview of the Special Issue. Notification of abstract acceptance will be given by 30 June 2023. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
Languages is an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed open-access journal indexed within Scopus, ERIH Plus, and other databases; it receives an impact factor in ESCI (Web of Science) starting in June 2023.
References:
De Luca, V., J. Rothman, E. Bialystok, and C. Pliatsikas (2019). Redefining bilingualism as a spectrum of experiences that differentially affects brain structure and function. PNAS, 116(15), 7565–7574. DOI:10.1073/pnas.1811513116
Ivanova-Sullivan, T. (2014). Theoretical and Experimental Aspects of Syntax-Discourse Interface in Heritage Grammars. Leiden: Brill. DOI:10.1163/9789004246171
Laleko, O. and G. Scontras (2021). On the many dimensions of complexity in heritage languages. Heritage Language Journal, 18(2), 1–37. DOI:10.1163/15507076-12340009
Lohndal, T., J. Rothman, T. Kupisch, and M. Westergaard (2019). Heritage language acquisition: What it reveals and why it is important for formal linguistic theories. Language and Linguistics Compass, 13(12), 1–19. DOI:10.1111/lnc3.12357
Montrul, S. and M. Polinsky, eds. (2022). The Cambridge Handbook of Heritage Languages and Linguistics. Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.1017/9781108766340
Polinsky, M. (2018). Heritage Languages and Their Speakers. Cambridge University Press. DOI:10.1515/9783110899283-005.
Polinsky, M. and M. Putnam, eds. (2023). Formal Approaches to Complexity in Heritage Language Grammars. Berlin: Language Science Press.
Scontras, G. and M. Putnam (2020). Lesser-studied heritage languages: An appeal to the dyad. Heritage Language Journal, 17(2), 152–155. https://doi.org/10.46538/hlj.17.2.2
Dr. Tanya Ivanova-Sullivan
Dr. Oksana Laleko
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- heritage Russian bilingualism
- acquisition and maintenance of Russian by early bilinguals
- typological diversity of language dyads
- diverse bilingual experiences of heritage Russian speakers
- wider empirical basis of heritage Russian linguistics
- theoretical and methodological advancements in heritage linguistics
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