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Part of
Generative SLA in the Age of Minimalism: Features, interfaces, and beyond
Edited by Tania Leal, Elena Shimanskaya and Casilde A. Isabelli
[Language Acquisition and Language Disorders 67] 2022
► pp. 265–286

Heritage language speakers inform the critical period hypothesis for first and second language acquisition

 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
This chapter considers how heritage language speakers, bilinguals exposed to their L1 since birth either exclusively or simultaneously with the majority language, shed new light on the role of age in language acquisition. Investigating the ultimate attainment of bilinguals with early and late exposure to their L1 and L2 helps disentangle how the roles of previous linguistic knowledge and of quantity and quality of input interact with age of onset of bilingualism. Comparing the linguistic and processing abilities of heritage speakers and L2 learners allows us to understand how the timing of input interacts with situational factors and elucidates the developmental schedule of different modules of the grammar. Early exposure is critical for aspects of phonology, syntax, and morphology.
Keywords: heritage language acquisition, simultaneous bilingualism, age effects, second language acquisition, morphology, syntax, phonology, processing
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Age effects in child bilingual acquisition: Maturation or language exposure?
  • 3.Are heritage speakers like second language learners?
  • 4.The impact of age of acquisition in different linguistic modules
    • 4.1Phonology
    • 4.2Syntax and morphology
    • 4.3Processing morphology
  • 5.Discussion
  • References
Published online: 17 August 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lald.67.11mon
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