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Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXXIV: Papers from the Annual Symposium on Arabic Linguistics, Tucson, Arizona, 2020
Edited by Mahmoud Azaz
[Studies in Arabic Linguistics 12] 2023
► pp. 231–254

Arabic and English plural formation in typically developing heritage speakers of Arabic

A longitudinal study

| Adelphi University
| Adelphi University
| Adelphi University
| Teachers College Columbia University
The study of language development in Arabic heritage speaking children is scarce, and mostly constrained by cross-sectional designs (see Visonà & Plonsky, 2020), making it difficult to determine the course of language development or maintenance through the different stages of language exposure in Heritage Language Learners (HLLs). We present a longitudinal investigation of plural production in two Palestinian siblings sharing a parental background and home language exposure, starting one month after they immigrated to the United States. Real and Pseudoword Arabic plural, dual, and English plural productions were examined using child-friendly, interactive sentence completion task Effects of child’s age, immigration age, levels of language exposure and use, and assessed languages and structures were found, emphasizing the value of process versus outcome-oriented approaches to language development in HLLs.
Keywords: Arabic language acquisition, heritage language learners, plural, dual, speakers
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Arabic plural morphology
  • 3.The present study
    • 3.1Methods
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Procedure
    • 3.4Materials
    • 3.5Data analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1English plural productions
    • 4.2Arabic plural productions
      • 4.2.1Early versus late acquired forms
      • 4.2.2Dual form: Loss versus maintenance
      • 4.2.3Reemergence of forms post homeland visit
    • 4.3Picture naming performance
    • 4.4Qualitative analyses
      • 4.4.1English qualitative data
  • 5.Discussion
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 6 January 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sal.12.10kha
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