![](https://assets.cambridge.org/97813165/18229/cover/9781316518229.jpg)
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
- Expected online publication date:
- June 2024
- Print publication year:
- 2024
- Online ISBN:
- 9781108983624
- Subjects:
- Sociolinguistics, Language and Linguistics
12th August 2024: digital purchasing is currently unavailable on Cambridge Core. Due to recent technical disruption affecting our publishing operation, we are experiencing some delays to publication. We are working hard to restore services as soon as possible and apologise for the inconvenience. For further updates please visit our website: https://www.cambridge.org/news-and-insights/technical-incident
Heritage language speakers often feel discouraged from using their heritage language because they are told they do not speak it well. This book offsets such views by investigating heritage language variation and change across generations in eight languages spoken in Toronto. It introduces new methodology to help readers understand and apply variationist sociolinguistic approaches to quantitatively analyze spontaneous speech. This approach, based on a corpus of 400+ speakers, shows that variation and change across the grammar of heritage languages resemble the patterns in hegemonic majority languages, contrasting with the simplification/attrition patterns in experimental heritage language studies. Chapters compare patterns across generations, across languages, across ten variables in Cantonese, and between indexical and non-indexical patterns. Heritage language speakers are quoted, showing that this research increases heritage language usage and pride. Providing a tool for language revitalization, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in learning about and/or conducting research on heritage languages.
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