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Description
The major objective of this project is to better understand the role of second-language acquisition on the diachronic evolution of language structure. Specifically, the research will investigate language use by New Speakers of two language varieties spoken within the Republic of Poland, Kashubian and Wymysorys, in order to better estimate the effect that these motivated individuals’ learning has on language structures at the speech-community level. New Speaker refers to an individual who has learned a language with little or no exposure in the home via educational programs outside the home after a community-level shift. A major point of departure for this research is the observation that New Speakers of minority languages tend to be situated in relatively prominent positions within minority language communities, thus they have an increased potential, compared to majority language learners, to provide model language behavior and influence norms at a wider speech-community level.
The working hypotheses of project are: (a) that linguistic entrenchment can be measured together with lexical and morphosyntactic variation in individual speakers, thereby allowing for an understanding of degrees of acquisition without relying on native-speaker patterns or prescriptive notions of language behavior; (b) that differential patterns of linguistic input between New Speakers and native speakers result in different patterns in lexical/structural entrenchment, which in turn result in differential usage patterns; and (c) frequently used lexical/structural patterns, whether produced by native or New Speakers, provide model input for continued adaptation and reorganization of communicative knowledge across the speech community.