Twelfth Heritage Language Research Institute: Complexity in Heritage Grammars

The Twelfth Heritage Language Research Institute will take place from June 8-11, 2020 at Pennsylvania State University. This institute is directed by Maria Polinsky (University of Maryland, College Park) and organized by Michael Putnam (Pennsylvania State University).

One of the most prevalent misconceptions that exist concerning the nature of the languages spoken by heritage speakers is that they are notably ‘simpler’ and ‘less complex’ when compared with monolingual grammars. Such a view of heritage languages and their speakers can, and does, have a detrimental effect on the public perception of heritage bilingualism, pedagogical initiatives and curriculum development, as well as the development and advancement of theoretical and experimental studies of these grammars.

The topic of this year’s NHLRC Institute seeks to address the notion of complexity in heritage languages, with a primary focus on complex phenomena in heritage grammars and the preservation of complexity in heritage languages in the classroom and ‘in the wild’.

This year’s Heritage Language Research Institute will feature presentations by several researchers. Discussion sessions, and poster sessions. The Institute will give equal time to pedagogical and theoretical-linguistic approaches to heritage languages and will actively seek new ways to coordinate these two approaches. Click here to register.

For more information, please check the Research Institute’s webpage at https://nhlrc.ucla.edu/nhlrc/event/14076

Heritage Language Workshop

The Institute will also host a workshop on Thursday, June 11, 2020. You can register for the workshop using the Research Institute’s registration link above. Click the following URL for more information on the workshop. https://nhlrc.ucla.edu/nhlrc/article/213666