ABSTRACT

Heritage speakers of Spanish are bilingual individuals in places where Spanish is a minority language (Montrul 2016a; Rothman 2009), and the focus of this chapter is on grammatical aspects of their heritage language. The grammatical development of a heritage language cannot be understood without taking into account the minority status of the language and its perceived prestige and value. For example, Lambert (1977) introduced the terms additive and subtractive bilingualism to explain how language status affects the type and degree of bilingualism developed (see also Cummins & Swain 1986). Additive bilingualism results when the individual’s first language is a societally dominant and prestigious language and the individual learns another language, typically voluntarily, which can be another official language or a second language. As the bilingual develops full command of her native language, she adds knowledge of another language. In this case, the acquisition of the other language, even if it happens in childhood, does not interfere with the healthy development of the native language. The opposite of additive bilingualism is subtractive bilingualism. Subtractive bilingualism occurs most often when the first and native language is a minority language with little social prestige and value. Due to social pressure, negative attitudes, and often lack of educational opportunities, the acquisition of the societal language, especially at school, contributes to the gradual weakening or even replacement of the native minority language by the second majority language. The vast majority of heritage speakers find themselves in a subtractive situation by which they often become highly competent speakers of the majority language at the expense of the development of the heritage language. Research on heritage languages and their speakers since the late 1990s has been particularly concerned with understanding more fully the particular characteristics of such uneven development (Montrul 2016a).