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Article published In: Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism
Vol. 15:6 (2025) ► pp.776–811

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Individual language experience determinants of morphosyntactic variation in heritage and attriting speakers of Bosnian and Serbian

A causal inference approach

ORCiD logo with link | UiT The Arctic University of Norway
 | UiT The Arctic University of Norway
 | UiT The Arctic University of Norway
 | UiT The Arctic University of Norway | University of Leeds
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with UiT The Arctic University of Norway.

Published online: 18 November 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.24016.tom
Abstract
Using a causal inference approach, we explored the relationships among the language experience determinants of morphosyntactic sensitivity, to identify the factors that indirectly and directly cause its acquisition or maintenance in immigration contexts. We probed the sensitivity to Serbian/Bosnian clitic placement violations with a self-paced listening task, in a diverse group of bilinguals in Norway (n = 71), born to immigrant parents, or having emigrated in childhood or adulthood. The outcomes included a metalinguistic violation detection score and a listening/processing time difference between licit and illicit structures.
Structural Equation Models revealed that literacy (as reading practices) was among the most influential determinants of the ability to detect violations, while Bosnian/Serbian use across contexts and age of bilingualism onset determined violation sensitivity in processing. We identified a significant threshold of societal language (SL) exposure at age 8. Rather than SL exposure before this age precluding bilinguals from developing and maintaining morphosyntactic sensitivity, this threshold seems to reflect a protective effect against attrition which intensifies the later after age 8 SL exposure starts. The length of residence in Norway did not determine attrition, suggesting that heritage and attrited speakers should be considered on a continuum rather than as distinct bilingualism profiles.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1The individual difference approach to language acquisition and loss
    • 2.2Pronominal system in Bosnian/Serbian and Norwegian
    • 2.3Pronominal clitics as a vulnerable aspect of language acquisition and loss
  • 3.Research questions and hypotheses
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Experiment design
    • 4.2Participants
    • 4.3Analysis methods
      • 4.3.1Outcome variables
        • P3 Sensitivity as listening times difference
        • P3 Sensitivity as detection score
      • 4.3.2Directed acyclic graph for variables of interest and structural equation modeling formal analysis
      • 4.3.3Individual variable choice and operationalization
      • 4.3.4Threshold regression modeling
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1HL outcome measures: Descriptive results
    • 5.2Causes of variability in outcomes: SEM results
    • 5.3Comparing causes of the P3 Detection Score vs. LT Difference
      • 5.3.1Direct effects on P3 Detection Score
      • 5.3.2Total effects on P3 Detection Score
      • 5.3.3Direct effects on LT Difference
      • 5.3.4Total effects on LT Difference
    • 5.4Exploring possible threshold age for SL exposure onset for HL outcomes
  • 6.Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • CRediT statement
  • Data Availability
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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