The Research Group ALLENCAM (SGR 2021 SGR 00472) and the Department of Translation and Language Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra are pleased to host the 2nd MULTILINGUA Network Workshop this coming winter (17-19 January, 2024). The purpose of this workshop is to bring together world-renowned and early-career researchers working on bi/multilingualism with a minority or minoritized language from a variety of approaches, including linguistic, psycholinguistic, psychometric, neurolinguistic, sociolinguistic, and educational approaches.

The goal of this workshop is to compare regional bilingualism and bidialectalism with heritage bilingualism. The format of the workshop will be dynamic, with thematic sessions with plenary talks from invited speakers followed by a discussion moderated by a researcher from the MULTILINGUA network. 

In the last two decades, the study of heritage languages and heritage bilingualism has gained significant momentum, driven by a growing recognition of the cultural and linguistic diversity within societies, as well as their key role in advancing our knowledge on linguistic theory (Benmamoun et al., 2013). Several of the widely accepted definitions of heritage languages emphasize the fact that these are minority languages acquired early in life but are not the dominant or stronger language in the society (see Montrul, 2016; Polinsky, 2018; Rothman, 2009). These definitions unexpectedly encompass minority regional or indigenous languages in cases of societal bilingualism, such as Quechua, Welsh, Catalan, Euskera, Galician, Venetan, or Sicilian. This raises the question of whether these types of bilingualism, –i.e.: regional bilingualism and heritage bilingualism–, typically investigated from different perspectives and as two different entities, might be more scientifically comparable that previously assumed. 

Some questions that we will discuss in this workshop are the following: To what extent do these different types of bilingualism constitute the same linguistic phenomena? Do heritage and regional languages develop similarly? Do they produce the same linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic outcomes? Are they both motors of linguistic change? Is it scientifically sound to treat them as diverse entities? Should these situations instead be treated as continuum? What is the role of the sociolinguistic context and schooling in the development of regional and heritage bilingualism? Can we employ the same assessment tools to evaluate their knowledge? What is the future of these types of bilingualism? 

Confirmed Invited Speakers: 

Aurora Bel (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

Evangelia Daskalaki (University of Alberta, Canada)

Leire Díaz de Gereñu (Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Erriko Unibertsitatea)

Eider Etxebarria (Northwestern University)

Maria José Ezeizabarrena (Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Erriko Unibertsitatea)

Raquel Fernández Fuertes (Universidad de Valladolid)

Tanja Kupisch (Universität Konstanz, Germany)

Evelina Leivada (ICREA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Iban Mañas (Universitat de les Illes Balears)

Silvina Montrul (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign)

Johanne Paradis (University of Alberta, Canada)

M.Carme Parafita-Couto (Leiden University / Universidade de Vigo)

Naymé Salas (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Adriana Soto-Corominas (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

References:

Benmamoun, E., Montrul, S., & Polinsky, M. (2013). Heritage languages and their speakers: Opportunities and challenges for linguistics. Theoretical Linguistics, 39(3–4), 129–181.

Montrul, S. (2016). The Acquisition of Heritage Languages. Cambridge University Press.

Polinsky, M. (2018). Heritage languages and their speakers. Cambridge University Press. 

Rothman, J. (2009). Understanding the nature and outcomes of early bilingualism: Romance languages as heritage languages. International Journal of Bilingualism, 13(2), 155–163.
 

Thematic Panels:

• Heritage vs. Regional Bilingualism: similarities and differences
• Linguistic Processes in Minority Bilingualism
• Literacy and Schooling Effects
• Cognitive Effects of Bilingualism
• Social Factors
• Assessment Tools
• Quantity and Quality Effects