Abstract

This study presents a linguistic profile of a heritage speaker of Russian and recounts the efforts to revitalize his Russian after he had nearly stopped speaking it. The study was conducted over the course of almost two years, starting when the subject was twelve years old and ending when he was fourteen. Although this study found that the subject displayed many of the linguistic features typical of heritage speakers, the subject's Russian had suffered less attrition than is common for heritage speakers of Russian in the United States. This study presents its linguistic findings under the rubrics of phonology, morphosyntax, and semantics/pragmatics. This study also describes the pedagogical efforts to improve the subject's reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in Russian. Finally, this study includes some reflections on the psychological factors that influenced the methodology and outcome.

Degree

College and Department

Linguistics and English Language

Rights

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