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
MA
College and Department
Linguistics and English Language
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Jordan, Aaron, "Revitalizing the Russian of a Heritage Speaker" (2022). Theses and Dissertations. 9729.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/9729
Date Submitted
2022-11-10
Document Type
Thesis
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12567
Keywords
heritage speakers, Russian, attrition, revitalization
Language
english