This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Developing Community-Based Sociolinguistic Corpora to Promote Social Justice, 2024
This chapter explores the many components that are involved in creating a student-based socioling... more This chapter explores the many components that are involved in creating a student-based sociolinguistic corpus. Sociolinguistic corpora can be used as tools for social justice in that they promote local (or often stigmatized) varieties of language and students who speak said varieties often experience heightened language pride or greater esteem for their own language. Using the Corpus del Español en el Sur de Arizona (Carvalho 2012-) and the Corpus Bilingüe del Valle (Christoffersen and Bessett 2019-) as models, this chapter first details how to build the corpus, including the documents needed, the interview protocol, the transcription protocol, and the creation of a website. Next, since the most daunting and time-consuming task is transcription, we report the r esults of field trials with various technologically-aided transcription methods to help improve the process. Lastly, we explore the ways in which the corpus can be used to promote social justice and how to incorporate the corpus into the classroom. By providing and explaining the tools necessary to create a corpus, we hope this chapter inspires others to create student-based semi-open sociolinguistic corpora throughout the United States and around the world.
Uruguayan Portuguese, a variety of Portuguese which occurs in contact with Spanish in northern Ur... more Uruguayan Portuguese, a variety of Portuguese which occurs in contact with Spanish in northern Uruguay along the Uruguayan-Brazilian border, has been perceived to be a mix of Portuguese and Spanish, in which speakers are either unable to separate languages or engage in code-switching for pragmatic purposes. Here, we analyze in-group communication using visual and verbal data extracted from video recordings of conversations among bilinguals in northern Uruguay, in order to investigate whether all language mixing is random or if speakers engage in pragmatically meaningful code-switching. We identify instances where Portuguese was inserted into Spanish segments with the intention to shift the frame from serious to non-serious, and offer a sequential analysis of code-switches which, together with gestures and prosody, clearly function to perform irony, sarcasm, disparagement, and teasing. This analysis illustrates how speakers draw on their bilingual repertoire to enact playful roles, adding to previous literature that has shown that despite prolonged bilingualism, the distinction between cognate languages is available for the manipulation of discourse functions, such as the construction of humor.
Spanish and Portuguese are in contact along the extensive border of Brazil and its neighboring Sp... more Spanish and Portuguese are in contact along the extensive border of Brazil and its neighboring Spanish-speaking countries. Transnational interactions in some border communities allow for ephemeral language accommodations that occur when speakers of both languages communicate during social interactions and business transactions, facilitated by the lack of border control and similarities between the languages. A different situation is found in northern Uruguay, where Spanish and Portuguese are spoken in several border towns, presenting a case of stable and prolonged bilingualism that has allowed for the emergence of language contact phenomena such as lexical borrowings, code-switching, and structural convergence to a variable extent. However, due to urbanization and the presence of monolingual dialects in the surrounding communities, Portuguese and Spanish have not converged structurally in a single mixed code in urban areas and present instead clear continuities with the monolingual counterparts.
Teaching Heritage Languages Critically. Routledge, 2021
In this chapter, we describe sociolinguistic studies based on Spanish corpora from Arizona, Calif... more In this chapter, we describe sociolinguistic studies based on Spanish corpora from Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, and Texas, to illustrate variational patterns observed in US Spanish. We chose four of the most studied morphosyntactic variable structures: copula choice, subject pronoun expression, progressive constructions, and mood choice. Our review shows that variation is structured, rule-governed, systematic, and often follows closely the patterns found in the monolingual source of the bilingual variety (reference lect). In addition, we summarize central aspects of bilingual behavior, such as lexical borrowings, semantic extensions, and multi-word calques.
The Routledge Handbook of Variationist Approaches to Spanish, 2021
While differential object marking (DOM) is productive in Spanish, Portuguese does not have a DOM ... more While differential object marking (DOM) is productive in Spanish, Portuguese does not have a DOM system, except for limited cases. DOM is variable in Spanish, where the presence of accusative a is conditioned by linguistic factors such as animacy, definiteness, and specificity of the object. This chapter explores DOM variation in monolingual Spanish in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, and the variety spoken by Spanish-Portuguese bilinguals in Rivera, a town on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border. Based on comparative sociolinguistics, it analyzes the extent to which Portuguese-Spanish bilinguals replicate or differ from the Spanish monolingual patterns. The comparison of overall frequency, factor group rankings, and constraint rankings shows that bilinguals do not diverge from monolinguals due to Portuguese, since both dialects share similar probabilistic factors constraining a-marking in all contexts. This study brings counter evidence to the generalized assumption that contact-induced linguistic change is often the result of prolonged contact between cognate languages.
This paper sheds light on the paths of third language (L3) acquisition of Portuguese by Spanish-E... more This paper sheds light on the paths of third language (L3) acquisition of Portuguese by Spanish-English speakers whose first language is Spanish (L1 Spanish), English (L1 English), or both in the case of heritage speakers of Spanish (HL). Specifically, it looks at the gradual acquisition of a categorical rule in Portuguese, where some prepositions are invariably contracted with the determiner that follows them. Based on a corpus of 1910 written assignments by Portuguese L3 learners, we extracted 21,879 tokens in obligatory contraction contexts and submitted them to a multivariate analysis. This analysis allowed for the investigation of the impact of linguistic (type of preposition and definite article number and gender) and extra-linguistic factors (course level and learner's language background), with logistic regression modeling with sum contrasts and individual as a random effect. While results point to some clear similarities across the three language groups-all learners acquired the contractions in a u-shaped progression and used more contractions with the a preposition and fewer with the por preposition-participants acquire contractions at a higher rate when the article is singular than when it is plural, and in the case of HL speakers, more so when the article is masculine than when it is feminine. These results confirm the facilitatory role of a previously acquired language (i.e., Spanish) that is typologically similar to the target language (i.e., Portuguese) in transfer patterns during L3 acquisition.
In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent disco... more In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent discourse-pragmatic variables are susceptible to language contact induced changes. Based on a comparison of forms and functions of negative tags in the varieties spoken by Portuguese-Spanish bilinguals in a community on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border with the one spoken by monolinguals in the Uruguayan capital, we aimed at assessing to what extent any differences in this variable behavior may be affected by contact with Portuguese. Our results indicate that, despite the high permeability of discourse-pragmatic features in contact situations attested in the literature and the presumed tendency for cognate languages to converge, the forms and functions of negative tags in bilingual Spanish did not radically differ from the monolingual variety. We found, instead, an intricate pattern of convergences and divergences that challenges the presupposed assumptions about extreme permeability of cognate discourse pragmatic systems in contact.
In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent disco... more In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent discourse-pragmatic variables are susceptible to language contact induced changes. Based on a comparison of forms and functions of negative tags in the varieties spoken by Portuguese-Spanish bilinguals in a community on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border with the one spoken by monolinguals in the Uruguayan capital, we aimed at assessing to what extent any differences in this variable behavior may be affected by contact with Portuguese. Our results indicate that, despite the high permeability of discourse-pragmatic features in contact situations attested in the literature and the presumed tendency for cognate languages to converge, the forms and functions of negative tags in bilingual Spanish did not radically differ from the monolingual variety. We found, instead, an intricate pattern of convergences and divergences that challenges the presupposed assumptions about extreme permeability of cognate discourse pragmatic systems in contact.
RESUMO: Este artigo descreve as contribuições da sociolinguística variacionista aos estudos de lí... more RESUMO: Este artigo descreve as contribuições da sociolinguística variacionista aos estudos de línguas em contato. Após um histórico do desenvolvimento dessa linha de pesquisa e de suas implicações teóricas e metodológicas, a expressão do pronome sujeito com referentes de terceira pessoa do singular é examinada nas variedades do português e do espanhol faladas no norte do Uruguai. Com base na sociolinguística comparativa, constata-se que a distribuição dessa variável na fala de bilingues não apresenta indicios de convergência. Finalmente, chama-se a atenção para a necessidade de mais estudos sobre dialetos de português em contato com outros idiomas dentro das premissas da sociolinguística variacionista. Palavras-Chave: línguas em contato; expressão de pronome sujeito; português uruguaio; espanhol uruguaio. RESUMEN: El artículo discute las contribuciones de la sociolingüística variacionista a los estudios sobre lenguas en contacto. Tras un resumen sobre el desarrollo del área y sus implicaciones metodológicas y teóricas, se examina la expresión del pronombre sujeto de tercera persona en español y portugués en contacto en el norte de Uruguay. Basados en la sociolingüística comparativa, los resultados demuestran que esa variable no muestra convergencia de sistemas entre los bilingües. Por último, se llama la atención a la necesidad de más estudios sobre dialectos del portugués en contacto con otras lenguas dentro del marco de la sociolingüística variacionista. Palabras clave: lenguas en contacto; expresión del pronombre sujeto; portugués uruguayo; español uruguayo.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Developing Community-Based Sociolinguistic Corpora to Promote Social Justice, 2024
This chapter explores the many components that are involved in creating a student-based socioling... more This chapter explores the many components that are involved in creating a student-based sociolinguistic corpus. Sociolinguistic corpora can be used as tools for social justice in that they promote local (or often stigmatized) varieties of language and students who speak said varieties often experience heightened language pride or greater esteem for their own language. Using the Corpus del Español en el Sur de Arizona (Carvalho 2012-) and the Corpus Bilingüe del Valle (Christoffersen and Bessett 2019-) as models, this chapter first details how to build the corpus, including the documents needed, the interview protocol, the transcription protocol, and the creation of a website. Next, since the most daunting and time-consuming task is transcription, we report the r esults of field trials with various technologically-aided transcription methods to help improve the process. Lastly, we explore the ways in which the corpus can be used to promote social justice and how to incorporate the corpus into the classroom. By providing and explaining the tools necessary to create a corpus, we hope this chapter inspires others to create student-based semi-open sociolinguistic corpora throughout the United States and around the world.
Uruguayan Portuguese, a variety of Portuguese which occurs in contact with Spanish in northern Ur... more Uruguayan Portuguese, a variety of Portuguese which occurs in contact with Spanish in northern Uruguay along the Uruguayan-Brazilian border, has been perceived to be a mix of Portuguese and Spanish, in which speakers are either unable to separate languages or engage in code-switching for pragmatic purposes. Here, we analyze in-group communication using visual and verbal data extracted from video recordings of conversations among bilinguals in northern Uruguay, in order to investigate whether all language mixing is random or if speakers engage in pragmatically meaningful code-switching. We identify instances where Portuguese was inserted into Spanish segments with the intention to shift the frame from serious to non-serious, and offer a sequential analysis of code-switches which, together with gestures and prosody, clearly function to perform irony, sarcasm, disparagement, and teasing. This analysis illustrates how speakers draw on their bilingual repertoire to enact playful roles, adding to previous literature that has shown that despite prolonged bilingualism, the distinction between cognate languages is available for the manipulation of discourse functions, such as the construction of humor.
Spanish and Portuguese are in contact along the extensive border of Brazil and its neighboring Sp... more Spanish and Portuguese are in contact along the extensive border of Brazil and its neighboring Spanish-speaking countries. Transnational interactions in some border communities allow for ephemeral language accommodations that occur when speakers of both languages communicate during social interactions and business transactions, facilitated by the lack of border control and similarities between the languages. A different situation is found in northern Uruguay, where Spanish and Portuguese are spoken in several border towns, presenting a case of stable and prolonged bilingualism that has allowed for the emergence of language contact phenomena such as lexical borrowings, code-switching, and structural convergence to a variable extent. However, due to urbanization and the presence of monolingual dialects in the surrounding communities, Portuguese and Spanish have not converged structurally in a single mixed code in urban areas and present instead clear continuities with the monolingual counterparts.
Teaching Heritage Languages Critically. Routledge, 2021
In this chapter, we describe sociolinguistic studies based on Spanish corpora from Arizona, Calif... more In this chapter, we describe sociolinguistic studies based on Spanish corpora from Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, and Texas, to illustrate variational patterns observed in US Spanish. We chose four of the most studied morphosyntactic variable structures: copula choice, subject pronoun expression, progressive constructions, and mood choice. Our review shows that variation is structured, rule-governed, systematic, and often follows closely the patterns found in the monolingual source of the bilingual variety (reference lect). In addition, we summarize central aspects of bilingual behavior, such as lexical borrowings, semantic extensions, and multi-word calques.
The Routledge Handbook of Variationist Approaches to Spanish, 2021
While differential object marking (DOM) is productive in Spanish, Portuguese does not have a DOM ... more While differential object marking (DOM) is productive in Spanish, Portuguese does not have a DOM system, except for limited cases. DOM is variable in Spanish, where the presence of accusative a is conditioned by linguistic factors such as animacy, definiteness, and specificity of the object. This chapter explores DOM variation in monolingual Spanish in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, and the variety spoken by Spanish-Portuguese bilinguals in Rivera, a town on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border. Based on comparative sociolinguistics, it analyzes the extent to which Portuguese-Spanish bilinguals replicate or differ from the Spanish monolingual patterns. The comparison of overall frequency, factor group rankings, and constraint rankings shows that bilinguals do not diverge from monolinguals due to Portuguese, since both dialects share similar probabilistic factors constraining a-marking in all contexts. This study brings counter evidence to the generalized assumption that contact-induced linguistic change is often the result of prolonged contact between cognate languages.
This paper sheds light on the paths of third language (L3) acquisition of Portuguese by Spanish-E... more This paper sheds light on the paths of third language (L3) acquisition of Portuguese by Spanish-English speakers whose first language is Spanish (L1 Spanish), English (L1 English), or both in the case of heritage speakers of Spanish (HL). Specifically, it looks at the gradual acquisition of a categorical rule in Portuguese, where some prepositions are invariably contracted with the determiner that follows them. Based on a corpus of 1910 written assignments by Portuguese L3 learners, we extracted 21,879 tokens in obligatory contraction contexts and submitted them to a multivariate analysis. This analysis allowed for the investigation of the impact of linguistic (type of preposition and definite article number and gender) and extra-linguistic factors (course level and learner's language background), with logistic regression modeling with sum contrasts and individual as a random effect. While results point to some clear similarities across the three language groups-all learners acquired the contractions in a u-shaped progression and used more contractions with the a preposition and fewer with the por preposition-participants acquire contractions at a higher rate when the article is singular than when it is plural, and in the case of HL speakers, more so when the article is masculine than when it is feminine. These results confirm the facilitatory role of a previously acquired language (i.e., Spanish) that is typologically similar to the target language (i.e., Portuguese) in transfer patterns during L3 acquisition.
In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent disco... more In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent discourse-pragmatic variables are susceptible to language contact induced changes. Based on a comparison of forms and functions of negative tags in the varieties spoken by Portuguese-Spanish bilinguals in a community on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border with the one spoken by monolinguals in the Uruguayan capital, we aimed at assessing to what extent any differences in this variable behavior may be affected by contact with Portuguese. Our results indicate that, despite the high permeability of discourse-pragmatic features in contact situations attested in the literature and the presumed tendency for cognate languages to converge, the forms and functions of negative tags in bilingual Spanish did not radically differ from the monolingual variety. We found, instead, an intricate pattern of convergences and divergences that challenges the presupposed assumptions about extreme permeability of cognate discourse pragmatic systems in contact.
In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent disco... more In this paper, we utilize negative polarity tag questions in order to assess to what extent discourse-pragmatic variables are susceptible to language contact induced changes. Based on a comparison of forms and functions of negative tags in the varieties spoken by Portuguese-Spanish bilinguals in a community on the Uruguayan-Brazilian border with the one spoken by monolinguals in the Uruguayan capital, we aimed at assessing to what extent any differences in this variable behavior may be affected by contact with Portuguese. Our results indicate that, despite the high permeability of discourse-pragmatic features in contact situations attested in the literature and the presumed tendency for cognate languages to converge, the forms and functions of negative tags in bilingual Spanish did not radically differ from the monolingual variety. We found, instead, an intricate pattern of convergences and divergences that challenges the presupposed assumptions about extreme permeability of cognate discourse pragmatic systems in contact.
RESUMO: Este artigo descreve as contribuições da sociolinguística variacionista aos estudos de lí... more RESUMO: Este artigo descreve as contribuições da sociolinguística variacionista aos estudos de línguas em contato. Após um histórico do desenvolvimento dessa linha de pesquisa e de suas implicações teóricas e metodológicas, a expressão do pronome sujeito com referentes de terceira pessoa do singular é examinada nas variedades do português e do espanhol faladas no norte do Uruguai. Com base na sociolinguística comparativa, constata-se que a distribuição dessa variável na fala de bilingues não apresenta indicios de convergência. Finalmente, chama-se a atenção para a necessidade de mais estudos sobre dialetos de português em contato com outros idiomas dentro das premissas da sociolinguística variacionista. Palavras-Chave: línguas em contato; expressão de pronome sujeito; português uruguaio; espanhol uruguaio. RESUMEN: El artículo discute las contribuciones de la sociolingüística variacionista a los estudios sobre lenguas en contacto. Tras un resumen sobre el desarrollo del área y sus implicaciones metodológicas y teóricas, se examina la expresión del pronombre sujeto de tercera persona en español y portugués en contacto en el norte de Uruguay. Basados en la sociolingüística comparativa, los resultados demuestran que esa variable no muestra convergencia de sistemas entre los bilingües. Por último, se llama la atención a la necesidad de más estudios sobre dialectos del portugués en contacto con otras lenguas dentro del marco de la sociolingüística variacionista. Palabras clave: lenguas en contacto; expresión del pronombre sujeto; portugués uruguayo; español uruguayo.
The Portuguese Language Journal (PLJ) was founded in 2006 to promote and improve the teaching of... more The Portuguese Language Journal (PLJ) was founded in 2006 to promote and improve the teaching of Portuguese as a world language. PLJ also aims to provide a venue to encourage collaboration, research, and exchange of ideas among Portuguese language instructors. In 2016, the PLJ became the professional academic journal of the AOTP – American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese.
The Portuguese Language Journal (PLJ) was founded in 2006 to promote and improve the teaching of... more The Portuguese Language Journal (PLJ) was founded in 2006 to promote and improve the teaching of Portuguese as a world language. PLJ also aims to provide a venue to encourage collaboration, research, and exchange of ideas among Portuguese language instructors. In 2016, the PLJ became the professional academic journal of the AOTP – American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese.
This chapter provides an overview of the
multiplicity of contact situations involving Portuguese ... more This chapter provides an overview of the multiplicity of contact situations involving Portuguese and their linguistic consequences.
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Papers by Ana Carvalho
In 2016, the PLJ became the professional academic journal of the AOTP – American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese.
In 2016, the PLJ became the professional academic journal of the AOTP – American Organization of Teachers of Portuguese.
multiplicity of contact situations involving Portuguese and their linguistic consequences.