Collecting data in understudied language varieties: A methodological note

Laia Colina Fortuny; Roberta D'Alessandro; M. Carmen Parafita Couto

doi:10.7557/12.8324

Authors

Laia Colina Fortuny Utrecht University https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8313-815X
Roberta D'Alessandro Utrecht University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0165-5901
M. Carmen Parafita Couto University of Santiago de Compostela https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7306-3393

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/12.8324

Keywords:

understudied varieties, elicitation tasks, repetition task, agreement, heritage languages

Abstract

Eliciting linguistic data from speakers of non-standardized varieties presents well-known challenges. Traditional acceptability judgment tasks have been widely used to probe grammatical knowledge, but task design, such as mode of presentation, response options, and labeling, can strongly influence outcomes (Marty et al., 2020). In this study, we investigate a small group of heritage Catalan speakers in Germany and the Netherlands using a repetition-based task rather than a standard judgment task. Our findings indicate that responses to repetition tasks differ significantly from commonly known generalizations on the phenomenon at issue investigated through grammaticality judgment tasks. We conclude that repetition tasks can uncover patterns of grammatical representation that may differ from those captured by judgment tasks, and that they provide deeper insights into grammatical representation than the latter. This suggests that carefully designed elicitation tasks can mitigate common biases and more accurately reveal the grammatical representations of heritage speakers. These findings highlight both the challenges and the potential of alternative methodologies for studying underrepresented languages.

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