Inter-generational transmission in a minority language setting: Stop consonant production by Bangladeshi heritage children and adults

<p> Aims and Objectives:The purpose of this study was togain a better understanding of speech development across successive generations of heritage language users, examining how cross-linguistic, developmental and socioculturalfactorsaffect stop consonant production.Design:To this end, we recorded Sylhetiand English stopproductions of two sets of Bangladeshi heritage families: (1) first-generation adult migrants from Bangladesh and their (second-generation) UK-born children, and (2) second-generation UK-born adult heritage language users and their (third-generation) UK-born children.Data and analysis:The data were analysed auditorily, using whole-word transcription, and acoustically, examiningvoice onset time. Comparisons were then made in both languages across the four groups of participants, and cross-linguistically. Findings:The results revealed non-nativeproductions of English stops by the first-generation migrants but largely target-like patterns by the remaining sets of participants. The Sylheti stops exhibited incremental changesacross successive generations of speakers, with the third-generation children’s productions showing the greatestinfluence from English.  Originality:This is one of few studies to examineboththe host and heritage language in an ethnic minority setting, and the first to demonstrate substantial differences in heritage language accent between age-matched second-and third-generationchildren.The study shows that current theories of bilingual speech learning do not go far enough in explaining how speech develops in heritage language settings.Implications:These findings have important implications for the maintenance, transmission and long-term survival of heritage languages, and show that investigations need to go beyond second-generation speakers, in particular in communities that do not see a steady influx of new migrants. </p>