I’m a formal linguist by training who is interested in understanding the ways in which cognitive and external factors play a role in language change and variation. Specifically, my goal is to provide an explanation as to why some language features change rapidly while others are preserved in a bilingual setting. Accordingly, in my MSCA project PATH (Preservation and Adaptation in Turkish as Heritage Language), I examine various morphophonological, lexical and syntactic features of the Northwestern dialect of Anatolian Turkish as it has been spoken by a community of heritage language speakers in a small Dutch town across several generations, and compare these directly to changes happening in the dialect’s natural context to factor out “normal” change. PATH will help us not only trace diachronic innovation in real time, but also explain the massive variability in heritage language outcomes.
Contact:
Email: deniz.tat@uit.no
Link to researcher profile on CRISTIN
