Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States: The State of the Field ed. by Sara M. Beaudrie and Marta Fairclough (original) (raw)

Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States: The State of the Field aptly acknowledges and addresses the realities of Spanish as a native language in the USA. It contains 13 chapters from different authors, divided thematically into four parts. Although the book brings together authors from different research perspectives and theoretical frameworks, the text remains highly accessible, even when the content falls outside one's area of specialty. As such, the book will be beneficial for senior and novice researchers, graduate students, and educators, not only for those who deal specifically with Spanish but also, to the extent that many issues in heritage Spanish are issues of heritage languages in general, for any professional interested in questions in heritage language research. The editors, in their introduction, briefly lay out the goals of and the need for this volume. The Spanish language has always been present in the USA, from its formation; however, only with the relatively recent increase in the number of speakers is this fact beginning to be acknowledged. The unique history of Spanish and its interaction with English have resulted in varying ideological, social, linguistic, and educational consequences, and this book aims to explore who heritage speakers are, how they use or relate to their Spanish, and what can (and should) be done with them in the classroom. The first thematic section contextualizes the volume within the study of Spanish as a heritage language, offering historical, social, political, and theoretical surveys of the field. These chapters explore the history of Spanish and the study of Spanish speakers in the USA, the formation of language ideologies, the evolution of language policy in the USA, and conceptualizations of bilinguals and bilingualism, and how all of these relate to the heritage learner classroom. The second section introduces some of the linguistic characteristics of heritage Spanish. These chapters acknowledge that the concept of a heritage grammar is not a monolithic one, but rather subject to variability and used by speakers of varying proficiencies. These chapters explore the nature of the heritage language grammar and the grammatical competence of heritage speakers, the pragmatics and discourse use of heritage Spanish, as well as the perceptions of Spanish/English code-switching. The third section examines learner perspectives on heritage language and how these may affect the classroom experience. Heritage speakers, when compared with the stereotypical adult second language learner, may have different motivations for learning (or maintaining) and different attitudes toward the language in question (here, Spanish), and may be subject to different expectations or pressures in the classroom. Identity may also be a crucial component of heritage language learners,