ERIC Number: EJ1450172
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Dec
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-7237
EISSN: EISSN-1740-2344
Using Cognitive Measures from Linguistic Relativity Research to Assess Thinking in Yucatec Maya-Spanish Bilingual Children
First Language, v44 n6 p708-733 2024
This article uses cognitive measures previously developed within linguistic relativity research to explore the thinking patterns of Yucatec Maya-Spanish bilingual children in the Yucatan peninsula. These measures were designed to detect cognitive patterns associated with specific language patterns. Here, these measures are used to test whether 12 Yucatec Maya-Spanish bilingual children aged 9-11 years old differ cognitively from a similar sample of monolingual Maya children (nine Yucatec Maya-speaking and three Spanish-speaking). The study assesses cognitive associations for two language domains: number marking, a structure-based contrast, and spatial frames of reference, a usage-based contrast. For both number marking and spatial frames of reference, both bilingual and monolingual children provided cognitive responses more like Yucatec Maya monolingual speakers than like Spanish monolinguals. The study also assessed whether the results were affected by factors that have emerged in other studies of bilingual cognition: language status, social community, and language of assessment ('language mode'). For number marking, there was an effect of the language of assessment, but not of social community or language status. For spatial frames of reference, there were effects of social community and language status but not of the language of assessment. Overall, the results suggest that Yucatec Maya's cognitive habits may continue for some time during the shift from Yucatec Maya monolingualism to bilingualism but with some sensitivity to these other factors. This study offers a positive outlook for efforts to maintain and revitalize the Yucatec Maya language in the Yucatan peninsula.
Descriptors: Spanish, American Indian Languages, American Indians, Bilingualism, Schemata (Cognition), Monolingualism, Native Language, Second Language Learning, Language Patterns, Elementary School Students, Cognitive Development, Language Usage, Contrastive Linguistics, Language Tests, Language Maintenance, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Mexico
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A