Work

V2 in non-subject-initial main clauses in Latin American Norwegian: Results from a narration task

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents an investigation of the verb second (V2) rule in Norwegian heritage language in Latin America (LatAmNo). Using a narrative retelling task with segments from the Chaplin film Modern Times, data was collected from 19 LatAmNo speakers from Argentina, Ecuador and Chile, and 10 homeland Norwegian speakers as a control group. The study focuses on non-subject-initial, declarative main clauses; the results show that LatAmNo speakers generally retain V2 despite some variation, in line with previous studies of Scandinavian heritage languages. LatAmNo speakers also exhibit a lower proportion of non-subject-initial declaratives than homeland speakers. This is similar to what has been observed in North American Norwegian (NAmNo); however, in LatAmNo, the lower proportion of non-subject-initial declaratives cannot be straightforwardly explained by cross-linguistic influence, in contrast to what has been proposed for NAmNo (Westergaard et al. 2023).

Source: Bergen Language and Linguistics Studies

DOI: 10.15845/bells.v15i1.4556

Authors: June Osland Melvær, Kari Kinn, Marie Lund Stokka

Language: English

Topic: Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

Subfield: Language and Linguistics

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Norges Forskningsråd

Award: Norwegian across the Americas: New perspectives on heritage languages

OpenAlex ID: W4409245014

FWCI:

Cites: 2

Cited by:

Related to: 10