FACTORS AFFECTING PROFICIENCY AMONG GUJARATI HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS ON THREE CONTINENTS A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Georgetown University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics By Sheena Shah, M.S. Washington, DC May 14, 2013 Copyright 2013 by Sheena Shah All Rights Reserved ii FACTORS AFFECTING PROFICIENCY AMONG GUJARATI HERITAGE LANGUAGE LEARNERS ON THREE CONTINENTS Sheena Shah, M.S. Thesis Advisors: Alison Mackey, Ph.D. Natalie Schilling, Ph.D. ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the causes behind the differences in proficiency in the North Indian language Gujarati among heritage learners of Gujarati in three diaspora locations. In particular, I focus on whether there is a relationship between heritage language ability and ethnic and cultural identity. Previous studies have reported divergent findings. Some have found a positive relationship (e.g., Cho, 2000; Kang & Kim, 2011; Phinney, Romero, Nava, & Huang, 2001; Soto, 2002), whereas others found no correlation (e.g., C. L. Brown, 2009; Jo, 2001; Smolicz, 1992), or identified only a partial relationship (e.g., Mah, 2005). Only a few studies have addressed this question by studying one community in different transnational locations (see, for example, Canagarajah, 2008, 2012a, 2012b). The current study addresses this matter by examining data from members of the same ethnic group in similar educational settings in three multi-ethnic and multilingual cities. The results of this study are based on a survey consisting of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and proficiency tests with 135 participants. Participants are Gujarati heritage language learners from the U.K., Singapore, and South Africa, who are either current students or recent graduates of a Gujarati School. Despite similar amounts of instruction in the Gujarati language, Gujarati proficiency varied drastically, with some participants performing at near native-like levels, and others at beginner levels. To understand these differences, I apply a mixed methods approach by quantitatively examining the extent to which the differences in Gujarati proficiency can be explained by identity and demographic factors, as well as linguistic experiences/history, and by qualitatively analyzing participants' personal insights on these topics. Findings show that strength of identification with Gujarati ethnicity and culture is partially significant in explaining variations in language proficiency. In addition, three factors were sig- nificantly associated with language proficiency among the participants: amount of language use, language input/exposure, and knowledge of other North Indian languages. The current study has important implications for understanding heritage language learning as well as ethnic identity formation and maintenance. Furthermore, it provides an original contribu- tion to the field by performing a multi-site study to investigate the varying proficiencies among heritage language learners. iii Acknowledgements This dissertation would not have been possible without the assistance of numerous generous, sup- portive, and inspiring people. First and foremost, I owe my deepest gratitude to my committee members. My co-chairs, Dr. Natalie Schilling and Dr. Alison Mackey, have been inspira- tional role models for me from the very beginning of my time at Georgetown University. I am extremely grateful to Natalie for her detailed and helpful comments, insightful feedback, and won- derful suggestions. In addition, her continuous enthusiasm, encouragement, dedication, and moral support throughout the whole process have made this dissertation journey a truly enjoyable one. Thank you, Natalie, for all your time and energy - I owe much of my development as a linguist, fieldworker, and scholar to you. I wish to express my warmest gratitude to Alison, who played a significant role in shaping this project from the very early days; in particular, her helpful comments on the methodological design of this project were enlightening. Thank you to my committee mem- ber, Dr. Rita Silver, whose comments and questions made me think more about the message that I was trying to convey and for helping me to see the bigger picture. I would also like to thank Dr. Rusan Chen of CNDLS at Georgetown University for the many generous hours of statistics help he gave me and for always being available to answer my questions. My data collection was truly a collaborative effort and numerous people generously gave me their time, assistance, and support throughout the whole process. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the 135 participants from the U.K., Singapore, and South Africa, who willingly and openly shared their views, experiences, and insights with me. This dissertation would not exist without you and I am truly grateful to each and every one of you for your time. In addition, I would like to thank the three Gujarati Schools (Oshwal Gujarati School in the U.K., Singapore Gujarati School in Singapore, and the Shree Bharat Sharda Mandir in South Africa) for their support in this project and for willingly allowing me to recruit participants from their school. A number of individuals at each of the three sites deserve a special mention. In Singapore, I would like to thank the two Singaporean families who hosted me during my 6 week stay in Singapore at no pay: Thank you to the Tay family (Rita, Anthony, and iv Emily) and to the Kelly family (Carla, Bill, Carolyn, and James). You made my stay very comfortable and ensured that I had the space and tranquility to work. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality. Rita deserves a special mention: In addition to providing me with academic support through her role as a committee member, she also played a key role in my data collection in Singapore. Thank you, Rita, for making the initial contact with the Singapore Gujarati School and for introducing my work to them while I was many miles and time zones away, and thank you to both Rita and her research assistant Galyna for their assistance with the pilot study. At the National University of Singapore (NUS), I would like to thank Dr. Rajesh Rai who met with me and willingly shared a lot of helpful information related to Indians in Singapore and ensured I had all the necessary literature on the topic. At the Singapore Gujarati School, I would particularly like to thank Vinayakbhai Dhansukhlal and Binduben Doshi for their help in data collection and for making me feel at home in Singapore. Vinayakbhai made certain that I did not leave Singapore without getting the data I needed and did everything possible to make sure that I had all the information I needed for my dissertation. Even after I completed my fieldwork and was back in the U.S., he was always available and willingly answered any questions I had. I am thankful to him for introducing me to Singapore and for ensuring that I got a taste of local culture and cuisine, which included eating the famous durian! Binduben spent numerous hours of her own accord individually contacting current and former students of the school and encouraging them to participate in my study. Without her help, it would have been very difficult to recruit enough participants during my short fieldtrip in Singapore. In South Africa, I would like to thank the wonderful South African family: the Paima family (Niribhai, Bhagwatiben, Dimple, Chirag, and Ravi). I am indebted for the support they provided me which ensured that my data collection went smoothly. Thank you, Bhagwatiben and Niribhai, for encouraging all the students at SBSM to participate in my study and for allowing me to interview participants in your home. Thank you for feeding me the best Indian food I could ever have asked for, and for ensuring that I had the opportunity to experience so much of what South Africa has to offer during my few weeks in your country. Thank you to Dimple, Chirag, and Ravi for treating me like a sister and for making me feel so comfortable in your home. I would also like to thank Shashibhai Daya for his enthusiasm in my project and for all his assistance during data collection. Thanks also to Bhaktiben and family and to Lenasia Guesthouse for providing me with a comfortable stay during my time in South Africa. In the U.K., Kusumben Shah deserves a special thank you. It was during my time as a student at the Oshwal Gujarati School, when she was headmistress, that I became increasingly interested in Gujarati. Her teaching and dedication toward preserving the Gujarati language and v culture inspired me to pursue this as the topic of my dissertation. In addition, I would like to thank her for always being available to answer my Gujarati questions in a detailed and prompt manner. I am especially grateful to her for sharing her expertise and wonderful insights into the pronunciation and grammar difficulties faced by heritage speakers of Gujarati, which helped shape the questions for the Gujarati proficiency test. I would also like to thank Kailashben Shah and Yogeshbhai Shah for providing me with information about Gujarati School and Jagrutiben Shah for helping me recruit participants at the school. I am indebted to my parents who were the two evaluators of the Gujarati proficiency test. They spent hours upon hours evaluating the proficiency test and provided detailed notes on each participant while working full-time. I am so thankful to you both for giving so much of your time so that I could finish this dissertation on time. I would like to thank Dr. Bonny Sands for reading my proposal and earlier drafts of this dissertation and for helping me to be a better writer. She has been a true friend throughout my PhD life and I am extremely grateful to her for her continuous support and encouragement. In addition, I would like to thank my dissertation writing group: Marissa Fond, Natalia Jacobsen, and Kerstin Sondermann.