Heritage Speakers Telling Fictional Stories in Two Languages: Cross-Linguistic Differences in Macrostructure

IF 3 3区医学 Q1 AUDIOLOGY & SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools Pub Date : 2026-10-02 DOI:10.1044/2026_lshss-25-00179

Sveta Fichman,Carmit Altman,Joel Walters,Sharon Armon-Lotem

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose: The article aimed to examine cross-linguistic differences in macrostructure abilities in the narratives of 5- to 6-year-old preschool children from diverse heritage language (HL) backgrounds who speak Hebrew as the societal language (SL). Method: Data were collected from 104 preschool children (ages 5–6 years), bilingual speakers of English–Hebrew ( n = 34), Russian–Hebrew ( n = 50), and French–Hebrew ( n = 20). Narratives were collected via retelling in both languages with support from six colored pictures following the procedures and coding of the Language Impairment Testing in Multilingual Settings–Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (LITMUS-MAIN). Story scripts in each language reflect story grammar (SG) elements, including setting (time, place, and main characters) and three episodes per story, where each episode contains goal, attempt, and outcome. Stories retold in both languages were transcribed and coded for macrostructure features, following the LITMUS-MAIN coding procedure. The coding included story structure (sum of all elements, maximum score = 17), structural complexity (number of goal–attempt or goal–outcome sequences and number of goal–attempt–outcome sequences), and individual SG elements. All three components of macrostructure were analyzed for cross-linguistic and cross-group differences. Results: Analyses revealed significant cross-linguistic differences in most components for the English–Hebrew group, but not for the Russian–Hebrew or French–Hebrew groups. More subtle differences were revealed by structural complexity analysis, such that narratives of HL English–Hebrew and Russian–Hebrew bilinguals included more goal–attempt and goal–outcome combinations. The presence of individual SG elements was also higher in HL than in SL, and this trend was more evident in the English–Hebrew group. Conclusions: Cross-linguistic differences in macrostructure might not be universal; rather, each HL group has unique profiles of storytelling. We discuss ethnolinguistic identity and cultural values as possible factors contributing to these differences. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.33325110

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传承者用两种语言讲述虚构故事：宏观结构上的跨语言差异

目的：研究以希伯来语为社会语言（SL）的5- 6岁学龄前儿童叙事宏观结构能力的跨语言差异。方法：收集104名学龄前儿童（5-6岁）的数据，其中英语-希伯来语（n = 34）、俄语-希伯来语（n = 50）和法语-希伯来语（n = 20）为双语。按照多语言环境下语言障碍测试-多语言叙事评估工具（LITMUS-MAIN）的程序和编码，通过两种语言复述和六张彩色图片支持来收集叙事。每种语言的故事脚本都反映了故事语法（SG）元素，包括设定（时间、地点和主要人物），每个故事有三集，每集包含目标、尝试和结果。按照LITMUS-MAIN编码程序，对用两种语言复述的故事进行转录和宏观结构特征编码。编码包括故事结构（所有元素的总和，最高分= 17）、结构复杂性（目标-尝试或目标-结果序列的数量以及目标-尝试-结果序列的数量）和单个SG元素。对宏观结构的三个组成部分进行了跨语言和跨群体差异分析。结果：分析显示，英语-希伯来语组在大多数成分上存在显著的跨语言差异，但在俄罗斯-希伯来语或法语-希伯来语组中没有。结构复杂性分析揭示了更细微的差异，如HL英语-希伯来语和俄语-希伯来语双语者的叙述包含更多的目标-尝试和目标-结果组合。在HL群体中，单个SG元素的存在也高于SL群体，这种趋势在英语-希伯来语群体中更为明显。结论：宏观结构的跨语言差异可能并不普遍；相反，每个HL集团都有独特的讲故事方式。我们将讨论民族语言认同和文化价值作为造成这些差异的可能因素。补充资料：https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.33325110

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来源期刊

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools Social Sciences-Linguistics and Language

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

12.50%

发文量

165

期刊介绍： Mission: LSHSS publishes peer-reviewed research and other scholarly articles pertaining to the practice of audiology and speech-language pathology in the schools, focusing on children and adolescents. The journal is an international outlet for clinical research and is designed to promote development and analysis of approaches concerning the delivery of services to the school-aged population. LSHSS seeks to advance evidence-based practice by disseminating the results of new studies as well as providing a forum for critical reviews and meta-analyses of previously published work. Scope: The broad field of audiology and speech-language pathology as practiced in schools, including aural rehabilitation; augmentative and alternative communication; childhood apraxia of speech; classroom acoustics; cognitive impairment; craniofacial disorders; fluency disorders; hearing-assistive technology; language disorders; literacy disorders including reading, writing, and spelling; motor speech disorders; speech sound disorders; swallowing, dysphagia, and feeding disorders; voice disorders.