Resources for Parents

Who is a Heritage Speaker?

Heritage Language Bilingualism (HLB) applies to situations where one of the languages, the language spoken at home, is a minority (immigrant) language with limited distribution in the larger society and formal literacy-education in the heritage language (HL) is not typically provided by the society. Any home language other than English in the UK, Norwegian in Norway, Japanese in Japan, Mandarin Chinese in China, for example, would be a HL, because immigrant children in such contexts would acquire their home, minority language as their first language and subsequently be exposed to the majority language later on, at the latest in school, where it is likely to become their dominant language over time.

谁是继承语使用者（Heritage Speaker）？

“继承语双语现象”（Heritage Language Bilingualism, HLB）指的是这样的情境：家庭中使用的一种语言属于社会中的少数族群语言（如移民语言），这种语言在更大社会中的使用范围有限，而且社会通常不会为该继承语（HL）提供正式的读写教育。比如，在英国，除了英语以外的任何家庭语言，在挪威，除了挪威语以外的，在日本，除了日语以外的，以及在中国，除了汉语普通话以外的家庭语言，都可以被视为继承语。这是因为在这些语境中，移民儿童首先习得的是家庭中的少数语言作为第一语言，随后才接触到主流语言，最晚在进入学校之后。而随着时间推移，主流语言很可能逐渐成为他们的主导语言。

Why is it important to maintain the heritage language?

Maintaining a heritage language is important for many reasons—linguistic, cognitive, cultural, emotional, and even practical.

🌍 1. Cultural identity & connection

Heritage languages are often deeply tied to family, culture, and history. Maintaining the HL helps individuals stay connected to their roots, traditions, and community.
It fosters a sense of belonging and pride in one’s background, which supports emotional well-being.

🧠 2. Cognitive benefits

Bilingualism is linked to enhanced executive functions, such as attention control, working memory, and problem-solving.
Even if one language is dominant, continued use of the HL keeps the bilingual brain active and flexible.

🗣️ 3. Family and intergenerational communication

Speaking the HL allows children to communicate with parents, grandparents, and extended family, which strengthens family bonds and transfers cultural knowledge.

💼 4. Educational and career opportunities

Being proficient in multiple languages is an asset in today’s global world, opening up academic, professional, and travel opportunities.
In some fields, like translation, diplomacy, social work, and education, heritage language skills are highly valuable.

🛡️ 5. Language preservation

On a societal level, supporting HL maintenance contributes to linguistic diversity and helps prevent language loss, especially for endangered or minoritized languages.