CODE-V · Capacity, Opportunity, and Desire in Heritage Language Variation (CODE-V)

Capacity, Opportunity, and Desire in Heritage Language Variation (CODE-V)

The CODE-V project (“Capacity, Opportunity and Desire in Heritage Language Variation”) addresses a critical gap in our understanding of how heritage languages develop and change across generations. Heritage language bilingualism is an emerging field that explores the experiences of individuals who acquire a minority language at home while simultaneously learning the dominant societal language through schooling and social interaction. Over time, these speakers often become more proficient in the majority language, and their heritage language may undergo structural changes compared to the baseline variety spoken in the country of origin. The project focuses on Turkish heritage speakers in Norway and monolingual Turkish speakers in Turkey, examining how different dimensions of language input—both in quality and quantity—shape heritage language development. Special attention is given to the role of community centres as key sociocultural contexts for language use and maintenance. By integrating experimental evidence with sociocultural factors, CODE-V aims to uncover not only how heritage languages diverge from their monolingual baselines, but also why these differences arise. The overall objectives of CODE-V are: To investigate the interplay between input conditions, cross-linguistic influence, and individual variation in heritage language development. To assess the impact of input quality, particularly through community engagement, on linguistic competence and maintenance. To compare the real-time processing of grammatical cues (such as case marking, word order, and prosody) in monolingual and heritage speakers, using both offline and online experimental methods. To explore developmental and individual differences by including both children and adults in the study. To contribute to European priorities on cultural diversity and inclusion by providing evidence-based insights for educators, policymakers, and immigrant families. Through this comprehensive approach, CODE-V advances scientific understanding of multilingualism and informs strategies for sustaining heritage languages in diverse societies.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union