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Primary Language Identification of Multilingual Individuals
Topics: Geographic Information Science and Systems
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Keywords: multilingualism, language acquisition, language and space, random forest Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract Day: Sunday Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) Room: Virtual 59
Authors:
Jiazhen Sun, University at Buffalo
Yujia Pan, University at Buffalo
Ling Bian, University at Buffalo
Jeff Good, University at Buffalo
Pierpaolo Di Carlo, University at Buffalo
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Abstract
In a multilingual environment, individuals routinely use three or more languages and may identify one of them as their primary language. Little is known about the role of spatial factors in primary language identification. We investigate how two sets of spatial factors contribute to the primary language identification of multilingual individuals in a rural African community. The first set is the residence of multilingual individuals that represents the community influence on their language development. The second set is the birthplace of the family members that represents the kinship influence. A random forest classification model is used to assess the contribution of different factors, using sociolinguistic information of more than 200 individuals. Results show that individual’s residence and family members’ birthplaces are predictors of the primary language. The community influence and kinship influence interleaved in the primary language identification of individuals.
Primary Language Identification of Multilingual Individuals
