Subtractive bilingualism and the survival of the Inuit language: Heritage- versus second-language education.

A longitudinal study examined the impact of early heritage- and second-language education on heritage- and second-language development among Inuit, White, and mixed-heritage (Inuit/ White) children. Children in an arctic community were tested in English, French and Inuttitut at the beginning and end of each of the first 3 school years. Compared with Inuit in heritage language and mixed-heritage children in a second language, Inuit in second-language classes (English or French) showed poorer heritage language skills and poorer second-language acquisition. Conversely, Inuit children in Inuttitut classes showed heritage language skills equal to or better than mixed-heritage children and Whites educated in their heritage languages. Findings support claims that early instruction exclusively in a societally dominant language can lead to subtractive bilingualism among minority-language children, and that heritage language education may reduce this subtractive process.