UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHEASTERN PHILIPPINES College of Arts and Sciences Obrero, Davao City S.Y. 2013- 2014 A Case Study of a Cebuano Child presented to: Prof. Catherine M. Roble, PhD In partial fulfillment of the requirements in English 38 (Language Acquisition) by: Johann C. Butalid AB-English Language (3rd year) March 2014 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. Language acquisition is one of the quintessential human traits, because nonhumans do not communicate by using language. Language acquisition usually refers to first-language acquisition, which studies infants acquisition of their native language. The capacity to acquire and use language is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other beings. Although it is difficult to pin down what aspects of language are uniquely human, there are a few design features that can be found in all known forms of human language, but that are missing from forms of animal communication. This is a study on how the Cebuano children acquire the first language. And also, the study would find out on what are the most influential factors that help the children in acquiring the language. Accomplishing the study would result to a couple of essential aspects. Mainly, this is to put out learning into an application and experience a personal taste of making use of the theories in Language Acquisition, discovering them, and once again attesting their worth and credibility. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In nearly all cases, childrens language development follows a predictable sequence. However, there is a great deal of variation in the age at which children reach a given milestone. Furthermore, each childs development is usually characterized by gradual acquisition of particular abilities: thus correct use of English verbal inflection will emerge over a period of a year or more, starting from a stage where verbal inflections are always left out, and ending in a stage where they are nearly always used correctly. There are also many different ways to characterize the developmental sequence. On the production side, one way to name the stages is as follows, focusing primarily on the unfolding of lexical and syntactic knowledge: Stage Typical age Description Babbling 6-8 months Repetitive CV patterns One-word stage (better one-morphemeor one-unit) or holophrastic stage 9-18 months Single open-class words or word stems Two-word stage 18-24 months mini-sentences with simple semantic relations Telegraphic stage or early multiword stage (better multi-morpheme) 24-30 months Telegraphic sentence structures of lexical rather than functional or grammatical morphemes Later multiword stage 30+ months Grammatical or functional structures emerge This is supported by the Theories of language acquisition which strives to explain such factors. Traditional behaviorists explain first language acquisition (FLA) as a result of learner imitation, practice, feedback on success, and habit formation. By imitating the sounds and patterns in their environment, children are reinforced by the encouragement, praise or successful communication with those around them. The child’s success in acquiring the language is directly affected by the regularity of positive reinforcement and by the quality and quantity of input (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 9). Lightbown and Spada (1999: 10) define the terms as such: Imitation: Word-for-word repetition of all or part of someone else’s utterance. Practice repetitive manipulation of form. They point out, however, that children, unlike parrots who repeat the familiar, don’t simply imitate everything they hear. Rather, they choose things to imitate that are relevant to the present learning situation, and imitate the new words and structures until they become hardwired. Once learned, they move on to other novel words and phrases. The forms of language children use cannot be attributed solely to imitation and practice (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 15). Children create their own sentences by recognizing patterns in the language and using them in new contexts. Although behaviorism can explain the more basic elements for language acquisition, it cannot account for the acquisition of more elaborate structures. As (Brown, 2000: 24) points out, this approach “failed to account for the abstract nature of language, for the child’s creativity, and for the interactive nature of language acquisition.” Other theories are needed. Noam Chomsky proposed a Nativist Theory, in which children are biologically programmed for language, just as they are for functions such as learning to walk. Their built-in ability enables them to become competent language users regardless of their learning environment. Chomsky referred to this innate knowledge or “little black box” as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) (Brown, 2000: 24). The LAD contains the universal principles of all languages and helps to keep the child on track instead of confused by all the complex rules of the language. Language samples which the child is exposed to set off the LAD (Lightbown and Spada, 1999:16). Once it is activated, the child is able to discover the structure of the language to be learned by matching the innate knowledge of basic grammatical relationships to the structures of the particular language in the environment. (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 16) The LAD is now more commonly referred to as Universal Grammar (UG) and is thought to be comprised of principles shared by all languages. Children have to learn how their language makes use of and deviates from these principles (Chomsky 1981, Cook 1988, White1989) in Lightbown and Spada (1999: 16). Eric Lenneberg (1967) argued that the LAD will work successfully only if it is activated at a certain time—the critical period, which Brown (2000: 53) defines as “a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire.” There have been a few documented cases of children who had been deprived of normal language input and were later unable to make up for the lost time, lending support to the CPH. An interesting aspect of the nativist approach is that the child’s FL is considered a genuine system in itself, and that language development is not merely going from an erroneous structure to a more acceptable grammatically correct structure: The child’s language at any stage is systematic in that the child is constantly forming hypotheses on the basis of the input received and then testing those hypotheses in speech (and comprehension). As the child’s language develops, those hypotheses are continually revised, reshaped, or sometimes abandoned. (Brown, 2000: 25) Jean Berko (1958) in Brown (2000:25) showed how children learn by using an integrated system rather than by a series of separate discreet items. She demonstrated how children as young as four could talk about two “wugs” if shown a “wug” or if told how a person today could “gling” could then talk about how yesterday the person “glinged” or “glang.” With nonsense word tests, she showed that children “applied rules for the formation of plural, present progressive, past tense, third singular, and possessives” (Brown 2000: 25). As nativist researchers examined and compared a child’s “telegraphese” to the complex language of five- to ten-year olds, they discovered early grammar systems of children referred to as pivot grammars (Brown 2000: 26). Two words uttered would typically fall into two different classes. For example, in “My cap,” “That dog,” and “Mommy shoe,” the words on the left were called pivot words because they could revolve around words on the right, which were in a more “open” class. Two words from the same class were understood not to go together. Many rules were discovered in the generative framework of the child, and the rules seem to be anchored in children’s UG (Brown, 2000: 26). Lightbown and Spada (1999: 22) explain that interactionists attribute more influence to the environment. Language is understood to develop from a complex interchange between a child’s innate aptitude and the linguistic environment. Child directed Speech—language which is altered to make it more easily understood—is seen as an important contribution in the child’s language development. Interactionists don’t see language acquisition as separate from the child’s experience and cognitive development, but rather, affected and influenced by other kinds of skills and knowledge. Jean Piaget saw that children use language to express their understanding of their physical interaction with their environment, in that the interaction resulted in a symbol system which represented the child’s thoughts and comprehension of his/her environment. Vygotsky (1978) in Lightbown and Spada (1999: 23) determined social interaction to be the sole factor for language development. A supportive social atmosphere with lots of interaction was essential and was all that was needed for the child’s acquisition of a higher level of knowledge and language performance. To show the importance of interaction, Vygotsky cites the case of Jim, a hearing child with deaf parents whose lack of normal one-on-one interaction resulted in his abnormally delayed FLA. Berko and Gleason (1982) in Brown (2000: 42) are in agreement: While it used to be generally held that mere exposure to language is sufficient … it is now clear that, in order for successful language to take place, interaction, rather than exposure, is required; children do not learn language from overhearing the conversations of others or from listening to the radio, and must, instead, acquire it in the context of being spoken to. (Brown, 2000: 42) all the theories greatly contribute on how children acquire language as well as the factors that affect the children in acquiring language. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The methodology is based on a descriptive design of research. In the collection of data, the information was gathered by setting an appointment with the respondent for an estimated 15 minutes session, and was done through video documentations. Factual information acquired is guaranteed because of the involvement of essential factors like the childs own characteristics, experiences and views. Also, the relevant details on the childs environments where given recognition in some areas of the study. Basically, the process of gathering the data took place in the respondents household with the permission, guidance and support of the childs parents and family. Generally, the study would aim to come up with a set of patterns on how the child acquires his first language and the most influential factors that help the child in acquiring the language. CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT Khalex Liam Fernandez is a three year old boy, adopted by our landlady. He loves to play balls with his neighbor friends and eating chocolates. His favorite toy is sword because he wanted to be “Juan dela Cruz ‘where he always watches this primetime episode. Also, he is fond of asking questions because of her curiosity in different things. He is very observant with the physical features of a person and her surroundings as well. Every time he met an unusual face on our boarding house he will really ask the person “Kinsa ka? Nag-unsa ka diri?” and those visitors like him because of being a keen observer. Khalex is very direct and frank when he speaks. As he is the only child in the boarding house that’s why he used to act likes a matured person. He is living together with our landlady. He has many “Titas” the siblings of our landlady and including me. He lives in a rich communicative environment. His “titas” always give a quality time such as talking and asking her what he likes, telling him different stories before he sleeps and playing games and going outdoors. Aside from these people, there are also things that contribute to him in acquiring a language such as different story books, computer, television, audio-visual toys and nursery charts such as alphabets, numbers and other academic stuffs. The entire study will basically focuses on acquiring language of a 3 year old child. As well as, to the influential factors which affect on acquiring language. In this manner, this paper generally sees the pattern of how the child communicates. First Session (2 yrs. /8mos.) Me: Unsay pangalan nimuh? Khalex: Khalex Riam (instead of Liam) Me:dli man Riam.Liam man. Pila imong edad? Khalex: Tulo Me: Ambeh san a imong gikaon beh…Unsa ganeh imong name? Khalex: Khalex Riam Me: Mali mana woiii… Khalex Liam Khalex: Khalex Riam? Me: Dili, kani ang tama woo. KHALEX LIAM Khalex: Khalex Riiiiii…….Liiiiii……..liiii…am Me: wow..very good…how old are you? Khalex: Im two ears old (ears instead of years) Me: Ikaw daw years Khalex: ears………. Me: Sunduga si Tita beh… YEARS Khalex:EARS… Me: years lageh dili ears..years Khalex: yeeeeeeee……………..ars Me: Years… years. Khalex: Years Me: Old Khalex: Old Me: Very good. Second session (2yrs/9mos) Me: Khalex, asa man imong Kuya Yoyong? Khalex:Lakaw Me: Unsa mana imong gidala? Khalex: Payong… naa dira Kuya Yoyong? Me: Tua baya sa likod Khalex: Huh? Me: Tua sa likod nay giayo Khalex: Adto ko didto Me: Ayaw adto didto kay dirty Khalex: Adto man lageh kuya yoyong Me: Oo, kay man sya giayo Khalex: Unsa iyang giayo? Me: Kanal…. asa man ka adto? khalex: Adto ko Lolo me: Pagpayong kay init khalex: Asa si Lolo? Me:Tua didto wooooh..tabok ta ah.. Khalex: Dili ko hadlok ko Me: Ay ayaw nalang kay nitabuk na imong lolo Third session (3 years old) Me: What is your name? Khalex: My name is…. Unsa ganeh tuh? Me: Khalex Liam Khalex: Khalex Liam Me: Fernandez Khalex: Fernandez Me: How old are you? Khalex: Im three years old Me? What is the name of your father? Khalex: My father’s name……….. Me: Kinsa man imong papa? Khalex: Nagbarahe Me: Unsay nagbarahe? Khalex: Sakyanan ba Me: Asa dapit? Khalex: Asa ganeh tuh ? kalimot ko da… Me: Unsa mana wala ko kasabot..nagdrive? kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha anang barahe:? Khalex: Barahe ba Me: Kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha ana? Khalex: Si Daddy to.. kasabot kag Daddy To? Me: Oo, kasabot ko Khalex: Wala ganeh Me: Kasabot ko woii daddy Toto nimuh Khalex: Si daddy toto nagbroom-broom ba Me: Huh? Khalex: Nagbroom-broom ba….Asa ganeh si kuya yoyong? Me: Naa sa likod, naa giayo Khalex: Kinsa tao dira? Asa si lolo? Me: Si Lolo, wala man diri Khalex: Asa man siya? Me: Adto ka sa iyaha? Asa man ka muadto? Khalex: Adtuon naku si Lolo Me: Asa man nimu siya adtuon? Khalex: Huh? Me:Asa man nimu siya adtuon? Khalex: Didto woooh.. Me: Wala imong lolo dira Khalex: Wala di siya? Me: Oo Khalex: Wala? Asa di si kuya yoyong? Me: Naa ganeh sa likod Khalex: Huh? Me: Naa gibuhat imong kuya yoyong Khalex: Unsa iyang gibuhat? Me: Nag-ayo sa kanal Khalex:Asa dapit? Me: Sa likod…asa man ka muadto? Khalex: Uban ko kuya yoyong Me: Hugaw man didto malusot ka sa kanal Khalex: Huh? Naa si kuya yoyong sa kanal? Adto ko kanal Me: Ngeh, dili man ka pwede didto Khalex: Dili? Me: Oo Khalex: Naa man si kuya yoyong sa kwarto? Asa man siya magkuha ug kahoy? Me: Wala man siya nagkuha ug kahoy. Nag- ayo man siya sa kanal.asa man ka muadto?naay iro dira Khalex: Asa man si lolo? Me: Didto wooh balik ta Khalex: Didto? Me: Oo Khalex: Asa si lolo? Me: Tuara woooh Khalex: Asa? Me: Dili man ka pwede mutabok daghan ug sakyanan. Nganu gusto man ka muadto didto? Khalex: Kay gusto naku Makita si lolo Me: Ah okie.. asa mana gipalit imong toy ? Khalex: Didto Me: Asa dapit? Khalex: Didto ba Me: Ligo nata Khalex: Dili ko Me: Ngano man? Khalex: Singot naku Me: Ngano gisingot man ka? Khalex: Kay gisingot man ko Me: Naa na imong daddy ..bye. bye Khalex: Bye Fourth Session (3 years and 1 month) Me: Hello, unsa imo giwatch? Khalex: Tom and Jerry Me: Wow… kasabot ka sa imong gitan-aw? Khalex: Oo Me: Kinsa imong ganahan sa duha? Si tom or jerry? Khalex: Si jerry Me: Kay ngano man? Khalex: Mura mag ako.. gamay Me: Ahhhh… si tom di? Khalex: Dili ko ganahan sa iya Me: Kay ngano man? Khalex: Pangit siya Me: Ngeh… bad mang mag ingon ug pangit Khalex: Ngano man? Me: Tanan man gwapo ug gwapa Khalex: Gwapo di ko? Me: Oo Khalex: Ngano man? Me: Kay gicreate man ka ni God Khalex: Ayyy..tan-aw sa ko tita huh.. Me:Okie.. Fifth Session (3 years and two months) Khalex: Kay kinsa neh cellphone? Me: Akoa na Khalex: Tita, puhurama ko Me: Ayaw dili paman ka kabalo mugamit ana Khalex: Kabalo man ko Me: Cge daw unsaon mana pag turn on? Khalex: Ana wooo. Me: Kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha ana? Khalex: Si tita maan Me: Ahhh. Keep na natuh ah…magpractice ka karon ug sulat sa imong ngalan. Khalex; Dili ko Me: Ngano man? Magschool naman ka Khalex: Kapoy Me: Ngehh… dili teka tagaan ug chocolate Khalex: Cge magsulat naku… CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The researcher found out that in acquiring language my respondent interacts with the people through his environment. It is supported by Interactionist Theory by Vygotsky which determined social interaction to be the sole factor for language development. A supportive social atmosphere with lots of interaction was essential and was all that was needed for the child’s acquisition of a higher level of knowledge and language performance. It shows the importance of having an actual conversation with the people as my respondent always asking questions that must be answered correctly. The most influential factors that help him acquire language are the people around him. As the researcher mentioned above that he is surrounded people who are very concerned to his growth and how he utter words. Next is the television as he often watch movies specially cartoons. He can easily imitate based on what he hears through watching movies. Therefore a social interaction with the child is very important in acquiring language. Through this way it will enhance his cognitive and social development. The environment of the child would also affect in acquiring language. Such as the kind of people he is interacting will greatly contribute as he grows. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHEASTERN PHILIPPINES College of Arts and Sciences Obrero, Davao City S.Y. 2013- 2014 A Case Study of a Cebuano Child presented to: Prof. Catherine M. Roble, PhD In partial fulfillment of the requirements in English 38 (Language Acquisition) by: Johann C. Butalid AB-English Language (3rd year) March 2014 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. Language acquisition is one of the quintessential human traits, because nonhumans do not communicate by using language. Language acquisition usually refers to first-language acquisition, which studies infants acquisition of their native language. The capacity to acquire and use language is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other beings. Although it is difficult to pin down what aspects of language are uniquely human, there are a few design features that can be found in all known forms of human language, but that are missing from forms of animal communication. This is a study on how the Cebuano children acquire the first language. And also, the study would find out on what are the most influential factors that help the children in acquiring the language. Accomplishing the study would result to a couple of essential aspects. Mainly, this is to put out learning into an application and experience a personal taste of making use of the theories in Language Acquisition, discovering them, and once again attesting their worth and credibility. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In nearly all cases, childrens language development follows a predictable sequence. However, there is a great deal of variation in the age at which children reach a given milestone. Furthermore, each childs development is usually characterized by gradual acquisition of particular abilities: thus correct use of English verbal inflection will emerge over a period of a year or more, starting from a stage where verbal inflections are always left out, and ending in a stage where they are nearly always used correctly. There are also many different ways to characterize the developmental sequence. On the production side, one way to name the stages is as follows, focusing primarily on the unfolding of lexical and syntactic knowledge: Stage Typical age Description Babbling 6-8 months Repetitive CV patterns One-word stage (better one-morphemeor one-unit) or holophrastic stage 9-18 months Single open-class words or word stems Two-word stage 18-24 months mini-sentences with simple semantic relations Telegraphic stage or early multiword stage (better multi-morpheme) 24-30 months Telegraphic sentence structures of lexical rather than functional or grammatical morphemes Later multiword stage 30+ months Grammatical or functional structures emerge This is supported by the Theories of language acquisition which strives to explain such factors. Traditional behaviorists explain first language acquisition (FLA) as a result of learner imitation, practice, feedback on success, and habit formation. By imitating the sounds and patterns in their environment, children are reinforced by the encouragement, praise or successful communication with those around them. The child’s success in acquiring the language is directly affected by the regularity of positive reinforcement and by the quality and quantity of input (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 9). Lightbown and Spada (1999: 10) define the terms as such: Imitation: Word-for-word repetition of all or part of someone else’s utterance. Practice repetitive manipulation of form. They point out, however, that children, unlike parrots who repeat the familiar, don’t simply imitate everything they hear. Rather, they choose things to imitate that are relevant to the present learning situation, and imitate the new words and structures until they become hardwired. Once learned, they move on to other novel words and phrases. The forms of language children use cannot be attributed solely to imitation and practice (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 15). Children create their own sentences by recognizing patterns in the language and using them in new contexts. Although behaviorism can explain the more basic elements for language acquisition, it cannot account for the acquisition of more elaborate structures. As (Brown, 2000: 24) points out, this approach “failed to account for the abstract nature of language, for the child’s creativity, and for the interactive nature of language acquisition.” Other theories are needed. Noam Chomsky proposed a Nativist Theory, in which children are biologically programmed for language, just as they are for functions such as learning to walk. Their built-in ability enables them to become competent language users regardless of their learning environment. Chomsky referred to this innate knowledge or “little black box” as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) (Brown, 2000: 24). The LAD contains the universal principles of all languages and helps to keep the child on track instead of confused by all the complex rules of the language. Language samples which the child is exposed to set off the LAD (Lightbown and Spada, 1999:16). Once it is activated, the child is able to discover the structure of the language to be learned by matching the innate knowledge of basic grammatical relationships to the structures of the particular language in the environment. (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 16) The LAD is now more commonly referred to as Universal Grammar (UG) and is thought to be comprised of principles shared by all languages. Children have to learn how their language makes use of and deviates from these principles (Chomsky 1981, Cook 1988, White1989) in Lightbown and Spada (1999: 16). Eric Lenneberg (1967) argued that the LAD will work successfully only if it is activated at a certain time—the critical period, which Brown (2000: 53) defines as “a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire.” There have been a few documented cases of children who had been deprived of normal language input and were later unable to make up for the lost time, lending support to the CPH. An interesting aspect of the nativist approach is that the child’s FL is considered a genuine system in itself, and that language development is not merely going from an erroneous structure to a more acceptable grammatically correct structure: The child’s language at any stage is systematic in that the child is constantly forming hypotheses on the basis of the input received and then testing those hypotheses in speech (and comprehension). As the child’s language develops, those hypotheses are continually revised, reshaped, or sometimes abandoned. (Brown, 2000: 25) Jean Berko (1958) in Brown (2000:25) showed how children learn by using an integrated system rather than by a series of separate discreet items. She demonstrated how children as young as four could talk about two “wugs” if shown a “wug” or if told how a person today could “gling” could then talk about how yesterday the person “glinged” or “glang.” With nonsense word tests, she showed that children “applied rules for the formation of plural, present progressive, past tense, third singular, and possessives” (Brown 2000: 25). As nativist researchers examined and compared a child’s “telegraphese” to the complex language of five- to ten-year olds, they discovered early grammar systems of children referred to as pivot grammars (Brown 2000: 26). Two words uttered would typically fall into two different classes. For example, in “My cap,” “That dog,” and “Mommy shoe,” the words on the left were called pivot words because they could revolve around words on the right, which were in a more “open” class. Two words from the same class were understood not to go together. Many rules were discovered in the generative framework of the child, and the rules seem to be anchored in children’s UG (Brown, 2000: 26). Lightbown and Spada (1999: 22) explain that interactionists attribute more influence to the environment. Language is understood to develop from a complex interchange between a child’s innate aptitude and the linguistic environment. Child directed Speech—language which is altered to make it more easily understood—is seen as an important contribution in the child’s language development. Interactionists don’t see language acquisition as separate from the child’s experience and cognitive development, but rather, affected and influenced by other kinds of skills and knowledge. Jean Piaget saw that children use language to express their understanding of their physical interaction with their environment, in that the interaction resulted in a symbol system which represented the child’s thoughts and comprehension of his/her environment. Vygotsky (1978) in Lightbown and Spada (1999: 23) determined social interaction to be the sole factor for language development. A supportive social atmosphere with lots of interaction was essential and was all that was needed for the child’s acquisition of a higher level of knowledge and language performance. To show the importance of interaction, Vygotsky cites the case of Jim, a hearing child with deaf parents whose lack of normal one-on-one interaction resulted in his abnormally delayed FLA. Berko and Gleason (1982) in Brown (2000: 42) are in agreement: While it used to be generally held that mere exposure to language is sufficient … it is now clear that, in order for successful language to take place, interaction, rather than exposure, is required; children do not learn language from overhearing the conversations of others or from listening to the radio, and must, instead, acquire it in the context of being spoken to. (Brown, 2000: 42) all the theories greatly contribute on how children acquire language as well as the factors that affect the children in acquiring language. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The methodology is based on a descriptive design of research. In the collection of data, the information was gathered by setting an appointment with the respondent for an estimated 15 minutes session, and was done through video documentations. Factual information acquired is guaranteed because of the involvement of essential factors like the childs own characteristics, experiences and views. Also, the relevant details on the childs environments where given recognition in some areas of the study. Basically, the process of gathering the data took place in the respondents household with the permission, guidance and support of the childs parents and family. Generally, the study would aim to come up with a set of patterns on how the child acquires his first language and the most influential factors that help the child in acquiring the language. CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT Khalex Liam Fernandez is a three year old boy, adopted by our landlady. He loves to play balls with his neighbor friends and eating chocolates. His favorite toy is sword because he wanted to be “Juan dela Cruz ‘where he always watches this primetime episode. Also, he is fond of asking questions because of her curiosity in different things. He is very observant with the physical features of a person and her surroundings as well. Every time he met an unusual face on our boarding house he will really ask the person “Kinsa ka? Nag-unsa ka diri?” and those visitors like him because of being a keen observer. Khalex is very direct and frank when he speaks. As he is the only child in the boarding house that’s why he used to act likes a matured person. He is living together with our landlady. He has many “Titas” the siblings of our landlady and including me. He lives in a rich communicative environment. His “titas” always give a quality time such as talking and asking her what he likes, telling him different stories before he sleeps and playing games and going outdoors. Aside from these people, there are also things that contribute to him in acquiring a language such as different story books, computer, television, audio-visual toys and nursery charts such as alphabets, numbers and other academic stuffs. The entire study will basically focuses on acquiring language of a 3 year old child. As well as, to the influential factors which affect on acquiring language. In this manner, this paper generally sees the pattern of how the child communicates. First Session (2 yrs. /8mos.) Me: Unsay pangalan nimuh? Khalex: Khalex Riam (instead of Liam) Me:dli man Riam.Liam man. Pila imong edad? Khalex: Tulo Me: Ambeh san a imong gikaon beh…Unsa ganeh imong name? Khalex: Khalex Riam Me: Mali mana woiii… Khalex Liam Khalex: Khalex Riam? Me: Dili, kani ang tama woo. KHALEX LIAM Khalex: Khalex Riiiiii…….Liiiiii……..liiii…am Me: wow..very good…how old are you? Khalex: Im two ears old (ears instead of years) Me: Ikaw daw years Khalex: ears………. Me: Sunduga si Tita beh… YEARS Khalex:EARS… Me: years lageh dili ears..years Khalex: yeeeeeeee……………..ars Me: Years… years. Khalex: Years Me: Old Khalex: Old Me: Very good. Second session (2yrs/9mos) Me: Khalex, asa man imong Kuya Yoyong? Khalex:Lakaw Me: Unsa mana imong gidala? Khalex: Payong… naa dira Kuya Yoyong? Me: Tua baya sa likod Khalex: Huh? Me: Tua sa likod nay giayo Khalex: Adto ko didto Me: Ayaw adto didto kay dirty Khalex: Adto man lageh kuya yoyong Me: Oo, kay man sya giayo Khalex: Unsa iyang giayo? Me: Kanal…. asa man ka adto? khalex: Adto ko Lolo me: Pagpayong kay init khalex: Asa si Lolo? Me:Tua didto wooooh..tabok ta ah.. Khalex: Dili ko hadlok ko Me: Ay ayaw nalang kay nitabuk na imong lolo Third session (3 years old) Me: What is your name? Khalex: My name is…. Unsa ganeh tuh? Me: Khalex Liam Khalex: Khalex Liam Me: Fernandez Khalex: Fernandez Me: How old are you? Khalex: Im three years old Me? What is the name of your father? Khalex: My father’s name……….. Me: Kinsa man imong papa? Khalex: Nagbarahe Me: Unsay nagbarahe? Khalex: Sakyanan ba Me: Asa dapit? Khalex: Asa ganeh tuh ? kalimot ko da… Me: Unsa mana wala ko kasabot..nagdrive? kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha anang barahe:? Khalex: Barahe ba Me: Kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha ana? Khalex: Si Daddy to.. kasabot kag Daddy To? Me: Oo, kasabot ko Khalex: Wala ganeh Me: Kasabot ko woii daddy Toto nimuh Khalex: Si daddy toto nagbroom-broom ba Me: Huh? Khalex: Nagbroom-broom ba….Asa ganeh si kuya yoyong? Me: Naa sa likod, naa giayo Khalex: Kinsa tao dira? Asa si lolo? Me: Si Lolo, wala man diri Khalex: Asa man siya? Me: Adto ka sa iyaha? Asa man ka muadto? Khalex: Adtuon naku si Lolo Me: Asa man nimu siya adtuon? Khalex: Huh? Me:Asa man nimu siya adtuon? Khalex: Didto woooh.. Me: Wala imong lolo dira Khalex: Wala di siya? Me: Oo Khalex: Wala? Asa di si kuya yoyong? Me: Naa ganeh sa likod Khalex: Huh? Me: Naa gibuhat imong kuya yoyong Khalex: Unsa iyang gibuhat? Me: Nag-ayo sa kanal Khalex:Asa dapit? Me: Sa likod…asa man ka muadto? Khalex: Uban ko kuya yoyong Me: Hugaw man didto malusot ka sa kanal Khalex: Huh? Naa si kuya yoyong sa kanal? Adto ko kanal Me: Ngeh, dili man ka pwede didto Khalex: Dili? Me: Oo Khalex: Naa man si kuya yoyong sa kwarto? Asa man siya magkuha ug kahoy? Me: Wala man siya nagkuha ug kahoy. Nag- ayo man siya sa kanal.asa man ka muadto?naay iro dira Khalex: Asa man si lolo? Me: Didto wooh balik ta Khalex: Didto? Me: Oo Khalex: Asa si lolo? Me: Tuara woooh Khalex: Asa? Me: Dili man ka pwede mutabok daghan ug sakyanan. Nganu gusto man ka muadto didto? Khalex: Kay gusto naku Makita si lolo Me: Ah okie.. asa mana gipalit imong toy ? Khalex: Didto Me: Asa dapit? Khalex: Didto ba Me: Ligo nata Khalex: Dili ko Me: Ngano man? Khalex: Singot naku Me: Ngano gisingot man ka? Khalex: Kay gisingot man ko Me: Naa na imong daddy ..bye. bye Khalex: Bye Fourth Session (3 years and 1 month) Me: Hello, unsa imo giwatch? Khalex: Tom and Jerry Me: Wow… kasabot ka sa imong gitan-aw? Khalex: Oo Me: Kinsa imong ganahan sa duha? Si tom or jerry? Khalex: Si jerry Me: Kay ngano man? Khalex: Mura mag ako.. gamay Me: Ahhhh… si tom di? Khalex: Dili ko ganahan sa iya Me: Kay ngano man? Khalex: Pangit siya Me: Ngeh… bad mang mag ingon ug pangit Khalex: Ngano man? Me: Tanan man gwapo ug gwapa Khalex: Gwapo di ko? Me: Oo Khalex: Ngano man? Me: Kay gicreate man ka ni God Khalex: Ayyy..tan-aw sa ko tita huh.. Me:Okie.. Fifth Session (3 years and two months) Khalex: Kay kinsa neh cellphone? Me: Akoa na Khalex: Tita, puhurama ko Me: Ayaw dili paman ka kabalo mugamit ana Khalex: Kabalo man ko Me: Cge daw unsaon mana pag turn on? Khalex: Ana wooo. Me: Kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha ana? Khalex: Si tita maan Me: Ahhh. Keep na natuh ah…magpractice ka karon ug sulat sa imong ngalan. Khalex; Dili ko Me: Ngano man? Magschool naman ka Khalex: Kapoy Me: Ngehh… dili teka tagaan ug chocolate Khalex: Cge magsulat naku… CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The researcher found out that in acquiring language my respondent interacts with the people through his environment. It is supported by Interactionist Theory by Vygotsky which determined social interaction to be the sole factor for language development. A supportive social atmosphere with lots of interaction was essential and was all that was needed for the child’s acquisition of a higher level of knowledge and language performance. It shows the importance of having an actual conversation with the people as my respondent always asking questions that must be answered correctly. The most influential factors that help him acquire language are the people around him. As the researcher mentioned above that he is surrounded people who are very concerned to his growth and how he utter words. Next is the television as he often watch movies specially cartoons. He can easily imitate based on what he hears through watching movies. Therefore a social interaction with the child is very important in acquiring language. Through this way it will enhance his cognitive and social development. The environment of the child would also affect in acquiring language. Such as the kind of people he is interacting will greatly contribute as he grows. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHEASTERN PHILIPPINES College of Arts and Sciences Obrero, Davao City S.Y. 2013- 2014 A Case Study of a Cebuano Child presented to: Prof. Catherine M. Roble, PhD In partial fulfillment of the requirements in English 38 (Language Acquisition) by: Johann C. Butalid AB-English Language (3rd year) March 2014 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Language acquisition is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate. Language acquisition is one of the quintessential human traits, because nonhumans do not communicate by using language. Language acquisition usually refers to first-language acquisition, which studies infants acquisition of their native language. The capacity to acquire and use language is a key aspect that distinguishes humans from other beings. Although it is difficult to pin down what aspects of language are uniquely human, there are a few design features that can be found in all known forms of human language, but that are missing from forms of animal communication. This is a study on how the Cebuano children acquire the first language. And also, the study would find out on what are the most influential factors that help the children in acquiring the language. Accomplishing the study would result to a couple of essential aspects. Mainly, this is to put out learning into an application and experience a personal taste of making use of the theories in Language Acquisition, discovering them, and once again attesting their worth and credibility. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE In nearly all cases, childrens language development follows a predictable sequence. However, there is a great deal of variation in the age at which children reach a given milestone. Furthermore, each childs development is usually characterized by gradual acquisition of particular abilities: thus correct use of English verbal inflection will emerge over a period of a year or more, starting from a stage where verbal inflections are always left out, and ending in a stage where they are nearly always used correctly. There are also many different ways to characterize the developmental sequence. On the production side, one way to name the stages is as follows, focusing primarily on the unfolding of lexical and syntactic knowledge: Stage Typical age Description Babbling 6-8 months Repetitive CV patterns One-word stage (better one-morphemeor one-unit) or holophrastic stage 9-18 months Single open-class words or word stems Two-word stage 18-24 months mini-sentences with simple semantic relations Telegraphic stage or early multiword stage (better multi-morpheme) 24-30 months Telegraphic sentence structures of lexical rather than functional or grammatical morphemes Later multiword stage 30+ months Grammatical or functional structures emerge This is supported by the Theories of language acquisition which strives to explain such factors. Traditional behaviorists explain first language acquisition (FLA) as a result of learner imitation, practice, feedback on success, and habit formation. By imitating the sounds and patterns in their environment, children are reinforced by the encouragement, praise or successful communication with those around them. The child’s success in acquiring the language is directly affected by the regularity of positive reinforcement and by the quality and quantity of input (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 9). Lightbown and Spada (1999: 10) define the terms as such: Imitation: Word-for-word repetition of all or part of someone else’s utterance. Practice repetitive manipulation of form. They point out, however, that children, unlike parrots who repeat the familiar, don’t simply imitate everything they hear. Rather, they choose things to imitate that are relevant to the present learning situation, and imitate the new words and structures until they become hardwired. Once learned, they move on to other novel words and phrases. The forms of language children use cannot be attributed solely to imitation and practice (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 15). Children create their own sentences by recognizing patterns in the language and using them in new contexts. Although behaviorism can explain the more basic elements for language acquisition, it cannot account for the acquisition of more elaborate structures. As (Brown, 2000: 24) points out, this approach “failed to account for the abstract nature of language, for the child’s creativity, and for the interactive nature of language acquisition.” Other theories are needed. Noam Chomsky proposed a Nativist Theory, in which children are biologically programmed for language, just as they are for functions such as learning to walk. Their built-in ability enables them to become competent language users regardless of their learning environment. Chomsky referred to this innate knowledge or “little black box” as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) (Brown, 2000: 24). The LAD contains the universal principles of all languages and helps to keep the child on track instead of confused by all the complex rules of the language. Language samples which the child is exposed to set off the LAD (Lightbown and Spada, 1999:16). Once it is activated, the child is able to discover the structure of the language to be learned by matching the innate knowledge of basic grammatical relationships to the structures of the particular language in the environment. (Lightbown and Spada, 1999: 16) The LAD is now more commonly referred to as Universal Grammar (UG) and is thought to be comprised of principles shared by all languages. Children have to learn how their language makes use of and deviates from these principles (Chomsky 1981, Cook 1988, White1989) in Lightbown and Spada (1999: 16). Eric Lenneberg (1967) argued that the LAD will work successfully only if it is activated at a certain time—the critical period, which Brown (2000: 53) defines as “a biologically determined period of life when language can be acquired more easily and beyond which time language is increasingly difficult to acquire.” There have been a few documented cases of children who had been deprived of normal language input and were later unable to make up for the lost time, lending support to the CPH. An interesting aspect of the nativist approach is that the child’s FL is considered a genuine system in itself, and that language development is not merely going from an erroneous structure to a more acceptable grammatically correct structure: The child’s language at any stage is systematic in that the child is constantly forming hypotheses on the basis of the input received and then testing those hypotheses in speech (and comprehension). As the child’s language develops, those hypotheses are continually revised, reshaped, or sometimes abandoned. (Brown, 2000: 25) Jean Berko (1958) in Brown (2000:25) showed how children learn by using an integrated system rather than by a series of separate discreet items. She demonstrated how children as young as four could talk about two “wugs” if shown a “wug” or if told how a person today could “gling” could then talk about how yesterday the person “glinged” or “glang.” With nonsense word tests, she showed that children “applied rules for the formation of plural, present progressive, past tense, third singular, and possessives” (Brown 2000: 25). As nativist researchers examined and compared a child’s “telegraphese” to the complex language of five- to ten-year olds, they discovered early grammar systems of children referred to as pivot grammars (Brown 2000: 26). Two words uttered would typically fall into two different classes. For example, in “My cap,” “That dog,” and “Mommy shoe,” the words on the left were called pivot words because they could revolve around words on the right, which were in a more “open” class. Two words from the same class were understood not to go together. Many rules were discovered in the generative framework of the child, and the rules seem to be anchored in children’s UG (Brown, 2000: 26). Lightbown and Spada (1999: 22) explain that interactionists attribute more influence to the environment. Language is understood to develop from a complex interchange between a child’s innate aptitude and the linguistic environment. Child directed Speech—language which is altered to make it more easily understood—is seen as an important contribution in the child’s language development. Interactionists don’t see language acquisition as separate from the child’s experience and cognitive development, but rather, affected and influenced by other kinds of skills and knowledge. Jean Piaget saw that children use language to express their understanding of their physical interaction with their environment, in that the interaction resulted in a symbol system which represented the child’s thoughts and comprehension of his/her environment. Vygotsky (1978) in Lightbown and Spada (1999: 23) determined social interaction to be the sole factor for language development. A supportive social atmosphere with lots of interaction was essential and was all that was needed for the child’s acquisition of a higher level of knowledge and language performance. To show the importance of interaction, Vygotsky cites the case of Jim, a hearing child with deaf parents whose lack of normal one-on-one interaction resulted in his abnormally delayed FLA. Berko and Gleason (1982) in Brown (2000: 42) are in agreement: While it used to be generally held that mere exposure to language is sufficient … it is now clear that, in order for successful language to take place, interaction, rather than exposure, is required; children do not learn language from overhearing the conversations of others or from listening to the radio, and must, instead, acquire it in the context of being spoken to. (Brown, 2000: 42) all the theories greatly contribute on how children acquire language as well as the factors that affect the children in acquiring language. CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY The methodology is based on a descriptive design of research. In the collection of data, the information was gathered by setting an appointment with the respondent for an estimated 15 minutes session, and was done through video documentations. Factual information acquired is guaranteed because of the involvement of essential factors like the childs own characteristics, experiences and views. Also, the relevant details on the childs environments where given recognition in some areas of the study. Basically, the process of gathering the data took place in the respondents household with the permission, guidance and support of the childs parents and family. Generally, the study would aim to come up with a set of patterns on how the child acquires his first language and the most influential factors that help the child in acquiring the language. CHAPTER IV DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT Khalex Liam Fernandez is a three year old boy, adopted by our landlady. He loves to play balls with his neighbor friends and eating chocolates. His favorite toy is sword because he wanted to be “Juan dela Cruz ‘where he always watches this primetime episode. Also, he is fond of asking questions because of her curiosity in different things. He is very observant with the physical features of a person and her surroundings as well. Every time he met an unusual face on our boarding house he will really ask the person “Kinsa ka? Nag-unsa ka diri?” and those visitors like him because of being a keen observer. Khalex is very direct and frank when he speaks. As he is the only child in the boarding house that’s why he used to act likes a matured person. He is living together with our landlady. He has many “Titas” the siblings of our landlady and including me. He lives in a rich communicative environment. His “titas” always give a quality time such as talking and asking her what he likes, telling him different stories before he sleeps and playing games and going outdoors. Aside from these people, there are also things that contribute to him in acquiring a language such as different story books, computer, television, audio-visual toys and nursery charts such as alphabets, numbers and other academic stuffs. The entire study will basically focuses on acquiring language of a 3 year old child. As well as, to the influential factors which affect on acquiring language. In this manner, this paper generally sees the pattern of how the child communicates. First Session (2 yrs. /8mos.) Me: Unsay pangalan nimuh? Khalex: Khalex Riam (instead of Liam) Me:dli man Riam.Liam man. Pila imong edad? Khalex: Tulo Me: Ambeh san a imong gikaon beh…Unsa ganeh imong name? Khalex: Khalex Riam Me: Mali mana woiii… Khalex Liam Khalex: Khalex Riam? Me: Dili, kani ang tama woo. KHALEX LIAM Khalex: Khalex Riiiiii…….Liiiiii……..liiii…am Me: wow..very good…how old are you? Khalex: Im two ears old (ears instead of years) Me: Ikaw daw years Khalex: ears………. Me: Sunduga si Tita beh… YEARS Khalex:EARS… Me: years lageh dili ears..years Khalex: yeeeeeeee……………..ars Me: Years… years. Khalex: Years Me: Old Khalex: Old Me: Very good. Second session (2yrs/9mos) Me: Khalex, asa man imong Kuya Yoyong? Khalex:Lakaw Me: Unsa mana imong gidala? Khalex: Payong… naa dira Kuya Yoyong? Me: Tua baya sa likod Khalex: Huh? Me: Tua sa likod nay giayo Khalex: Adto ko didto Me: Ayaw adto didto kay dirty Khalex: Adto man lageh kuya yoyong Me: Oo, kay man sya giayo Khalex: Unsa iyang giayo? Me: Kanal…. asa man ka adto? khalex: Adto ko Lolo me: Pagpayong kay init khalex: Asa si Lolo? Me:Tua didto wooooh..tabok ta ah.. Khalex: Dili ko hadlok ko Me: Ay ayaw nalang kay nitabuk na imong lolo Third session (3 years old) Me: What is your name? Khalex: My name is…. Unsa ganeh tuh? Me: Khalex Liam Khalex: Khalex Liam Me: Fernandez Khalex: Fernandez Me: How old are you? Khalex: Im three years old Me? What is the name of your father? Khalex: My father’s name……….. Me: Kinsa man imong papa? Khalex: Nagbarahe Me: Unsay nagbarahe? Khalex: Sakyanan ba Me: Asa dapit? Khalex: Asa ganeh tuh ? kalimot ko da… Me: Unsa mana wala ko kasabot..nagdrive? kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha anang barahe:? Khalex: Barahe ba Me: Kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha ana? Khalex: Si Daddy to.. kasabot kag Daddy To? Me: Oo, kasabot ko Khalex: Wala ganeh Me: Kasabot ko woii daddy Toto nimuh Khalex: Si daddy toto nagbroom-broom ba Me: Huh? Khalex: Nagbroom-broom ba….Asa ganeh si kuya yoyong? Me: Naa sa likod, naa giayo Khalex: Kinsa tao dira? Asa si lolo? Me: Si Lolo, wala man diri Khalex: Asa man siya? Me: Adto ka sa iyaha? Asa man ka muadto? Khalex: Adtuon naku si Lolo Me: Asa man nimu siya adtuon? Khalex: Huh? Me:Asa man nimu siya adtuon? Khalex: Didto woooh.. Me: Wala imong lolo dira Khalex: Wala di siya? Me: Oo Khalex: Wala? Asa di si kuya yoyong? Me: Naa ganeh sa likod Khalex: Huh? Me: Naa gibuhat imong kuya yoyong Khalex: Unsa iyang gibuhat? Me: Nag-ayo sa kanal Khalex:Asa dapit? Me: Sa likod…asa man ka muadto? Khalex: Uban ko kuya yoyong Me: Hugaw man didto malusot ka sa kanal Khalex: Huh? Naa si kuya yoyong sa kanal? Adto ko kanal Me: Ngeh, dili man ka pwede didto Khalex: Dili? Me: Oo Khalex: Naa man si kuya yoyong sa kwarto? Asa man siya magkuha ug kahoy? Me: Wala man siya nagkuha ug kahoy. Nag- ayo man siya sa kanal.asa man ka muadto?naay iro dira Khalex: Asa man si lolo? Me: Didto wooh balik ta Khalex: Didto? Me: Oo Khalex: Asa si lolo? Me: Tuara woooh Khalex: Asa? Me: Dili man ka pwede mutabok daghan ug sakyanan. Nganu gusto man ka muadto didto? Khalex: Kay gusto naku Makita si lolo Me: Ah okie.. asa mana gipalit imong toy ? Khalex: Didto Me: Asa dapit? Khalex: Didto ba Me: Ligo nata Khalex: Dili ko Me: Ngano man? Khalex: Singot naku Me: Ngano gisingot man ka? Khalex: Kay gisingot man ko Me: Naa na imong daddy ..bye. bye Khalex: Bye Fourth Session (3 years and 1 month) Me: Hello, unsa imo giwatch? Khalex: Tom and Jerry Me: Wow… kasabot ka sa imong gitan-aw? Khalex: Oo Me: Kinsa imong ganahan sa duha? Si tom or jerry? Khalex: Si jerry Me: Kay ngano man? Khalex: Mura mag ako.. gamay Me: Ahhhh… si tom di? Khalex: Dili ko ganahan sa iya Me: Kay ngano man? Khalex: Pangit siya Me: Ngeh… bad mang mag ingon ug pangit Khalex: Ngano man? Me: Tanan man gwapo ug gwapa Khalex: Gwapo di ko? Me: Oo Khalex: Ngano man? Me: Kay gicreate man ka ni God Khalex: Ayyy..tan-aw sa ko tita huh.. Me:Okie.. Fifth Session (3 years and two months) Khalex: Kay kinsa neh cellphone? Me: Akoa na Khalex: Tita, puhurama ko Me: Ayaw dili paman ka kabalo mugamit ana Khalex: Kabalo man ko Me: Cge daw unsaon mana pag turn on? Khalex: Ana wooo. Me: Kinsa man nagtudlo sa imuha ana? Khalex: Si tita maan Me: Ahhh. Keep na natuh ah…magpractice ka karon ug sulat sa imong ngalan. Khalex; Dili ko Me: Ngano man? Magschool naman ka Khalex: Kapoy Me: Ngehh… dili teka tagaan ug chocolate Khalex: Cge magsulat naku… CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The researcher found out that in acquiring language my respondent interacts with the people through his environment. It is supported by Interactionist Theory by Vygotsky which determined social interaction to be the sole factor for language development. A supportive social atmosphere with lots of interaction was essential and was all that was needed for the child’s acquisition of a higher level of knowledge and language performance. It shows the importance of having an actual conversation with the people as my respondent always asking questions that must be answered correctly. The most influential factors that help him acquire language are the people around him. As the researcher mentioned above that he is surrounded people who are very concerned to his growth and how he utter words. Next is the television as he often watch movies specially cartoons. He can easily imitate based on what he hears through watching movies. Therefore a social interaction with the child is very important in acquiring language. Through this way it will enhance his cognitive and social development. The environment of the child would also affect in acquiring language. Such as the kind of people he is interacting will greatly contribute as he grows.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:10:29 +0000
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