Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study reported in this thesis investigates the grammatical and socio-pragmatic
characteristics of the conversational code switching (CS) of three Afrikaans-English bilingual
children. The study was conducted by analysing spontaneous conversational CS, elicited
during multiple play sessions. Three eight year old Afrikaans-English bilingual boys from
Paarl in the Western Cape, with varying language backgrounds, participated in the study.
Unstructured play sessions were audio and video recorded and transcribed. All three
participants took part in one triadic conversational play session and in two dyadic play
sessions.
The thesis differentiates between the phenomenon of CS and related sociolinguistic
phenomena such as borrowing and interference in order to facilitate a clearer classification of
the different types of CS. The identification of the matrix language under the asymmetry
principle is done by means of a quantitative analysis, while the grammatical characteristics of
the children’s CS are qualitatively evaluated under Myers-Scotton’s Matrix Language Frame
and 4-M models. The socio-pragmatic characteristics of the children’s use of intersentential
CS are qualitatively evaluated by means of Conversation Analysis, in which the emphasis
falls on turn taking and adjacency pair sequences as well as the negotiation of power
relations. The study also aims to contribute towards a better understanding of children’s CS, not only in
terms of insights into how CS manifests on the surface level of language production, but also
in terms of why CS occurs on a deeper language processing and competence level. The
general reasons for which the different types of CS occur, and the examination of which
grammatical and/or socio-pragmatic difficulties may drive children to use specific types of CS are investigated, while also considering whether the context and the hidden meaning of an
utterance have an influence on how and why CS takes place, and where each type of CS
occurs.
The study reveals that, in terms of characterising the types of CS that occur in the data, all
four conversations provided proof of extrasentential, intrasentential and intersentential CS. A
preference was observed for intrasentential single code switched forms and for intersentential
CS, which occurs due to the negotiation of context, topic and theme. Such negotiation
primarily occurs due to combinations and sequences of talk, self-talk, interaction,
conversation, narration and role play.
Although all types of CS occurred within the data in both Afrikaans and English forms,
Afrikaans was identified as the matrix language of the corpus and the majority of the
conversations. The asymmetrical occurrence of different morpheme types provides evidence
for the two-system hypothesis, namely that Afrikaans and English occur as two different
systems within the children’s brains and that language processing occurs by means of the
allocation of different morphemes from both languages at the lexical and formulator level to
produce language. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie wat in hierdie tesis gerapporteer word analiseer die grammatikale en sosiopragmatiese
eienskappe van gespreks-kodewisseling by drie Afrikaans-Engelse tweetalige
kinders. Die studie is uitgevoer deur spontane gespreks-kodewisseling, wat tydens
veelvuldige speelsessies voortgebring is, te evalueer. Drie agt-jarige Afrikaans-Engelse seuns
wat van die Paarl, in die Wes-Kaap, afkomstig is en verskillende taalagtergronde het, het aan
die studie deelgeneem. Klank- en video-opnames is van die ongestruktureerde speelsessies
gemaak en getranskribeer. Al drie seuns het aan een drietallige speelsessie asook twee
tweetallige speelsessies deelgeneem.
Die tesis onderskei tussen die fenomeen van kodewisseling en ander verwante sosiolingu
stiese fenomene soos leenwoorde en taalkundige inmenging om klaarheid gedurende
die klassifisering van die verskillende tipes kodewisseling te verskaf. Die identifisering van
die matrikstaal van die korpus is deur middel van ’n kwantitatiewe analise volgens die
asimmetriese beginsel geïdentifiseer. Die grammatikale eienskappe van die kinders se
kodewisseling word kwalitatief deur middel van Myers-Scotton se Matrikstaal Raam en 4-M
modelle ge valueer. Die sosio-pragmatiese eienskappe van die kinders se gebruik van
intersententiële kodewisseling word kwalitatief ge valueer deur middel van gespreksanalise,
waar die afwisseling van gespreksbeurte, die opeenvolging van aangrensende pare asook die
onderhandeling van magsverhoudings tussen deelnemers beklemtoon word. Die studie beoog enersyds om by te dra tot 'n beter begrip van kinders se oppervlakkige
taalproduksie in terme van kodewisseling en andersyds om beter insig te verkry in hoe
kodewisseling op ’n dieper taalprosesserings- en taalkompetensie vlak plaasvind. Die
algemene rede(s) vir die voorkoms van verskillende tipes kodewisseling, asook die ondersoek na watter grammatikale of sosio-pragmatiese moeilikhede verantwoordelik mag wees vir die
tipes kodewisseling wat voorkom by kinders, word beklemtoon. Daar word ook in ag geneem
of die konteks en weggesteekte betekenis van ’n uiting ’n invloed het op hoe en waarom
asook waar kodewisseling sal plaasvind.
Die studie toon dat, in terme van die karakterisering van verskillende tipes kodewisseling wat
in die data voorkom, alle gesprekssessies bewyse van ekstrasentensiële, intrasentensiële en
intersentensiële kodewisseling bevat. ’n Voorkeur vir intrasentensiële enkelwoordkodewisselingsvorms
is opgemerk, asook ’n voorkeur vir intersentensiële kodewisseling wat
plaasvind as gevolg van die onderhandeling tussen konteks, tema en onderwerp. Sulke
onderhandeling is primêr gegrond op kombinasies en opeenvolging wat voorkom deur middel
van praat, self-gerigte praat, interaksie, gespreksvoering, vertelling en rolspel.
Alhoewel alle tipes kodewisseling in die data voorkom in beide Afrikaanse en Engelse
vorms, is Afrikaans as die matrikstaal vir die korpus asook die meerderheid van die
gesprekssessies ge dentifiseer. Die oneweredige voorkoms van verskillende morfeemtipes
dien as ondersteuning vir die twee-sisteem hipotese wat aanvoer dat Afrikaans en Engels as
twee aparte sisteme in ’n kind se brein voorkom en dat taalprosessering geskied deur middel
van die toekenning van verskillende morfeme van beide tale op die leksikale en
formuleringsvlakke van taalproduksie.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/20030 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Nel, Joanine Hester |
| Contributors | Huddlestone, Kate, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 239 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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