Children in language shift: The syntax of fifth-generation, pre-school Indian South African English speakers
Journal Article
2003
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Journal Title
South African Journal of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Faculty
License
Series
Abstract
Language shift, the process by which a second language ousts a community's first language as the everyday vernacular, almost inevitably throws up a vast array of morpho-syntactic and phonetic variety in the new vernacular. This paper seeks to ascertain what choices the first post-shift generation of child learners makes from such an array of competing forms. Data from longitudinal studies undertaken in the early to mid-1990s is presented from Indian South African English, focussing on fifth generation, monolingual, pre-school children in a natural (i.e. non-classroom) setting. The paper shows that while these children do make a selection of the morpho-syntactic variants in the elder's speech, there is no syntactic innovation. On the other hand, a surprisingly large number of former second-language features persist in post-shift speech, probably enhanced by the peculiarities of apartheid society, during which these children acquired their vernacular.
Description
Reference:
Mesthrie, R. (2003). Children in language shift-the syntax of fifth generation, pre-school, Indian South African English speakers. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 21(3), 119-126.