The Acquisition of Swahili

The Acquisition of Swahili PDF Author: Kamil Ud Deen
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9789027253002
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
This monograph is the first study of the acquisition of Swahili as a first language. It focuses on the acquisition of inflectional affixes, with a particular emphasis on subject agreement and tense. Other inflectional affixes are also investigated, including object agreement and mood. The study surveys the adult dialect in question, Nairobi Swahili, discussing social, phonological, morphological and syntactic properties. Data, analyses and copious examples are presented of the naturalistic speech of four Swahili speaking children. The data are tested against six influential theories of child language, and the results show that processing and metrical theories of telegraphic speech fail to account for the observed patterns, while grammatical theories of child language fair significantly better. The data and analyses presented in this book are indispensable for linguists and psychologists interested in the acquisition of inflectional material and other cross-linguistic properties of child language.

The Acquisition of Swahili

The Acquisition of Swahili PDF Author: Kamil Ud Deen
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9789027253002
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book Here

Book Description
This monograph is the first study of the acquisition of Swahili as a first language. It focuses on the acquisition of inflectional affixes, with a particular emphasis on subject agreement and tense. Other inflectional affixes are also investigated, including object agreement and mood. The study surveys the adult dialect in question, Nairobi Swahili, discussing social, phonological, morphological and syntactic properties. Data, analyses and copious examples are presented of the naturalistic speech of four Swahili speaking children. The data are tested against six influential theories of child language, and the results show that processing and metrical theories of telegraphic speech fail to account for the observed patterns, while grammatical theories of child language fair significantly better. The data and analyses presented in this book are indispensable for linguists and psychologists interested in the acquisition of inflectional material and other cross-linguistic properties of child language.

African linguistics on the prairie

African linguistics on the prairie PDF Author: Jason Kandybowicz
Publisher: Language Science Press
ISBN: 3961100365
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Get Book Here

Book Description
African Linguistics on the Prairie features select revised peer-reviewed papers from the 45th Annual Conference on African Linguistics, held at the University of Kansas. The articles in this volume reflect the enormous diversity of African languages, as they focus on languages from all of the major African language phyla. The articles here also reflect the many different research perspectives that frame the work of linguists in the Association for Contemporary African Linguistics. The diversity of views presented in this volume are thus indicative of the vitality of current African linguistics research. The work presented in this volume represents both descriptive and theoretical methodologies and covers fields ranging from phonetics, phonology, morphology, typology, syntax, and semantics to sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, language acquisition, computational linguistics and beyond. This broad scope and the quality of the articles contained within holds out the promise of continued advancement in linguistic research on African languages.

Language Acquisition and Development

Language Acquisition and Development PDF Author: Misha Becker
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262043580
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
An introduction to the study of children's language development that provides a uniquely accessible perspective on generative/universal grammar–based approaches. How children acquire language so quickly, easily, and uniformly is one of the great mysteries of the human experience. The theory of Universal Grammar suggests that one reason for the relative ease of early language acquisition is that children are born with a predisposition to create a grammar. This textbook offers an introduction to the study of children's acquisition and development of language from a generative/universal grammar–based theoretical perspective, providing comprehensive coverage of children's acquisition while presenting core concepts crucial to understanding generative linguistics more broadly. After laying the theoretical groundwork, including consideration of alternative frameworks, the book explores the development of the sound system of language—children's perception and production of speech sound; examines how words are learned (lexical semantics) and how words are formed (morphology); investigates sentence structure (syntax), including argument structure, functional structure, and tense; considers such “nontypical” circumstances as acquiring a first language past infancy and early childhood, without the abilities to hear or see, and with certain cognitive disorders; and studies bilingual language acquisition, both simultaneously and in sequence. Each chapter offers a summary section, suggestions for further reading, and exercises designed to test students' understanding of the material and provide opportunities to practice analyzing children's language. Appendixes provide charts of the International Phonetic Alphabet (with links to websites that allow students to listen to the sounds associated with these symbols) and a summary of selected experimental methodologies.

Creolization and Pidginization in Contexts of Postcolonial Diversity

Creolization and Pidginization in Contexts of Postcolonial Diversity PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004363394
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book deals with creolization and pidginization of language, culture and identity and makes use of interdisciplinary approaches developed in the study of the latter. Creolization and pidginization are conceptualized and investigated as specific social processes in the course of which new common languages, socio-cultural practices and identifications are developed under distinct social and political conditions and in different historical and local contexts of diversity. The contributions show that creolization and pidginization are important strategies to deal with identity and difference in a world in which diversity is closely linked with inequalities that relate to specific group memberships, colonial legacies and social norms and values.

Making Identity on the Swahili Coast

Making Identity on the Swahili Coast PDF Author: Steven Fabian
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108492045
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 371

Get Book Here

Book Description
A re-examination of the historical development of urban identity and community along the Swahili Coast.

Swahili State and Society

Swahili State and Society PDF Author: Ali AlʼAmin Mazrui
Publisher: East African Publishers
ISBN: 9789966468239
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 188

Get Book Here

Book Description
This text examines the social and political impact of the Swahili language.

Pidgins and Creoles beyond Africa-Europe Encounters

Pidgins and Creoles beyond Africa-Europe Encounters PDF Author: Isabelle Buchstaller
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027270767
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 186

Get Book Here

Book Description
Most of what we know about pidgin and creole languages is the result of research into contact languages that developed as a consequence of European expansion into Africa and the Caribbean. The narrow focus on European lexifier and West African substrate languages has resulted in insufficient investigation of other contact varieties. Even more perniciously, lesser known and often under-described contact languages have not been taken into consideration when formulating supposedly general tendencies about the linguistic properties of contact languages. This volume aims to give a platform to research on the history, genesis, and typology of a number of non-European language-based contact languages. A more encompassing and diverse data-base will contribute to more accurate and comprehensive inventories of the typological features of contact languages.

Memory, Language, and Bilingualism

Memory, Language, and Bilingualism PDF Author: Jeanette Altarriba
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107008905
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 387

Get Book Here

Book Description
A comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to the study of memory, language and cognitive processing across various populations of bilingual speakers.

The Acquisition of Heritage Languages

The Acquisition of Heritage Languages PDF Author: Silvina Montrul
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107007240
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 381

Get Book Here

Book Description
An authoritative overview of research into heritage language acquisition, covering key terminological and empirical issues, theoretical approaches, and research methodologies.

The Acquisition of Turkish in Childhood

The Acquisition of Turkish in Childhood PDF Author: Belma Haznedar
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027266204
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 426

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Acquisition of Turkish in Childhood presents recent research on the nature of language acquisition by typically and atypically developing monolingual and bilingual Turkish-speaking children. The book summarises the most recent research findings on the acquisition of Turkish in childhood, with a focus on (i) the acquisition of phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, (ii) the acquisition of discourse skills, (iii) literacy development and (iv) atypical vs. typical development. The book also provides the reader with a unique perspective on cross-learner comparative research on the acquisition of Turkish, demonstrating how similar issues can be investigated in a range of various acquisition contexts. By grouping together the recent research on the acquisition of Turkish within a single volume, this book provides a unique opportunity for readers to review the general developmental tendencies and the most prominent hypotheses put forward by scholars.