Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 148

Thematic Session (Papers belonging to this Thematic Session)

Child Language Variation: Socio-geographical Significance and Formal Approaches

Authors: Lacoste, Véronique; Green, Lisa
Submitted by: Lacoste, Véronique (University of Freiburg, Germany)

Child language variation has been mostly in the domain of sociolinguistics, in which it has been noted that it is useful to consider variable rules and constraints in relation to acquisition of rule systems and norms of the speech community (Labov 1989); however, more recently it has been claimed that current frameworks in linguistic theory can deal with variation. The goal of this proposed panel is to move toward a unified account of variation in child language by bringing together research from the sociolinguistics tradition and formal accounts in syntactic and phonological theory in which variation is intrinsic to the grammar rather than peripheral (Green 2011). Research in variationist sociolinguistics has shown that children acquire categorical aspects of the grammar but also that there is developmental and socially motivated variation in early stages of acquisition. An “integrated theory of grammar” (Cornips and Corrigan 2005) is argued to benefit from usage-based accounts of language (Tomasello 2003; Bybee 2010; Ambridge and Lieven 2011) and exemplar theories (Pierrehumbert 2001). In phonology, the latter models have reported the existence of phonetic variation in mental lexical representations; children have been shown to engage in ambient exemplar modelling of linguistic variation and categorisation where frequency plays a role in the acquisition. In second language learning, seven-year-old children have been shown to display variable sensitivity to input frequency in the classroom (Lacoste 2012). In syntax, it is argued that children acquire target-consistent variation of word order early on while other types or word order variation are acquired later (Anderssen et al. 2010).

In moving toward a unified account of child language variation, the panel will consider the developmental path of linguistic structures in the language of children who are growing up in rural and urban areas and acquiring the vernacular-standard varieties. Rural children are anticipated to undergo sequential dialect acquisition of the vernacular and then the standard, the prestige variety being acquired mostly outside home. In rural areas, minimal multilingualism is expected, especially perhaps in postcolonial societies. The “supralocal variety” is acquired first; the standard is acquired later (Cornips and Corrigan 2005). The reverse of the hypothesis is that urban children would be more likely to display simultaneous, though unstable, dialect acquisition due to the multi-dialectal and multilingual character of cities. They would encounter more opportunities to become sensitive to standard norms at an earlier age than rural children, so it is important to raise the question about the extent to which urban and rural ‘place’ impacts on the children’s acquisition of the standard-vernacular socio-situational boundaries. The question about variation and the development of vernacular-standard varieties in rural and urban areas will also be addressed from the perspective of inherent variability. For instance, it is often assumed that the use of standard constructions in non-standard varieties represents influence from the standard or mainstream variety; however, both non-standard as well as forms that are compatible with the standard variety are an integral part of the grammar of inherently variable systems such as African American English.

This panel will also examine the extent to which variability as a developmental phenomenon in children’s language is a matter of “interdialectal” negotiation, and whether “interdialectal” variability is likely to be greater as a developmental/ inherent phenomenon than “intradialectal” variability. “Intradialectal” and “interdialectal” processes of variation will be investigated in relatively stable, traditional, non-mobile communities where multilingualism is potentially minimised and in “super-diverse” cities (Vertovec 2007).

By bringing together scholars from the sociolinguistic and formal linguistic traditions, this panel offers a fresh perspective on the developmental path and socio-geographical significance of child language variation in different parts of the world.

References

Ambridge, B. and Lieven, E. 2011. Child Language Acquisition: Contrasting Theoretical Approaches. CUP.

Anderssen, M., Bentzen, K. and Westergaard, M. 2010. Variation in the Input: Studies in the Acquisition of Word Order. London: Springer.

Bybee, 2010. Language, Usage and Cognition. CUP.

Cornips, L. and Corrigan, K. 2005. Syntax and Variation. Reconciling the Biological and the Social. John Benjamins.

Green, L. J. 2011. Language and the African American Child. CUP.

Labov, W. 1989. The child as linguistic historian. Language Variation and Change 1: 85-97.

Lacoste, V. 2012. Phonological Variation in Rural Jamaican Schools. To appear in the Creole Language Library Series. John Benjamins.

Pierrehumbert, J. 2001. Exemplar dynamics: Word frequency, lenition, and contrast. In Frequency Effects and the Emergence of Linguistic Structure, J. Bybee & P. Hopper (eds.), 137-157. John Benjamins.

Tomasello, M. 2003. Constructing a Language: A Usage-Based Theory of Language Acquisition. Harvard University Press.

Vertovec, S. 2007. Super-diversity and its implications. Ethnic and Racial Studies 30: 1024-1054.

Sociolinguistics Symposium 19

Programme: accepted abstracts

Child Language Variation: Socio-geographical Significance and Formal Approaches