This transcript shows my mother encouraging me to read the name in my birthday card; she uses praise (“good girl”) when I get it correct; this suggests that praise is an important factor in teaching a child the correct forms of language. My mother also repeats some of my sentence in one word utterances (“kisses” and “love”) – this is a major part of child directed speech and is aimed at holding my attention.
Mum George, she’s really lovely. Mummy loves her. I want one
I chose to make a brief comment about this sentence as it shows one of Myszor’s suggestions in that a caregiver will omit the use of pronouns; my mother is effectively talking about herself in the third person. This prevents confusing me and makes sure I know who is being talked about. This interesting sentence appears to conform to Myszor’s theory, however I cannot make assumptions or definitive judgements based simply on this sentence.
25/12/93
Georgie What is it…bed! It’s a bed mum!
Mum It’s a bed! Oh, beautiful!
Georgie Cor, dear!
Mum Oh, it’s lovely George isn’t it! Is that was you wanted as well?
Georgie Yeah. I’m opening…this one now. Dad, Barbie…bath!! Bath!
Mum Oh brilliant!
Dad Oh you got the bath!
Georgie Bath! Bath!
Jamie Where?
Georgie I got the bath! I got the bath!
Jamie She’s got the princess doll Barbie, she’s got the bed, she’s got the bath
Dad Georgie what you got?!
Mum Oh, fantastic!
Dad Cor, Georgie! Brilliant!
Georgie Yeah!!! I wanted that, I wanted it!
Dad Well, you can’t expect no more Barbie stuff now. Think you’ve got it all girl!
Jamie It’s another Barbie thing
Georgie How do you know? Yeah it is, it is! It is!
Dad What is it mate?
Georgie And it’s a ken!
Mum Ken!
Georgie Look! I knew I was gonna get the Ken!
Mum Did you?
Georgie Look, a nice crystal Ken, look
Mum Oh, he’s gorgeous isn’t he
Georgie He’s got his shoes
Mum Oh!
Dad Brilliant darling
This is a fairly lengthy conversation to analyse, but there are many aspects of influenced language that I felt would be beneficial to talk about in a language acquisition investigation. The first utterance chosen by my mother is a repetition of what I have just said, almost as if to verify that what I have said is correct. My second sentence is fairly humorous, as it is a very ‘adult-like’ statement; looking through my transcripts, there are many occasions where the sentence “cor dear” is spoken by my mother or father. This perhaps suggests that a child listens to their parents more than is thought. In a child’s surroundings, they are inevitably likely to pick up various sayings, however the most obvious question to ask would be does the child understand the context of the saying? Can a child apply the saying to a sentence that fits the conventions of Standard English? In this case, it seems that I have picked up on the general meaning of the non-standard utterance “cor, dear,” however I cannot quite manage to use it accurately. Mostly in this transcript, my parents use the words “fantastic” and “brilliant.” This is in order to match my excitement at my presents, and to hold my attention in the conversation.
December 1994
Georgie Whoa look at that aeroplane it keeps lowering and lowering. That’s gonna land. Well I’ve seen an aeroplane land before
Shelley Have you?
Georgie It was on holiday and we went on the swings and we see it land in the… on the grass
Shelley Wow
Georgie And I went in it. I had a photo on it
Shelley Did you?
Georgie And I stood on the erm bit that hangs out. I can’t find any more
In this conversation, I am talking to my dad’s new partner. I struck up the conversation which shows I am fairly confident in talking to people outside of my main family structure – i.e. my comfort zone. Shelley is successful in holding my attention by using repeated sentence frames and keeping the conversation predictable, however in reality; it is me who is in control of the conversation. In this case, I believe that the child directed speech used by Shelley does not necessarily have an effect on my own utterances, as it seems I would have told my story whether she had had an input or not. Pragmatically, one could assume that Shelley does not have the greatest of interest in the story, as she doesn’t input any of her own thoughts or ideas into the conversation; or perhaps another pragmatic interpretation could suggest that she is concerned with allowing me to express myself, without interrupting too much.
2. What grammatical terms are used by a child at the age of three and what evidence is there of these choices becoming refined by the time the child reaches five?
Perhaps the most obvious aspect to look at grammatically in spoken language is verb errors and verb / subject agreement. It was interesting to look at the data of when I was younger, through to the data as I grew older.
ANALYSIS
11/03/92
Georgie (mumbling on phone, undecipherable) Oh it’s been lost! It…it has mum
In terms of grammar, this is a useful conversation to look at. Sometimes, a child at the age of three will find it difficult to put into words what they mean. The context of this situation will predominately and inevitably affect the language uses and the interpretations of it, so therefore to put this transcript into context; I am playing with a ‘play kitchen’ that I have received for my birthday. I am referring to a frying pan in this first sentence. Somehow, the first sentence doesn’t work grammatically; its formation isn’t completely correct yet is still understandable – however, my over use of the pronoun ‘it’ could confuse some as to what I am talking about. At this stage I had only just turned three years old, and therefore one would expect that my linguistic and vocabulary knowledge is not yet as exhaustive and extensive as it would be in another two or three years. It seems that in this situation, I am not aware of the correct verb use, and the ‘stutter’ could be a way of trying to express something that is not yet in my vocabulary.
Georgie (mumbling on phone) Hello…but erm don’t touch that salt, ‘cos you don’t like salt do ya? It’s ready now
Jamie You have to put the salt in there
Georgie (undecipherable) Jamie! Don’t play with it! You don’t…you don’t have to…you don’t…don’t have to play games with it!
This conversation shows me getting annoyed with my brother, and I stuttered slightly before getting my words out. The fact that I had to repeat some words more than once perhaps suggest that I was not particularly comfortable with that sentence structure; I was still learning how to use commands, and therefore could not yet use them with ease.
09/06/92
Georgie One day, she rided a trolley, she had to walk in there. She had to walk ‘cos she didn’t have her buggy!
This sentence taken from the 09/06/92 data shows briefly the sort of grammatical mistakes made by myself at the age of three. It seems feasible that a young child would make the highlighted mistake; since they have been learning the structure and forms of language, they have been taught the “rules” of the English Language. One of these rules is that in the past tense, one adds an “ed” to the end of the word. Simply put, a young child cannot yet understand the idea that some words don’t follow the standard conventions. Therefore when it comes to an irregular verb, a child will assume the rules of language automatically and not think anything of it. Hence, the child will use the verb incorrectly, yet it is still understandable what they mean.
Grammatically, at the age of three a child is capable of structuring a sentence, yet in some cases, the morphology and syntax may interfere with the accuracy of the sentence. Sometimes a child will not know exactly which order to phrase the words in, or in which context to use certain words. In the majority of cases, a child will express an utterance which is mildly or dramatically incorrect and yet an adult will still be able to fathom the main point of the sentence. Possibly, this shows that syntax is the not the dominant factor in understanding a child’s speech, and that, although grammar is important in language use, perhaps it is not essential for actually understanding a situation; if a situation is accompanied with various prosodic and paralinguistic features in order to emphasise the context, it is likely that a recipient will be able to understand the semantic field of the utterance. This can be seen in the above transcript, where I made some grammar mistakes, and whilst my lexical choices were correct, the syntax was slightly jumbled; yet the utterance is still, in fact, understandable.
25/12/92
Georgie That was what Father Christmas eat last night?
The first sentence shows the wrong verb tense being used; however this could be more of a pronunciation issue than grammar, as the correct form ‘ate’ could be pronounced differently by a young child. Again, it is still fathomable what is meant by it.
Georgie No, I’ll set it all up after
This sentence shows my capability of forming a fairly complex sentence; everything is Standard English - from the subject pronoun, to the verb tense and general syntax of the utterance. This is only nine months after the first transcript shown above, and it shows how important and rapidly language development occurs in a child, as nine months ago, I stuttered and was unable to accrue the grammatical knowledge to form a ‘perfect’ sentence. This utterance shows my newly acquired knowledge and even demonstrates my ability to use the future tense accurately.
Georgie I’ll leave it there with that one
Similarly, this sentence is formed in a parallel way to the former, and therefore I am once again capable of developing it accurately, further highlighting my grammatical development in just nine months.
Georgie Mind me Jamie! You nearly lost my, made my eyes water! Made my eyes water!
This utterance shows me lecturing my brother; however I couldn’t find the words in my vocabulary to express what I meant, therefore making it grammatically incorrect. This appears to be a form of regression, as it illustrates my incapability of expressing a standard sentence, when in previous utterances I have been able to form them accurately. Perhaps this suggests that whilst a child is comfortable expressing emotionless sentences, it may be more difficult to form a phrase with an emotion attached – i.e, anger, in this example.
Georgie What she say?
Mum This is fun. This is fun
Georgie What did she say?
Oddly enough, this conversation shows me saying the same thing twice; however the first time, I omitted the verb, and the second time I used the verb. This perhaps suggests that a child does understand the formation of a sentence, but maybe it is laziness or other external factors that causes a child to miss out a vital part of a sentence.
11/03/93
Mum Open some cards then
Georgie I’m opening this one
In this conversation, I was able to turn my mother’s sentence in the present tense into a similar sentence in the present continuous; obviously, by this point in my language development I had managed to acquire the knowledge of conjugating a verb, even into more complex tenses like the present continuous. By this time I was four years old, and therefore my language would inevitably have been more advanced than a year before. This sentence also illustrates my knowledge of distance in linguistic terms; this is evident in the usage of “this one.”
Georgie I love it
I have chosen to include this sentence to purely show that I am capable of forming this type of sentence correctly; it is a simple sentence yet it proves that I, by this point, could use an object pronoun in the Standard English manner and show emotion.
Georgie Yeah I love being my birthday. ‘Cos I’m 4 today aren’t…aren’t I.
In contrast to previous comments made about object pronouns, it appears here that I have excluded the word ‘it’ from the first sentence. Perhaps I was not yet aware of this usage of the word ‘it,’ in this context, or maybe I simply forgot to include it. The second sentence shows that I am looking for confirmation from a parent or sibling that I am indeed four years old. Grammatically, the sentence is correct.
Georgie And he’s done some kisses and love
Although this sentence theoretically makes sense, perhaps a more accurate choice of verb would have been ‘put’ rather than ‘done.’ Once again, it is obvious what is meant, however the sentence could have been more grammatically correct. I have managed to use the correct pronoun for my brother, nonetheless.
Georgie That’s my dolly what I brought! I knew it was that! I knew it was that mum! I knew it was that! (undecipherable). I like it. I like it.
Here I am showing excitement at a dolly I have received for my birthday. The first sentence does not necessarily fit the rules of the English language, however it generally typifies the kind of language used by a four year old child. Most children have the knowledge to express themselves; they just sometimes don’t have the words. It can also at times be difficult to compose the correct word order for a particular utterance; this, I believe is what has happened here. Perhaps a more grammatically correct sentence could have been; “This is the dolly that I bought!” By changing ‘that’ to ‘this’ and ‘my’ to a more generalised ‘the,’ it makes the sentence more coherent. It would also make more sense to say ‘that’ rather than ‘what.’ Noticeably, I have confused the verb ‘to bring’ with the word ‘to buy,’ which is a mistake many young children make in the past tense, as both are very similar. The rest of my utterance is generally logical and accurate.
25/12/93
Mum You’re joking, ain’t ya?
Jamie A mountain bike!
Georgie No, we’re not
By this point in my transcripts, I am only three months away from turning five, and therefore one would expect my language to be almost fully acquired. In keeping with this, I have shown in the above conversation that I understand pluralistic subject pronouns, by using the word ‘we’re.’ However, I appear to have missed the point of my mother’s question; having not realised that the question was rhetorical and somewhat sardonic! This is typical of a young child, but nevertheless it shows that I am capable of answering such a question.
Georgie Unlock the door, someone please
Although this utterance is grammatically correct, it could perhaps have had more syntactical consideration. Instead of making it a statement, a more polite and rational way of expressing this sentence would have been to turn it into a question: “Can someone unlock the door please?” However, this sentence still shows that I have now acquired a wider range of vocabulary and verbs.
Georgie Let me take the fruit bowl off mum
This sentence is entirely correct in all formats, and I have chosen to include it in the analysis as it shows that by the age of over 4 ½ a child is capable of forming a rather complicated and difficult sentence, which perhaps a year ago, wouldn’t have been possible.
Georgie Gonna open this one now. This one. It’s really, really big! Not another Barbie thing Dad, I’ve got another Barbie thing!
Oddly enough, I have once again left out a subject pronoun for the first sentence; I have shown at various points throughout the analysis that by this point I was capable of subject pronouns, however this data would suggest otherwise. However, later on in the same utterance, I incorporate the subject pronoun ‘I’ve.’ This shows that I do in fact understand their uses. Perhaps I was conforming to conversational language whereby many adults omit pronouns in order to make the conversation more chatty and informal.
December 1994
Georgie Look how much I’ve got…whoa you’ve got more than me!
This sentence shows that I have confused the word ‘many’ with ‘much’ and used it incorrectly. The rest of my utterance is grammatically correct, and I have used the correct subject pronouns and verbs.
Georgie I’ve got more than you Thomas
Tom I’ve got more than you
Georgie No, I have got more than Thomas haven’t I?
I was obviously aware of how to stress something by the time I was this age; starting with stringing the subject pronoun and verb together (I’ve), to saying ‘I have,’ shows that I knew how to make a statement and exaggerate my utterances. I was trying to make a point that I have more strawberries than Tom and needed reassurance from a parent.
Georgie ‘Cos if you do she’s gonna be mine and Jamie’s step-mum. Would we call her mum or would we still call her Shelley?
Here, I form a perfect grammatical sentence, in the accurate tenses, based on an unpredictable and random conversation. A couple of years ago, it is unlikely that I would have been able to form such an accurate sentence; showing clearly my language development over time.
Georgie No no! No, James! Jamie just put some of my strawberries in your pot…in his pot
This sentence sees me making a grammatical error in terms of pronoun use, but then correcting myself. This shows just how much I have developed linguistically, as I no longer need an adult to correct my mistakes.
Georgie It was on holiday and we went on the swings and we see it land in the… on the grass
The grammatical error made here is fairly obvious; I have mixed up the past tense with the present tense and said ‘see’ instead of ‘saw.’ This shows that even by this age, I was still prone to making a few grammatical mistakes. However, it is also evident from my transcripts that no effort was made to correct me, which perhaps suggests that as a child grows older, the amount of child directed speech used dwindles.
3. Does a child display confusion on a particular conversational aspect of language at the age of three but fully understand the concept by the time they reach five?
ANALYSIS
When trying to analyse the findings to fulfil the requirements of this question, it became apparent that there were two specific transcripts that could provide useful. At Christmas 1992, I was three years old and couldn’t grasp the concept of showing appreciation for a gift that I didn’t actually ask for:
25/12/92
Georgie Oh, just what I didn’t want mum
Mum Just like you didn’t want?
Georgie No, I didn’t want (undecipherable) look. I didn’t even want it did I?
Jamie I’ve got a big present
Georgie Look mummy, I didn’t even want it
Mum Let’s have a look
Georgie No I didn’t even want it I didn’t
Dad You didn’t even want it?
Georgie But I like it, I want it
Mum (laughs)
Georgie I do want it, now
Jamie She didn’t ask for it did she
Mum Is that what she’s saying? That’s what she’s saying
At the age of three, a child is still learning the basic foundations to build more complex forms of language. Context is important in this situation – I have received a gift that I had not asked for, and whilst I possessed the knowledge to show that the gift was not something I had previously requested, I was unable to express this thought in accurate language. Firstly, the verb ‘to ask’ was swapped for the verb ‘to want,’ which is socially thought of as ruder in this particular context. By saying I ‘didn’t want’ something, it may have come across as unappreciative and impolite. What is also noticeable about this specific transcript is that everything else within my walls of language use was precise and accurate. In terms of sentence structure, I was able to form a perfect and understandable sentence, with subject and verb agreement. In this case, it was my sibling who was able to decipher the actual meaning of my sentence, rather than my parents. This perhaps shows that my brother and I have an important bond, where we can understand each other’s language, even if it doesn’t fit the conventions of Standard English. This will be discussed later on in the investigation.
Interestingly, I didn’t understand the concept of what I was saying, yet in every single utterance of this conversation I used the word “want.” It is a very repetitive dialogue, and it clearly shows I was trying to get my point across, which may suggest that I knew that what I was saying was incorrect, but thought that by recasting and expanding my utterances, those around me would be able to understand my meaning. What I am saying has an obvious pragmatic meaning; I am expressing my excitement at having received something I hadn’t previously asked for.
25/12/1994
Georgie Hey great! Just the rollerskates I wanted, just the rollerskates I wanted!
Mum Brilliant!
Georgie I never even put them down on my list!
Mum You did!
Georgie Did I? No I never! I never!
Two years later, the same situation arose again at Christmas time when I received roller-skates that I ‘wanted’ but didn’t ‘put down on my list.’ Although the verb ‘want’ was still present in this conversation, it was counterbalanced by the more polite form of stating that I didn’t necessarily ask for this gift. Most noticeably is the fact that grammatically, the first sentence is not necessarily the most linguistically accurate choice, however in the last two years I have inevitably acquired the language necessary to express my thoughts in a more precise and understandable way.
4. Are there any gender differences in language between a boy and a girl of the same age? Is there any obvious difference between the mistakes made, or in the advancement of language acquisition?
To fulfil the requirements of this question, the ‘December 1994’ transcript will be used, as it involves various conversations between me at the age of five, as well as a boy who is also my age. I would like to look at how advanced both of our language is; prior to this part of the investigation, my analysis has been formed around language development over three years; I am now interested in looking at the language at the end of that three years, as well as comparing it to another child of the same age. I would like to look at conversations between each other, as well as conversations we hold with others around us. To put the data into context, my father and mother had recently separated, and my father had taken me and my brother strawberry picking with his new partner and her two children. Tom is the same age as me. Possible analysis includes how I speak to my father’s new partner, compared to how Tom speaks to my father; how I interact with Tom’s older sister, compared to how Tom interacts with my brother; and whether both Tom and I make similar or very different grammatical errors.
ANALYSIS
Georgie Look how much I’ve got…whoa you’ve got more than me!
Tom Look how many I’ve got
First of all, looking at the sentences above, it is interesting how even though we are the same age, we use a different word to portray the amount of strawberries we have found. In my opinion, I believe I simply copied my brother’s choice of words – just before I spoke, my brother had used the exact same sentence as me. Obviously, the sentence is not Standard English, and even though it can be deciphered what the intended meaning is, it is not the correct word to use. However, Tom knows the correct word and has formed a perfect sentence. This suggests a mild difference in the language differences between gender, however perhaps a more simplistic view could be taken to suggest that upbringing or social factors also play a part in language development.
Tom I’ve got one, two, three, four
Georgie Four?
Tom 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
Georgie Let me count. Let me count for you
Tom I’ve got 15
Georgie You might not have, let me count
Tom I have!
The next mode of analysis I will develop is an actual conversation between me and Tom. It appears that there is a form of ‘sibling war’ going on, even though we are not actually siblings. It seems we are trying to outdo each other by being ‘right’ in how many strawberries there are; in my language I am showing impatience by repeating and expanding my sentences and Tom appears to be fed up; apparent in the exclamation mark after his utterance. My language is showing me to be quite bossy, which is perhaps a defence mechanism as Tom is still a fairly new person to me. This conversation shows the similarity between genders in that we both appear to be competitive; perhaps this stems from us both being the younger sibling, and therefore we have learnt to use language to stick up for ourselves.
Jamie Look how many I’ve got
Tom Whoa, thanks!
Georgie They’re not yours!
Jamie Oh, thanks
Tom You didn’t actually eat them
Jamie I did
Tom You didn’t
Jamie I did
Tom Well look
Jamie I will eat them now! (undecipherable)
Georgie And I stood on the erm bit that hangs out. I can’t find any more
Katy Can’t find any Georgie?
Georgie I’ve got more than you
Katy I’ve eat more than you
Georgie Well I’ve only eat two
I will now analyse two conversations; one between Katy (Tom’s sister) and I and one between Tom and James (my brother). In the conversation between James and Tom, there seems to be some kind of dispute going on; very similar to the interaction between Tom and myself. The language used is very basic, repetitive and predictable; aspects very similar to the language often used in child directed speech. In the conversation between me and Katy, she repeats my sentence, but changing the verb. This has been done very cleverly, as I am trying to beat her, yet she ends up beating me. In terms of gender differences, it seems that Tom is able to hold more of a stable conversation than I am, and the interaction between him and my brother is more obvious than with me and Katy.
Georgie There’s not a lot of nice ones is there?
Shelley Na
Tom I’m getting all nice ones over here
Georgie Whoa look at that aeroplane it keeps lowering and lowering. That’s gonna land. Well I’ve seen an aeroplane land before
Shelley Have you?
Georgie It wa on holiday and we went on the swings and we see it land in the… on the grass
Shelley Wow
Georgie And I went in it. I had a photo on it
Shelley Did you?
Georgie And I stood on the erm bit that hangs out.
Tom Adrian, where’s Katy?
Jamie Gone to the toilet
Tom Adrian can you help me find some? There’s not many nice ones here is there?
My next analysis will be looking at the interaction between myself and my dad’s partner (and Tom’s mother) Shelley, and Tom and my father. Interestingly, I seem to interact with Shelley a lot more than Tom interacts with my father; a possible reason for this however could simply be that my father is filming everyone whereas Shelley is actually getting involved in the strawberry picking. I have successfully, it seems, been able to catch Shelley’s attention by striking up a conversation in which she asks questions based on the topic. I am very talkative in this conversation, and this is perhaps because I am feeling comfortable in my surroundings. Tom, however, doesn’t manage to hold, or even catch, my father’s attention; he says his name twice and yet doesn’t get a response. This is a very clear difference between myself and Tom in terms of the interaction with the opposite parent. I have used my knowledge of spontaneous language to hold an unpredictable conversation, something that Tom appears incapable of in this example.
Shelley Here you go George, you can have that one, that’s a lovely one
Tom Mum? Have you found me some nice ones?
Georgie Oh there’s a lot of nice ones over here
Tom Course there’s not
I chose the above conversation to analyse, as it is particularly interesting in terms of favouring one child over another. Shelley appears to be trying to hold my attention by allowing me to have a strawberry that she has found, and Tom becomes apparently jealous by this generous motion; by simply asking the question, “Mum? Have you found me some?” shows that Tom is feeling fairly insecure; pragmatically, he is perhaps implying that he doesn’t want to be left out and wants his own mother to find him some strawberries.
Taking into account all of the data analysed for this sub-question, it seems that there are some differences in the language used by myself and Tom, however for the data to be conclusive, there would need to be more evidence. There are many confounding variables which could have contributed to our language used, and therefore I perhaps cannot make the assumption that our language differences are based on gender. A suggestion for our language differences could simply be placed on social factors and the way both of us have been brought up, rather than the fact that I am female and Tom is male.
5. Does an older sibling express criticisms of his younger sibling? How does the younger child use language to react to the insults / criticisms made by the older sibling? Is there any proof of a sibling ‘bond’ through language use, evident in the data? Does an older sibling show jealousy of his younger sister through language or prosodic features?
To be able to analyse this question effectively, I must first endeavour to explore the context of each situation, as the language used in each example is dependent upon the context in which it took place. As a child, I grew up with my brother James who is 17 months older than me. Therefore we are very close in age, and I am interested in analysing our interaction with each other, and how we use language to cooperate or argue. As can be seen from the following extracts, my brother was sometimes very critical towards me as a child, and I would like to explore the pragmatic reasons behind this, and also how I reacted to the sometimes cruel comments.
11/03/92
Jamie You have to put the salt in there
Georgie (undecipherable) Jamie! Don’t play with it! You don’t…you don’t have to…you don’t…don’t have to play games with it!
Jamie Oh yeah but I wanna
The above transcript shows a portion of conversation between me and my brother on my third birthday. The semantic feel of the conversation is that I am telling my brother what to do (perhaps being slightly bossier than a three year old should be!) and my brother is paying no attention. Just from the one phrase spoken by myself, it can be seen that I am becoming more and more irate with my brother, who is doing the opposite of what I’ve asked. From my phrasing, it can be seen that I became very repetitive with certain words, perhaps suggesting that when a child becomes angry, they cannot retrieve the correct wording from their memory pathway, and will therefore stutter.
09/06/92
Jamie She asked to take where…no…no…no, look, there’s a bit there. She asked to take where her brue (blue) ooo…there’s a bit here George and you won’t listen. Will she mummy! She…she only readed that bit, I said wait George there’s another bit here and she didn’t look
Mum Alright, let her just read that one herself then and when you want to read you can
Georgie (undecipherable mumbling)
In this example, I do not actually say anything; however it is a worthy example for exploring how my brother got annoyed with me. Contextually, I am in my bedroom pretending to read a book, and Jamie is trying to tell me what it says. He got very angry when I didn’t listen to him; perhaps I was happy looking at the pictures and making up my own story. Interestingly, my brother went straight to our mother for support, which is something that perhaps one would expect a younger sibling would do.
25/12/92
Georgie Ooo that’s nice mum, where d’ya get that from?
Mum That’s mummy and daddy’s present from nanny and granddad
Georgie Ahh, that’s nice isn’t it
Mum Is it good? Now you know where you got to hang your coats
Jamie (undecipherable)
Georgie That’s nice isn’t it
Jamie Anyway we can’t reach the hangers can we
Mum Well that’s alright, mummy will do it
Georgie That’s nice isn’t it mum
Mum Yeah it’s good isn’t it
Georgie Ahh
Jamie (mockingly) that’s nice isn’t it
Mum Shall we go and see what he’s left then?
Georgie Yeah…in here…yeah!
Georgie Are mine that side?
Mum Yup. Whoopsy dais. Don’t worry!
Jamie She’s such a stupid idiot
This first transcript shows myself, my brother and my mother on Christmas morning. As we were walking down the stairs, I noticed the new coat rack in the hallway, and used repetitive language to express my delight. As can be seen from the highlighted sentences, my brother copied one of the utterances that I used three times in the conversation. This was done in a mocking fashion, therefore providing an indication as to how an older sibling may insult the younger child. It is unclear whether my brother did this to be malicious, or if he just thought it was amusing. As can be seen from the transcript, I ignored his comment, or maybe even didn’t hear it. In this same example, my brother directly hurled an insult at me when I fell over, even though my mother simply said “whoopsy daisy.” One pragmatic possibility as to why my brother felt the need to insult me could result from jealousy; maybe in this context, I was receiving attention and he felt left out. This suggests how a child uses language to express feelings of neglect. The example below continues to emphasize this, showing how my brother ridiculed me by repeating my sentences in a teasing way. (To put the transcript below into context, I had just unwrapped a birthday present and had received a doll). I have noticed that in both the transcript above and the one below, that my brother tends to mock me when I am being repetitive in my language and keep saying the same thing over and over again. A possible analysis for this could be that my brother simply found me annoying and decided, subconsciously, to be just as annoying.
11/03/93
Georgie Oh baby! It’s a baby! It’s a baby! It’s a baby! It’s a baby! It’s a baby!
Jamie Oh George! Be quiet! It’s a baby! It’s a baby!
24/12/94
Georgie Do you like how I’m decorating this
Mum Mmm
Jamie Oh that looks horrible
Georgie James, leave it!
Jamie Looks really horrible, don’t it mum?
Mum No
Jamie That looks really stupid
Georgie Leave it!
Jamie No it don’t actually, it looks nice now, the way she’s done it. I’ve lost track of where I’m getting to
The above transcript can be linked to the former analysis, as it shows my brother yet again insulting me. The only difference here is that this is over one year later, and it demonstrates how my brother’s methods of criticism have developed in terms of language acquisition. It seems that in this example, instead of copying what I say, my brother chooses language to directly insult my decorations. He has acquired the knowledge to use full sentences and is able to express himself more clearly, rather than simply repeating what I say. What is also interesting here is how my brother changes his mind within a matter of seconds; perhaps he felt bad for being so criticising. In terms of how I dealt with the insults, it can be seen that I was becoming irate, using simple two-word utterances. The pragmatic features of this conversation could show an underlying jealousy in my brother, and perhaps his way of dealing with envy was to insult me.
25/12/92
Georgie Oh, just what I didn’t want mum
Mum Just like you didn’t want?
Georgie No, I didn’t want (undecipherable) look. I didn’t even want it did I?
Jamie I’ve got a big present
Georgie Look mummy, I didn’t even want it
Mum Let’s have a look
Georgie No I didn’t even want it I didn’t
Dad You didn’t even want it?
Georgie But I like it, I want it
Mum (laughs)
Georgie I do want it, now
Jamie She didn’t ask for it did she
Mum Is that what she’s saying? That’s what she’s saying
Dad Hang on George don’t you want me to set it up first?
Georgie No, I’ll set it all up after
Dad Turn round George so mummy can see
Jamie Dad, look what I’ve got
Dad What is it?
There are two contrasting examples of sibling interaction within this next example. The first shows a sense of sibling rivalry; it is clear in the transcript that I am receiving attention from my mother, and my brother tries to deliberately steer the conversation to himself – “I’ve got a big present.” This links to the example above, however showing another way in which a child may express feelings of neglect – trying to get the parents’ attention by talking about himself.
The second example of sibling interaction is in fact, an indication of a bond between me and my brother. Where I was unable to express what I meant, my mother and father couldn’t fathom the semantic field of my utterances, yet my brother could understand what I meant. Therefore although previous examples have included insults, this transcript actually shows that my brother could understand my non-standard use of language.
Georgie I didn’t even ask for it
Mum No I know, you’re lucky aren’t you
Georgie Yeah!
Mum It’s a big car for your sindy dolls to go in
Georgie (undecipherable)
Jamie Mum, I wonder what this is
This example accentuates the idea that my brother uses language in such a way to steer the conversation towards himself; it would appear that he is striving to achieve the attention of our parents, and he may be unable to linguistically express his feelings, therefore he uses regular emotionless sentences with an underlying, pragmatic feel. The transcript below is evidence for this theory, as it shows my brother, yet again, trying to interrupt the conversation involving myself.
11/03/93
Georgie It’s nice on my birthday isn’t it
Jamie I’m gonna sit over here. I’m gonna put my sunglasses on
Georgie I love you. I love you’s.
Mum Go and sit in that corner mate
Georgie I love you’s mummy
Mum Good girl. We all love you don’t we
Georgie Yes
Jamie Will daddy get me this?
Mummy Yeah course
11/03/93
Mum Do you know what one it is?
Georgie No?
Jamie A baby bag?
Mum Yeah
Georgie A baby bag!?
This example shows how I copied my brother’s exact words. Perhaps as a child, I looked up to my brother and I showed this by copying him in actions and language. This may also provide a link to how my brother understands what I mean when I can’t always express myself accurately.
25/12/93
Georgie Wow this is (undecipherable) it’s a Barbie! It’s a Barbie!
Mum Might be able to lower the seat a little bit
Jamie Daddy bought you that…from Woolworths
Mum Ahh
Dad I didn’t get you that, it must of ahh…
Mum Let’s have a look George…ahh isn’t she lovely!
Jamie Mum, did you buy her that?
Mum No, er Father Christmas did I think
Jamie You said daddy did
Mum Oh well daddy probably got her that one then, I’m getting confused now, who’s bought what
This is an interesting example to look at in order to fulfil the requirements of this particular analysis. The first highlighted text shows my brother trying to ruin the fantasy of ‘Santa Claus’ by telling me that our dad bought me the doll. However, I appeared to not be taking much notice. When no one made any effort to respond to my brother, he pressed the issue. This is perhaps another jealousy feature; this transcript is free of insults and criticisms, but possibly has a deeper pragmatic importance. The first sentence would not be of much significance usually, as one could assume that my brother was simply telling me where the present came from. However, this is where the context affects the language greatly. As this is Christmas, and because I obviously still believed in Santa Claus at this age, my brother was indirectly trying to tell me that Santa was not real.
Conclusion
“How does a child’s language develop grammatically and lexically over a period of three years, and how much impact do a caregiver / sibling have on the child’s language choices?”
After having analysed the language uses of myself and those around me, I will now endeavour to reach a valuable conclusion in order to try and explain the reasons behind my choices of analysis, and also why specific language has been used, rather than just how. I will attempt to link all aspects of the conclusion back to the original hypothesis, which will aid me in reaching an overall summary.
1. How much of a child’s language is dependent on the language used by those around them? Does a caregiver / sibling affect the utterances chosen by a child? What evidence is there that a caregiver / siblings’ influence increases or decreases as the child grows older?
From the evidence provided in the home videos of myself, I found various things that relate to this sub-heading. To summarise my analysis of this question, it appears that a child’s language can be dependent on the language used by those around them, as a child will observe and imitate a role model or authority figure. In terms of influences, I would deduce that in the case of me and my family, it was my brother who had the largest impact on my language acquisition. It was also apparent that colloquial sayings were common in my family’s language use, and I obviously picked up on this and imitated the behaviour, although sometimes I used these sayings in the wrong context. As I grew older, I appeared to be less influenced by other peoples’ language; a possible reason for this is that I soon acquired my own knowledge of language and therefore didn’t need to rely on other people as much. However, the data provided cannot necessarily be used to provide a definite conclusion, as in the context of research, it is significantly small, and therefore I can only remain speculative in terms of analysing my findings.
2. What grammatical terms are used by a child at the age of three and what evidence is there of these choices becoming refined by the time the child reaches five?
It is inevitable that as I grew older, my grammatical choices would conform more to the conventions of Standard English. A notable improvement on my language is shown in the transcripts as evidence, where I acquired the knowledge to create full, compound and complex sentences, with my grammar choices being accurate. The analysis also shows that there was sometimes a form of regression, where I left out certain pronouns or prepositions. Perhaps I was still imitating family members, and although I most likely understood the correct terms, I coincided with social norms and adopted a more idiomatic and natural style of language. Once again, however, I can only remain exploratory in my opinion, as I cannot come to an objective conclusion.
3. Does a child display confusion on a particular conversational aspect of language at the age of three but fully understand the concept by the time they reach five?
Although this analysis was fairly short, it showed a distinct topic of which I couldn’t express accurately at the age of three, but managed it when I was five. This reinforces the idea that language does develop extensively over time, and vocabulary and grammar rules become clearer and more obvious. Interestingly, in the transcript of when I was five, I chose to complicate the language further by saying “I never even put them down on my list” as opposed to simply “I didn’t ask for this.” This implies that by this point, I was confident in my language intelligence and felt able to conduct such a complex sentence.
4. Are there any gender differences in language between a boy and a girl of the same age? Is there any obvious difference between the mistakes made, or in the advancement of language acquisition?
This was an interesting question to analyse, as it provided such depth and scope. Choosing to compare my language development with a boy of the same age was a decision that I made after watching a specific video. It soon became apparent that it would also be interesting to analyse me and Tom in terms of how we spoke to each others’ parents and siblings. It appeared to show that there are distinct similarities in the language use, and that young children feel a sense of apprehension if someone else is talking to their parents; in this case, it was expressed clearly using language. For example, when Shelley gave me a strawberry, Tom pragmatically showed his anxiety by asking “Mum, have you found me some nice ones?” By using ‘Mum’ at the beginning to the sentence, Tom was subconsciously emphasising the fact that Shelley was his mother, and not mine.
5. Does an older sibling express criticisms of his younger sibling? How does the younger child use language to react to the insults / criticisms made by the older sibling? Is there any proof of a sibling ‘bond’ through language use, evident in the data? Does an older sibling show jealousy of his younger sister through language or prosodic features?
When analysing this sub-heading, I came across some interesting discoveries. It appears that whilst a large majority of the time Jamie was insulting me, there was in fact evidence of a sibling bond in that he could understand what I meant when others couldn’t etc. This analysis also provided evidence of how a young child reacts to criticism; I appeared to either ignore the comments altogether, or defended myself using language. I believe that through language, my brother expressed distinct jealousy of me in terms of the attention I received from our parents. Many of his utterances could be interpreted pragmatically in such a way that he appeared to be desperate for our parents to start a conversation with him.
To conclude the overall hypothesis, my investigation has shown that a child’s language is likely to develop extensively over a period of three years; both grammatically and lexically, in that a child will learn the rules of the English Language more clearly, and their vocabulary will become more wide-spread and topical. From the evidence provided, from a subjective point of view, it seems that the language used by people around a child will have a direct impact on how the child uses language, especially that of a sibling.
Evaluation
Having completed the investigation, I can now effectively evaluate my project as a whole, in terms of its usefulness and value in analysing child language acquisition.
In terms of the chosen methodology, I believe the idea of creating sub-questions proved useful in the overall findings; however it became apparent during the analysis stage that the questions I posed were perhaps exceedingly ambitious. Some of the questions I proposed to investigate would have taken years of research to come to a conclusion, and therefore my findings could only speculate ideas, rather than reach a definitive overview. However, I do not regret the decision to explore these areas, as I was able to draw assumptions from the data provided, and it was interesting to discover that many of my actions as a child conformed to ideas and theories about language development.
In terms of my strengths within the investigation, I believe my analysis section provides some depth into child language acquisition, without being definitive. An asset of mine was managing to maintain a speculative insight in general; as well as looking at the data as a whole, rather than trying to make it fit to my hypothesis or conform to a theory.
A weakness that came to light when concluding this investigation links back to the sub-questions I created. I believe that the ambitiousness of them made it difficult to draw valuable conclusions at times, as some of the questions could not be answered from the given data.
If I were to perform the investigation again, in terms of future enhancements, I would perhaps alter the sub questions to give a more specific focus, rather than basing them on a very general theory. I would also modify them to suit the requirements of the investigation, i.e. tone down the complexity and ambiguity of them. Another future enhancement would perhaps be to change the coherency of the overall analysis section; it became noticeable that the way I ordered my data was not as chronological as it could have been, and I believe it would have been easier to analyse, should I have made this modification.