“Perhaps the greatest single event in the history of linguistics was the invention of the tape recorder.” (Halliday, ’Introduction’ to Halliday, 1994, xxiii)
The same idea could be applied to a video camera. In a transcription of spoken visual data of children there are sometimes more difficulties in understanding what they have said than in a transcription of adult conversations. It is also important to take into account that there are a variety of different types of language groups amongst children depending on their different age groups. There were instances where it is immediately noticeable that the people speaking were the two six year old girls. For example when Laura tells Aalliya to take the apple it is slightly unclear whether she says you or he. (LINE REFERENCE). Other typical signs of the fact that it is children and not adults on the transcript are the various expressions/mistakes in language that they compose. For example, Laura says the “witchest” or “do you like myself?”. These are simple common linguistic mistakes that children of the girls’ age will make, but these are still part of the “learning process”. However, when she is telling the story, Laura constantly corrects herself (LINE REFERENCE) and is obviously working hard to get the story right. This is in fact a difficult task to master when one only has two people to act a story out that in effect has a lot more than two characters in it. It is also noticeable how much the girls are enjoying the play with both language and particularly the story as they constantly interrupt with giggling. There is also the aspect of the girls’ friendship which is developing throughout the “act”. (REFERENCE) This is a vital part of their social progress, showing the effect that language play can have on children’s psychological development and how important this is. They are not “inventing” a story as such, but they are, Laura in particular, trying to take the story seriously. Goldman (1998), for instance, saw that the pretend play in Melanesia draws on the storytelling genre associated with adult performances of myths, folktales and legends.
In psycholinguistics the focus is made on children’s creativity in language as part of a general aim of investigation on how children become competent language users with particular focus on linguistic understanding and conceptual development. Recent research in social anthropology (study of children’s culture) with particular focus on children’s lore (playground rhymes and games particularly associated with childhood) has shown that there are connections between literary language and everyday talk. (CB page reference).
At the beginning of their “play act”, Laura repeatedly asks Aalliya if she likes her witches’ cloak that she wears throughout the “act”. And she does not stop asking until she gets an answer from her friend. This is to a certain extent, the way that children start to play with language by constantly repeating phrases. Repetition is a part of overall features of language play. Gupta (1994) in Reading C observed that the sociodramatic play in which the children were engaging in collaboratively in dramatic performance (with particular reference to bilingual children). However, there has also been research into sociodramatic play amongst monolingual children. Anderson (1990), for instance, got children to use puppets to manipulate talking ‘in role’. Her outcome showed that children as young as four can play several roles in trial situations, they are then capable of distinguishing in methodical ways in the language they use to imitate ‘nurse’ for example in contrast with ‘patient’ and ‘doctor’.
There are different types of language play; language play in performance and in general conversations. On the whole, the girl’s play is very grown-up. The way they really want to get it right and put on a good show.
A further interesting aspect that the two girls brought out in their act is the way that they used different style of voice, Laura especially, depending on whether it was they were holding a conversation or them performing the story.
Children’s creative play with language as well as their actual play is “practice” in a dual sense. It is both social and a preparation for adult life. “Pretend play” is part of a child’s cognitive development. The psychologist Vygotsky (1935) thought that the activity of engaging in cooperative pretend play facilitates socialisation and helps children to learn how to take part in cultural practices as a part of the society in which they live. He quotes “play is the natural means of a child’s self-education, an exercise oriented towards the future.” With this the child’s personality develops as he/she adopts cultural norms and is shaped as a person. Fein (1978) studied children’s language development and saw it is a form of rehearsal and it appears spontaneously in everyday talk. (CHECK).In the concept of performance as a whole, Bauman (1977) stressed the ‘designed for performance’ part of fictional presentation, portraying on many examples from oral-based societies and disputes that ‘aesthetic’ fulfilment may only result from a presentation and suitable assessment of verbal skill. This can be applied to the transcript.
Furlow (2001) researched into everything from neurobiology to behavioural ecology in relation to play and found that it is a behaviour that increases children’s potential for learning. According to a neuroscientist Siviy bouts of play increase the brain’s activation of specific protein associated with the stimulation and growth of nerve cells.
‘Play just lights everything up’, [Siviy says]. He speculates that by allowing connections between brain areas that might not normally be connected, play may be enhancing creativity. (Furlow, 2001, p.30)
According to Ben Rampton on Band 8 of CD-ROM1, Bauman thought that performance involves “putting yourself in an interactional spotlight, taking responsibility for putting on a good show”. It is a special kind of communication. It is important for the improvement of experience, livening things up and puts the spotlight on aspects of communicative interaction that would otherwise remain unnoticed. It helps the establishment of a friendship between the two girls. There are full blown performances as well as momentary ones.
Language research in children from as young as new born babies (CD-ROM, Band 11) is interesting to the extent that it is through the form of play that infants are able to acquire language progressively. A baby that has never been associated with language even through play for instance, could be at high risk of becoming antisocial. There was the incredibly sad involuntary case of Genie, in the nineteen seventies, for example, which helps both researchers and lay people to value the importance of the social linguistics from birth. Basically, without the social linguistic contact, humans may become more like their animal counterparts.
The research into child language is interesting in that it is a part of the human developmental stages into adulthood. The studies have also shown how language play is vital in the improvement of relationships amongst the children. How artistic children may or may not be essentially depends on their cultural background, including how well these are appreciated. There are the two major perspectives, that of anthropology and that of developmental psychology and it is the enculturation that bridges the two viewpoints. Play amongst children can be looked upon as an example of enculturation. The way that children will actively engage with resources made available to them and their society. Reprocessing, in new situations, can lead to opportunities for transformations. A child can either individually or collectively, as in the case of Aalliya and Laura, bring imagination to create a fresh course.
In contemporary society with the help of modern technology there is a lot “going on” as far as creativity in language is concerned, particularly in English. The lingua franca of the internet world appears to be English. Over recent years, people in the English-speaking world, have become casual in their written language skills. They are keen to use abbreviations like “Would you like to come” becomes “Wod u like 2 cum?” for text messages and also in writing emails to friends. This is nevertheless a contemporary part of language creativity, whereas the language play between the two girls has been around for a long time. However, the art of play will quite possibly still be around many years into the future. It is also crucial that it stays around as part of the child’s own development. ONE EXTRA SENTENCE
CONCLUSION: CARTER
1896 words…
APPENDIX A:
TRANSCRIPTION OF CD-ROM 1, BAND 12
Spoken Interaction Accompanying actions and activities
Aalliya: (xxx)
Laura: (pulls her skirt up)..There.can you see it? Can you see my skirt?
Aalliya: (..) Yes I can see your skirt
Laura: I doesn’t matter does it?
Aalliya: No it doesn’t matter
Laura: I’m a witch..when I die a prince comes..
Aalliya: Hello
Laura: (laughs) (is putting on a cloak)
Aalliya: Do you want me to put it on for you?
Laura: Hmm..it’s alright
Aalliya: dunduhdum
Laura: This is a witchest one..cause I couldn’t find
Aalliya: dunduhdudum
Laura: There. Do you like me? Do you like myself? Do you like me?
Aalliya: dududumdudum
Laura: Aallhia, do you like me? Do you like myself? (twirls around)
Aalliya: dududududum
Laura: Aalhia, do you like me?
Aalliya: Is this yours? Oh
Laura: Yes when I was at nursery’s. Do you like me?
Aalliya: Yes I do like you.
Laura: Now come on we’re ready come on.
Girls leave room
A VOICE: [..]
A knock on the door
Aalliya: Come in
Laura: Hello…asked the witch….hello
Aalliya: Hello..are you fine?
Laura: Now have you seen the seven dwarfs?
Aalliya: What?
Laura: Have you seen the seven dwarfs?
Aalliya: They just went to workshop
Laura: Oh have a little sit down here..(sits down)..and I’ve got a little surprise there five apples (shows five fingers) 7 apples 8 apples..one for you and one for the seven dwarfs..now take this one..no you must stand up and you fall down dead take this one and you ate and you said and I said ate the red eat the red bit and you ate it
Aallyiah: (falls down on floor)...it’s an apple
Laura: Yeah
Aalliya: (lies down on floor)
Laura: Your dead and then the seven dwarfs come back and they hear their [..] and then they look..huh oh no and then the pri and then they pull you up in a coffin ..stand up..but your still asleep still asleep over here there over here
Laura and Aalliya giggle
Laura: Your coffin is over here…lie down..no not like that with your legs up face turning the right way there and the coffin this was the coffin pillow which you had to have over you this was the thing you had to have over you had to have it over your face
Aalliya: No
Laura and Aalliya giggle
Laura: And then the prince came he knew about it he came trotting saw the princess giggles (trotts)
Aallyia: What are you doing?
Laura: I am trotting on my horse
Aalliya: Oh
Laura: giggles…now I come here come from here trot trot trot I’m making you feel alive you know Aalliyah (kisses her-pretend) and then you woke up like just like you went..(GIRL A sits up) no not like that you went (they giggle) open your eyes you went..(blinks) and then you woke up..[..] and you saw the prince and you sought of went “huh”..laughs
Key
L = Laura; A = Aalliyah
Plain text speaker as character, speaking the role
Underlining speaker as narrator, telling the story
Italics speaker has stepped outside the performance - e.g. a comment, a question or instruction
(.) a brief pause, untimed
(xxx) unclear speech that could not be transcribed
(he) transcription unclear, a guess
((sharp intake of breath)) specific non-speech element
* indicates a particular point where an action occurred (mentioned in the nonverbal column)
Paralinguistic features Aalliya is wearing pink skirt
Laura pulls up her skirt (there cant you see it)
Aalliya runs across room
Laura puts on her cloak
Aalliya singing and going through Laura’s things on a shelf
Laura shouts (before Aalliya shows something and asks is this yours)
Aalliya has found something a bag? (mumble)
Laura in a bossy voice
Aalliya is sitting on sofa in Laura’s living room
Laura walks around in front of Aalliya
Line they just went to workshop..Aallyia waves her left arm
Laura Oh…sits down on a seat
“ stands up and shows her left hand holds both hands up and counts
Whispers seven dwarfs (L)
L holds out her hand to A and pulls her to her feet
L gives A apple (imaginary)
A eats apple (again imaginary)
A falls half way down so that she is still seated and looks at A questioning her
A completely falls down
L comes over to A who is still on floor and puts her hands down on A kneeling
L gets up again and A is still lying on floor
L helps A to stand up again
L “hugs” A and brings her over to another sofa (first they go wrong way..L redirects as to where the “coffin” is)
A half lies on sofa with legs dangling so L puts A’s legs up on the sofa
L puts A’s body the “right” way
L takes a blanket and puts is on over A and her face
Then L changes her mind and pulls blanket down again….girls giggle and snort
L does a “pretend” trot on a horse next to A who is lying on sofa with her eyes closed
L looks away once briefly
A opens her eyes
L stops trotting and giggles
L runs round and out of the room and back still pretending to be the prince on his horse
L bends over A and pretends to kiss SW so that she wakes up
A sits up briskly
L pushes her down again
A opens her eyes and rolls them round looking “surprised”
A sits up slowly
A acting surprised sitting on sofa to see prince
Bibliography
-
Maybin, J. and Swann, J.(2006) The art of English: everyday creativity, The Open University
-
Carter, R.(2006), Language and creativity the art of common talk, Routledge
- CDROM1, Bands 8 and 12
Setting is Laura’s bedroom and living room
Duranti, 1997, cited in Chapter 1, p. 10
Owen, A., E301 Study Guide One, The Open University, p.45
Carter, R.(2006), Language and creativity the art of common talk, Routledge, p.62
Carter, R.(2006), Language and creativity the art of common talk, Routledge, p.62
http://www.feralchildren.com/en/showchild.php?ch=genie
