Category: Linguistics 473

Explain how the interactive practices between adults and young children promote language development. Why is the approach you chose better than the other approaches?

The nativist interpretation is the most logical of all psychological approaches to childhood language development. This is because each human being is endowed with an innate ability to language that is manifested as the child interacts with the environment and adults. The nativists interpret language acquisition based on the assumptions that language is not only universal, but it is also unique to humans.

Proponents of this theory believe that only severe cases of limitations either physically or mentally can limit language acquisition by humans. Even then, they argue that the desire to acquire language is so strong that many people end up talking in spite of many challenges that may seem overwhelming (Hulit, Howard, & Fahey, 2010).

There has been much opposition to this theory especially regarding the uniqueness of language acquisition ability to humans. In this regard, several studies have been done using chimpanzees and other primates in language studies to discredit the nativist theory. However, the small successes in teaching chimps to use sign language is not enough proof that animals can grasp the complexity of language as humans do. The assumption that adults and other external environment helps to shape the innate ability to acquire language makes this theory better than others (Terrace, 1980).

Describe the possible relationships between cognition, comprehension, and language production. Be sure to include specific skills the preschool child uses (e.g. fast mapping) and the learning theories that support the relationships you identify

Separation of intellectual growth from language development is impossible. Similarly, it is very difficult to disconnect comprehension from language production as these processes are intricately connected and form an interactive association. Our conversations are a reflection of what we understand about people, events, and things. Consequently, clear thoughts often result in clear language whether in speaking or writing.

Children learn, understand, and produce language in reflection of what they know and continue to learn through language. The association between cognition and language production is such that children must first gain an understanding of concepts before they can use some form of language in an effective way. Experience in relational words in many contexts is crucial before complete understanding of the relationships between events, objects, and people.

For example, in order for children to produce when questions, they must understand cause-effect prior to comprehension or production of why or how questions. Comprehension and language development is similar to Piagets theory of development where children first need to understand the sequence of events before they can understand duration. Children first need to understand and produce words that indicate order such as before and after before using words that indicate duration such as until and since (Hulit, Howard, & Fahey, 2010).

Share some of idiomatic expressions you use now or remember using from your childhood. How did your culture influence your familys use of these expressions?

During my childhood years, there were some idiomatic expressions that I used such as mommy and papa. The culture of my people such as referring to a father as dad and mother as mum had a strong influence on my early expressions. This must have influenced my early expressions as I tried to imitate and call mum mommy. In reflecting upon my early elementary school, I would describe my learning environment as conducive in terms of extent and content to which instructions for reading and writing were disseminated. The instructions were in line with modern philosophies. Pictures and charts ware used well to strengthen learning and improve language development. Adaptive technologies were also used to assist those children that had learning disabilities.

Skills and completeness in identifying definitions increases as a childs knowledge in life and language increase. The development of metalinguistic skills is similar to Piagets stages of cognitive development. Just like in Piagets theory, Metalinguistic skills also indicate that a childs skills in language improve with age, maturity, and increasing experience in life. For example, a childs definitions at preschool level are concrete and personal but become more conceptual and abstract as the child progresses through elementary school years and accumulate more experience with life and languages (Hulit, Howard, & Fahey, 2010).

Compare and contrast, the early studies of Wellman, Poole, and Templin with one of the more current views (biological, prosodic, cognitive, natural phonology, structuralist, behaviorist, or self-organizing theory) of phonological development

Comparatively, Wellmans, Pooles, and Templins phonematic acquisition studies were consistent in general design in spite of variations in specific methodologies. Apart from Tamplin whose study sample was biased towards the lower side of the socioeconomic continuum and included children from the urban areas exclusively, the other two made reasonable attempts at distributing their study subjects by socioeconomic levels.

The researchers excluded children with hearing problems and language delays from their studies. Unlike Wellman and Tamplin who accepted imitated responses from subjects who failed to give a spontaneous response after being shown pictures and objects, Poole only accepted spontaneous responses. Templin and Wellman considered mastery of the sound to be adequate if three quarters of the subjects produced it correctly in all appropriate word positions at a given age level. Pooles study was different as sound was considered mastered only if it was correctly produced by all the subjects in a study for a given age category.

Behaviorist believes that focus should be on observable and measurable behaviours of a child in phonological development. They view a child as having no knowledge about the rules of language. This is inconsistent with the studies of the three studies which showed a degree of phonological development among the children regardless of their external environment (Hulit, Howard, & Fahey, 2010).

References

Hulit, L. M., Howard, M. R., & Fahey, K. R. (2010). Born to talk: An introduction to speech and language development (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Terrace, H. (1980). Nim: A chimpazee who learned sign language. New York: Knopf.

Introduction

People have developed several misconceptions about the ability to acquire a second language, where, children are said to be at a better position to acquire a second language as compared to adults (Felser & Clahsen 2009). While the allegation could be true, it may not apply to all individuals. In essence, an adult can easily learn a second language depending on the complexity of the language and the level of interest. Grosjean (2002) indicates that language learning ability decreases with age, and the question is the reason behind the decrease in the ability to acquire a second language over time.

This research will seek to answer various unanswered questions in peoples mindsthe specific aims of the dissertation areas listed below.

1. To examine the relationship between second language acquisition and age.
2. To determine the factors behind the difference in language acquisition abilities across different age spectrums (2-8 years, 9-19 years, above 20 years)
3. To identify the age spectrum during which an individual can acquire and master a second or third language easily.
4. To identify the approaches that individuals across all age spectrums can employ to acquire a second or third language easily.

Dissertation sources

This research will bring a clear light of the various hypotheses on second language acquisition and age. The research will give a critical analysis of the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH); a sensitive period during which an individual easily learns and masters a language. According to Muñoz & Singleton (2011), as people age, there are natural maturational constraints that reduce their ability to acquire a second language. However, the ability or inability to acquire a second language is not restricted to age factors alone. Factors like native language proficiency levels somewhat determine the ability to acquire a second language. An individual with difficulties in acquiring the first language may find it difficult to acquire a second language (Davies 2003). Finally, the article concludes that the association between age and second language acquisition is loosening, and thus, researchers have an obligation to shed light on the allegations and give insights that are more accurate than the existing ones.

This dissertation on the relationship between age and second language acquisition is related to various past researches. Burns & Helmans (2009) report is based on the findings of research done on English language learners (2nd-grade students). These students were learning English as a second language, and the researchers sought to find the proficiency levels of the different students across various age spectrums. The research findings indicated that there was a significant difference in English proficiency levels across various age spectrums. In Felser & Clahsens (2006) work, there is a clear indication of the dyslexia condition that is associated with the brains response to violations of the steps of attaining the second language. According to the article, an individual will have abnormal difficulties in acquiring, reading, or even spelling out words of a second language if the instructor employs the wrong procedures in teaching the second language.

This dissertation will draw its discussion from various works. Huang & Snedeckers (2009) work will provide a semantic meaning of the language of children aged about 5-8 years. The article will help in bringing a clear explanation of how children in the mentioned age group comprehend language. Hawkins (2001) work will give a clear outlay of the impaired students and their ability to acquire language with the help of assistive technology and universal designs. Zhou & Crains (2010) work will seek to address the child as a powerful individual who has the capability to accept or reject the acquisition of a second language. Finally, Fabbros (2001) work will explain the multi-competence levels of language acquisition across various age spectrums. The mentioned references are very important, as they will address the objectives of the dissertation. Additionally, the bibliographical references will give a clear insight into all the existing hypotheses on second language acquisition and age.

Structured description of the dissertation proposal

Abstract

There is a debate on the topic, Relationship between Second Language Acquisition and Ages of Specific Spectrums. Some researchers claim that indeed, there is a correlation between the acquisition of a second language and age, while others oppose the allegation. Therefore, there are two main null hypotheses that need some stringent analysis.

H₀: Adults do not have a higher ability to acquire a second language as compared to children.

H₀: Older children (9-19 years) cannot acquire a second language more easily than younger children (2-8 years) can.

A detailed study of previous literature will give a clear insight into the disparities of the hypotheses and the previously mentioned specific aims of the dissertation proposal. In the literature review, secondary data from previous studies indicate that indeed, there is a relationship between Second Language Acquisition and across different age ranges (Doughty & Long 2003).

Introduction/ literature review

Several researchers have tried to explain the relationship between second language acquisition and age. The common perception across various researches is that younger children learn a second language with ease as compared to older children and adults (Flege & Liu 2001). However, individuals learn and master a second language during a sensitive period, also known as the Critical Hypothesis Period (CHP). The younger children (below eight years), adolescents (9-19 years), and adults (above 20 years) have different second language acquisition levels due to the differences in syntactic and morphological developments (DeKeyser 2000). During the early stages of acquiring a second language, adults tend to develop syntactic and morphological understanding faster than younger children do, but not as fast as the older children do (Francis 2009). The adults, (above 20 years), minds are preoccupied with the demanding life situations, and thus their concentration levels are somewhat low as compared to the adolescents whose fresh minds can grasp a second language with ease (Hawkins 2001). In acquiring a second language, the accent of the first language is likely to determine the age at which an individual would become proficient in the second language (Curtiss 2007).

Moreover, another factor that determines the acquisition level of a second language is the time of exposure. Individuals who are exposed to a second language at an early age are likely to portray higher acquisition and proficiency levels as compared to individuals who encounter the second language in adulthood. The age spectrum during which an individual can acquire and master a second or third language easily is 9-19 years (Ellis 2004). However, other factors other than age that determine the ability to acquire a second language. The concentration level is what brings the difference in the ability to acquire a new language between small children (2-8 years) and adults (above 20 years). Adolescents are in the best position to acquire a second language. The fresh minds, higher maturity levels and the interest to learn a second language places older children at a better position acquire the second language with ease. The interest to learn is the foremost approach to language acquisition (Gullberg & Indefrey 2006). Secondly, attention is another factor that would determine the ability to acquire a second language. It is quite difficult to control the concentration level of small children (2-8 years); however, adults should try as much as possible to maintain the highest level of concentration to acquire and master a second language.

Statement of the problem

From the above literature, it is noteworthy that indeed, there are disparities of ideas on the relationship between acquisition of the second language and across different age spectrums. There are uncertainty and dissatisfaction of the current knowledge on the relationship between second language acquisition and age. For this reason, the dissertation will take a stringent analysis of the available literature to find answers to the main objectives, the mentioned hypotheses, and the research question.

Research question

This dissertation will seek to answer one research question, is there a relationship between second language acquisition and the different age spectrums?

Research methodology

Literature survey

This dissertation will mainly depend on secondary data. The data will be retrieved from theories of previous researches. Therefore, there will be a need to search for trustworthy resources from reliable libraries. Academic abstracts will receive more attention than commercial abstracts. A peer-reviewed journal, bibliographic databases, and internet search engines will play a critical role in obtaining the right information. For comparison purposes, a cross-reference table will be necessary to correlate and view data from different perspectives.

Data collection and sampling

From the diversified data sources, study samples will comprise of materials with the similarity of data.

Data analysis

Since the whole exercise involves the use of secondary data, an ordinary MS Excel spreadsheet package would work perfectly in doing some simplified analysis of data.

Expected work schedule

The research is expected to take a period of 2 months, and the activities are as scheduled below.

Week 1: Clearance from the supervisor to proceed with the study

Week 2: Researching on the relevant literature

Week 3: Writing the first draft

Week 4: Submitting draft to the supervisor for approval

Week 5: Working on the remaining chapters

Week 6: Receive feedback from lecturer and fixing the draft accordingly

Week 7: Analysis of data, and completing the final draft

Week 8: Final revisions, proofreading, printing, binding, and submitting the research report.

Expected research outcomes

From the literature in the reference materials, it is noteworthy that age spectrums truly have an effect on the naturalistic acquisition of the second language. Studies indicate that adolescents, (aged 9-19 years), have the highest level of acquisition of a second language. The second on the list are the adults (above 20 years), and lastly, children, (below eight years), have the lowest acquisition level. With this in mind, there is a possibility of rejecting the first null hypothesis. Indeed, adults have a higher ability to acquire a second language as compared to children. The concentration level of the adults is higher than that of the children whose minds are swayed with the happenings in the surrounding. Similarly, the second null hypothesis would be rejected because older children (9-19 years) have the capability of acquiring a second language more easily than younger children (2-8 years) do.

References

Burns, M & Helman, L 2009, Relationship between language skills and acquisition rate of sight words among English language learners, Literacy Research and Instruction, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 221-232.

Curtiss, S 2007, Genie: A psycholinguistic study of a modern-day wild child, Academic Press, New York.

Davies, A 2003, The native speaker: Myth and reality, Multilingual Matters Ltd, Clevedon.

DeKeyser, R 2000, The robustness of critical period effects in second language acquisition, Studies in Second Language Acquisition, vol. 22, no.4, pp 499533.

Doughty C & Long, M 2003, Handbook of second language acquisition, Blackwell, London.

Ellis, R 2004, The study of second language acquisition, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Fabbro, F 2001, The neurolinguistics of bilingualism: An introduction, Psychology Press, Hove.

Felser, C & Clahsen H 2009, Grammatical processing of spoken language in child and adult language learners, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, vol. 38, no. 3, pp 305319.

Flege, J & Liu H 2001, The effect of experience on adults acquisition of a second language, Studies in Second Language Acquisition vol. 23, no. 4, pp 527552.

Francis, W 2009, Cognitive integration of language and memory in bilinguals: Semantic representation, Psychological Bulletin, vol. 125, no. 2, pp 193222.

Grosjean, F 2002, Life with two languages, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

Gullberg M & Indefrey P 2006, The cognitive neuroscience of second language acquisition, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA.

Hawkins, R 2001, Second language syntax: A generative introduction. Blackwell Oxford.

Huang, Y & Snedecker, J 2009, Semantic meaning and pragmatic interpretation in five-year olds: Evidence from real time spoken language comprehension, Developmental Psychology, vol. 45, no. 6, pp 1723-1739.

Muñoz, C & Singleton, D 2011, A critical review of age-related research on L2 ultimate attainment, Language Teaching, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 1-35.

Zhou, P & Crain S 2010, Focus identification in Child Mandarin, Journal of Child Language, vol. 37, no. 1, pp 965-1005.

Lexicographer James A. H. Murray, the fin-de-siècle-editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, introduced the concept of the modern dictionary that have been in use from Victorian era to the present day. Thus, the very idea and shape of the printed dictionary have not changed much for more than a hundred years now. But, according to lexicographer Erin McKean (2007), the old book-shaped dictionary does seem obsolete for the modern wordbook.

Additionally, computers and the Internet have not fundamentally transformed the format. Online dictionaries and electronic sources added the option to navigate and search for words more conveniently but left the old principle of word organization at heart. As McKean (2007) points out, the online format turned out to be paper thrown up on the screen and, in fact, inherited almost all issues of the printed wordbooks. These include the inconvenience of using and an inability to accommodate the great variety of words. The real innovation introduced by the Internet era was the websites and blogs of amateur lexicographers who began to collect new and rarely used words. However, they do not solve another issue  providing the context and the source for the words. As a result, modern word books require significant changes that would make them more user-friendly while retaining expertise.

Book-shaped dictionaries do not accommodate the full diversity of words in the language and artificially categorize words into good and bad or common and uncommon. However, printed dictionaries will not disappear altogether. According to McKean (2007), they will remain one of the shapes available. However, modern wordbooks critically need transformation, expansion, and more advanced digitalization. Essentially, future works will have to fit the greatest possible variety of words of the language.

Reference

McKean, E. (2007). The joy of lexicography [Video]. TED.

Abstract

This essay presents a case study of the variety of English spoken within Labrador and Newfoundland in Canada. Following a quantitative analysis of the data collected, I was able to monitor the frequencies of the use of the Inuit English variable, verbal s, and develop the primary factor associated with influencing the locals mode of speaking concerning sex (male or female). Results from the study indicate that women in Labrador and Newfoundland are more likely to use Standard English. It suggests that a particular gender overuses some words. Thus, women use I loves it, often contrary to men. This study contributes to the acknowledgment of deviation of minority language as a result of dominance from a majority language.

Introduction

Studies have attested to the relationship between language and gender, either affecting or influencing their coexistence. This essay is meant to determine the use of verbal s in Nain-Inuit English in Newfoundland and Labrador. Briefly, the study shows the use of nonstandard English in grammar. Whether sex affects its ascendancy on speakers and how it influences the use. It also alludes to age as a factor influencing the use, e.g., young people tend to show an increase in verbal s use, especially young girls who are being innovative. Like any other research done in this area, this study provides a clear insight into the expansion and prominence of the predominant languages over time. Scholars have argued that in a society with extensive use of nonstandard English, the dominating speakers are found to be men. Though the nonstandard speakers of the English language may be presumed as incompetent, they still have an excellent command of the language. On the other hand, women appear to be more standard in speech.

This exists transitively among the generational gap. Seemingly, in the event of dialectal or variant emergence, the dominant language carries the more significant weight of impact on the evolving language. Additionally, the study aims to confirm that the frame of non-standard is found in the withdrawals or rearrangements of the dialect, which is in close relation to the formality level. Although it has become difficult to establish a constant distinguishable feature between standard and nonstandard English due to the persistent language change (some nonstandard dialects slowly become standard). Some variants remain unarguably nonstandard; hence this is visible in the Nain- Inuit English, such as, I loves it.

Previous studies

The Nain Inuit English is a variety of English that has emerged in the northern Canadian community due to the graduate language shift from Inuktitut (Eskimo-Aleut) to English dominant. Census data, survey work, interviews, and community observations all underline the dominance of English in the community (Oushiro, 2019). Despite the intrigue within the conventional Inuttitut, dialect remains a point of discussion within the same community. The languages development and form can be considered a result of influence from the indigenous language, Inuttitut. Consequently, among the three sociolinguistic variables­adjectival intensification, verbal -s, and interdental fricativesmorphosyntactic (verbal -s, e.g., I goes there) showcases the most evident use of nonstandard English varieties in Nain.

Studies show that the use of nonstandard is associated with saliency, a low educational status, and some even consider the users to be locals leading to a path of decline in use. However, verbal s have registered as a central highlight of authentic Newfoundland English in urban zones. Similarly, some social groups have been associated with upholding the Inuit English to maintain their identities, such as the young generation who consider the language to have a form of playfulness. For a foreigner, Using Inuit knowledge is challenging because western scientific paradigms largely shape knowledge documentation and mobilization methods, generating ontological tensions& (Bulletin, 2022). This is one of the most apparent reasons the Standard English language tends to dominate minority languages.

Scholars have associated language use and style with gender as women are inclined to emotional capacities. This will tend to influence their language through verbal -s when interacting amongst themselves. At the same time, men are more discreet and objective during interactions that are productive to include the social parameters in the sphere of individual variation since they impact their speech or language, more so, when putting the language and style into practice. Gender has influenced language since its invention, and no matter how insignificant the effect may seem, it leaves a subject of discussion. Ergo for this study, the anticipation of men delivering more nonstandard forms is inevitable.

Data and Method

Through traditional sociolinguistic interviews, a diverse set of data was obtained. The interviews were conducted within the community in February 2010, and they lasted for approximately one hour. According to the interviewees preference, interviews were carried out in the Nain Inuit Community Government office or the participants homeswhether in pairs or individually. Both formats have proved helpful over the years in similar research. During data collection, verbals were classified according to social and linguistic factors to determine the relationship between Inuit English and its user.

There was a need to understand how the Newfoundlanders use the language and what influences the use. Sokolovskaya (2020) has argued that English in Newfoundland is more than a dialect of the Canadian variant; hence it can be called the standard itself. Thus, easy to analyze because the metrics and data source required enables the features of evaluation and answering questions. Therefore, a sample of twelve participants following age, ranging from 19-62(i.e., old<45-62>, middle <30-44> and young<19-30>) and sexmale or female. It is not easy to examine data in just a single time frame. Inevitably, the three-phase generational stratification is meant to cover the Nain Inuit language used appropriately and to avoid bias. Figure 1 shows a chart of the chosen participant representatives of the analysis. Note that the names used are not the exact names of the participants but pseudonyms used to protect their real identities.

The data was collected via auditory skill looking at the dialect of the participants during the conversations. Some representatives were chosen randomly without bias to do a simple analysis of the same from the data collected. Involving a quantitative analysis, only the nonstandard occurrences were counted. Figure 1 showcases the analysis in depth.

Results and Discussion

To conform to the analysis, men have been said to utilize the nonstandard verbal s more often than women. Thus, the aspect of masculinity and femininity is brought to question. Do women speak a different language in comparison to men? This might not be the case, but generally, women and men have different communication styles. These styles are either socially acquired or emanate from societal cultures and norms. Research has shown that both sexes extensively use some words during speech. These are; [I love (s), and I go (es)]. Figure 1 illustrates how the different sexes manifest the use of certain words in their discourse analysis.

For example, Patrick uses &goes 4 times out of the 9 times he uses a nonstandard phrase.

I goes out
I goes rodding sometimes
&I goes walking up the hill
&they goes to the arena mostly

Bridget uses the verb go more than half of the time during her interview. The use of the nonstandard form is evident in her discourse analysis as it surpasses her standard speech. [I goes only once, I goes up fishing, &senior goes to the hall on Wednesdays, we goes, they goes& I goes& I goes& I goes&]. Although studies have proven that women tend to be more standard than men, in the case of using nonstandard English, they have shown interest in a specific word like loves, considering the genders are equal in detailed mindfulness. Usually, women are said to lean toward adoring words since their language is based on feelings, experiences, and relationships. Although the word love appeared in a couple of the participants, female participants used it considerably while men preferred different choices.

Jackie is reported to have used loves twice as much as every other participant who made use of the same word. (In figure 1, Shirley (bolded) is a variant 0 since she maintained a standard language throughout the interview.)

Figure:1.2 Analyzation of data according to sex. Data is organized from the old to the young.

Conclusion

Concerning this study, sex is among the factors influencing linguistic behavior. The distinctive desires individuals in society have of men and women shape their perceptions. This leads to diverse sexual orientations making various phonetic choices. Verbal s, a morphosyntactic sociolinguistic variable, has been presented in an elucidative approach. The male participants have had the most recurring occurrences hence justifying that verbal s is greatly influenced by the Sex of Nain Inuit language speakers (Krauss et al., 2021). A possible challenge is that the participants educational or social class levels may not have been the same. This is observable with Shirley, who maintained a standard language. Further research can show the influence of mood or attitude in the usage of verbal s, either in support of or opposing existing works by scholars. Additional studies could show the impact of sex instead of age (social factors).

References

Bulletin, M. E. S. (n.d.). Vol. 23 (2022): April: Middle European Scientific Bulletin. Vol. 23 (2022): Middle European Scientific Bulletin. Web.

Krauss, M. E. (2021). Na-Dene and Eskimo-Aleut. In The languages of native America (pp. 803-901). University of Texas Press.

Oushiro, L. (2019). Linguistic uniformity in the speech of Brazilian internal migrants in a dialect contact situation. In Proceedings of the 19th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Melbourne, Australia 2019 (pp. 686-690).

Sokolovskaya, V. V. (2020). The uniqueness of Newfoundlands regional variation of the Canadian national English variant. PROCEEDINGS of the 12th All-Russian Research and Methodological Conference with International Participation, Moscow, Institute of Foreign Languages, RUDN University, Web.

First Video

The first child that we can see in the video is reading from a book, together with an adult. She exhibits some of the common phonological processes when attempting to say the worlds out loud, notably including cluster reduction and reduplication. The former can be observed in most words, such as blue and fish, which are pronounced as bue and sh respectively. The latter, on the other hand is displayed through words like lellow instead of yellow, where the sound L becomes duplicated. Both of these processes appear to be normal for a child her age, not warranting further investigation.

Second Video

The boy in the second story attempts to tell a story of Jack and beanstalk, with some help from (likely) his mother. Cluster reduction and deletion are both clearly on display, as the child almost fully jumps over certain words. Instead of market, for example, the child says maket. On the contrary, however, his skill at pronouncing other words is notable, as the boy pronounces them clearly without phonetical distortions. Demonstrations of that would be words like food and money. I do not think this kid needs a professional evaluation, he is doing well for his age as is.

Third Video

The child in the last video tells viewers a story. His speech exhibits deletion and gliding, with some words being cut off, and read becoming weed instead. Sadly, most of the kids words are really difficult for me to pick up, but I think I have heard enough to understand that he is lacking sufficient development for his age. According to most childhood development resources, children at the age of 4-5 should be able to speak clearly without much deletion of gliding (Caruso, 2021). Both age and ability come into consideration with this decision. It may be necessary to provide the child with additional support in his phonetic development and speech, preferably by talking to him more (Activities to encourage speech and language development, n.d.). However, one should not forget each child is unique, and growth milestones do not apply universally to everyone.

References

Activities to encourage speech and language development. (n.d.). American Speech-Language-Hearing Association | ASHA. Web.

Caruso, C. (2021). Speech sounds by age: What sounds should my child be able to pronounce? Sunny Days, Inc. Web.

The first issue I am going to analyze is the essence of Linguistics. It is the science that deals with a language, the forms of language, variations, and changes. The language is divided into different categories, each of these spheres is responsible for some certain area of the language studies. Thus the author analyzes the essence of language and the goals of linguists. He reveals some misconceptions about language, which is a common question, suchlike Linguistics is not relevant for primary and secondary school teachers and Linguistics is concerned with trying to get people to speak properly (Justice 1-13). Linguists from all over the world are concerned with the habits of speech of the common speaker, and the aims of linguists are discussing the language study rather from the explanatory point of view (Justice 1-13).

Linguists from all sides of the world, speaking different languages, try to make substantial research on the problem of language study. The most important part here lies in cooperation, sharing the experience of international knowledge on Linguistics. Language is a very complex subject from the point of view of understanding and studying, thus the linguists from all over the world are discussing the essence of the language, as it is considered to be an issue of double nature; as we speak one word but they can mean other things than are considered. The words mean those things and actions, which are presupposed by the speakers of this particular language. Words have a double nature: the meaning of the words is a result of negotiations among people, as they come to an agreement, the words start to possess a certain meaning. The grammar of the language is a very important issue. Thus Prescriptivism is the theory that moral utterances have no truth value but prescribe attitudes to others and express the conviction of the speaker, while Descriptivism reveals the theory of that moral utterances have a truth value. English is considered the language that is easy to understand, learn and analyze, as it possesses a strict and clear-cut structure (Justice 1-13).

The English language is simple from the point of view of the structure but possesses many different variations called dialects. Each of the dialects of the English language has certain features, which distinguish it from other dialects of the same language. Thus, the distinctive features involve certain peculiarities of articulation, pronunciation, word usage. The language has certain rules, and any variations of grammar, phonetics, and morphology can be regarded as distinctive features of dialects. The variations can involve different spheres of language study: phonology, phonetics, morphology, morphonology, syntax.

There exist a great number of arguments about the essence of absolute and relative grammatical judgments, the intersection of correctness here is opposed to the appropriateness, as well as the levels and types of dialects. There is a clear explanation about the need for bidialectal today, to be more ajustable and skilful in ones cooperation. The issue of correctness and appropriateness is very interesting from the point of view of importance of usage a certain vocabulary, specific grammatical structures (Justice 245-270). The language is a certain mixture of rules, principles, and movements; it involves different spheres of language study, suchlike phonology. Though different dialects are just variants of one and the same language, possess different phonological features of pronunciation, articulation, peculiarities of tensity and length of sounds. The morphological features deal with the form and structure of words in a language, the consistent patterns of inflection, combination, derivation and change, etc., that may be observed and classified.

Syntax explains how sentences and texts should be formed. There are two categories of syntax that are similar to some extent but display a distinction between themselves as well. They are constituent structure and argument structure of the language. Thus, the constituent structure of the language is the set of rules according to which words are put together in phrases, and then both words and phrases are compiled into sentences. For example, the rule to put an adjective before the noun it describes is typical of English and is one of the constituents of its constituent structure, while in French or Spanish constituent structure presupposes placing an adjective after the noun. At the same time, argument structure in syntax is the set of rules according to which words are selected to make complete phrases. In other words, some verbs in English, mainly intransitive ones, need only one component, called argument, after them to complete a phrase (e. g. John came in.), while transitive verbs need two arguments to be put after them (e. g. Ray wrote a book), and ditransitive verbs are accompanied with three arguments (e. g. Linda sent the letter to John).

References

LING6910. (2008). Syntax. Foundations of Linguistics: Lecture 4.

Introduction

Learning a second language provides significant educational and career opportunities for students and represents a wide area of research. English is relevant for Egyptian students since it is often a separate subject of study, and many programs and disciplines are taught in English in the country (Mohamed et al., 2019). An essential aspect of learning a second language is knowledge and understanding of the principles of word-formation, that is, the study of morphology. Affixes (suffixes and prefixes) are morphemes added to a word to create its form or a new word (Ramadan, 2018). Mistakes in affixes are typical for students learning a second language, affecting communication efficiency. This fact justifies a more specific research topic  a morphological analysis of error use of affixes by Egyptian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners.

Research Problem

EFL students face serious difficulties when there is a need to choose a suitable affix. The presence of the problem proves the lack of attention in studying this aspect of word formation when learning English as a second language. Based on the presented background, the research problem is an understanding of the morphological aspect of errors in the use of affixes by EFL students and their causes.

Importance of the Study

Misuse of affixes can lead to communication failures and slow progress in language learning. Adding morphemes to words can change their meaning and influence speech understanding. Abeyweera (2021) notes that since words form the basis of sentences, and the latter form texts, changing the meaning of words through affixes is very influential. At the same time, the English language features imply difficulties in affixation for EFL students. In particular, there are no clear rules for using affixes, and their distribution is quite an arbitrary issue (Dehham & Majeed, 2018). Moreover, different affixes with one root can form other words or have opposite meanings (Dehham & Majeed, 2018). Teachers need to understand typical errors in affixation to help their students master the second language. To improve students skills, it is necessary to develop measures that will help them understand affixes role in word formation and avoid mistakes.

Understanding morphology is an essential skill in language learning, which is proven by several studies. Knowledge of word formation improves writing, speaking, and understanding, expands vocabulary, and helps become proficient in the language (Ebedy & Mohamed, 2020). The benefit of morphology justifies applying morphological analysis to the error use of affixes. Many researchers draw attention to the problem of mistakes in word-formation for EFL learners (Abeyweera, 2021; Badawi, 2019; Dehham & Majeed, 2018; Ebedy, D., & Mohamed, 2020; Ramadan, 2018). Nevertheless, the literature review identified a gap in the literature, as the authors focus on several groups of students or various linguistic aspects. Therefore, the importance of the study is justified by a lack of knowledge of affixation and the effect of errors in it on the language learning process.

Aim of the Study

Based on the research problem posed and the stated topic, the study aims to review the error use of affixes among senior secondary students. The study may contribute to filling an existing literature gap and developing interventions to facilitate EFL students use of affixation. Achieving this goal will help better understand the characteristics of the English language and its teaching for Arabic-speaking students and contribute to further research in this field. It also aims to provide a theoretical backstory for understanding what errors are common. Another studys goal is the morphological analysis and evaluation of identified errors.

Delimitations of the Study

Error analysis is an effective tool in studies of second language learning processes, as it helps identify what gaps in teaching methodology need to be filled. The morphological approach to analysis allows focusing on the essential components of a word and draws attention to the insufficient use of morphology in learning the language. Moreover, language is a dynamic phenomenon that constantly develops and changes. New words appear through borrowing or formation, and the latter way emphasizes the importance of a morphological approach to teaching English (Ramadan, 2018). A lack of understanding of morphology does not allow you to acquire the necessary skills in syntax.

The current study has limited scope for better revealing a narrow aspect of the problem. In particular, it focuses only on senior secondary students, not including many levels of EFL students English knowledge level. The study suggests a descriptive qualitative research design that involves the study and analysis of various sources  articles, studies, interviews, and similar materials. This approach allows detecting specific patterns inherent in the phenomenon, which is of interest to the researcher. Therefore, a qualitative methodology would be most suitable for identifying errors in affixation and analyzing them.

Research Questions

In accordance with all the above facts, the study raises the following research questions to be answered:

• What are the most common morphological errors in the use of affixes made by senior secondary EFL students?
• What are the reasons for the erroneous use of affixes by Egyptian senior secondary EFL students?
• What suggestions can be made for the teaching process to avoid affixation errors made by EFL students?

References

Abeyweera, G. H. (2021). The use of affixation in academic English: A lexical explanation on affixation, root and meaning. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(3), 1-13.

Badawi, M. F. A. (2019). The Effect of Explicit English Morphology Instruction on EFL Secondary School Students Morphological Awareness and Reading Comprehension. English Language Teaching, 12(4), 166-178.

Dehham, S. H., & Majeed, A. J. (2018). The use of verbal affixes by Iraqi EFL university learners: errors analysis. Methodology and Applied Linguistics, 1(5), 1-22.

Ebedy, D., & Mohamed, H. G. (2020). Developing lexical richness among EFL students: Effect of morphological awareness training on writing performance. Journal of Research in Curriculum Instruction and Educational Technology, 6(2), 45-68.

Mohamed, R. Y., Skinner, M., & Trines, S. (2019. Education in Egypt. World Education News and Reviews.

Ramadan, S. (2018). Morphological errors made by Jordanian university students. Romanian Journal of English Studies, 12(1), 40-49. Web.

Bound morphemes are morphemes that are considered from the structural point of view, they cannot be used separately. As a rule, these are affixes that help us to make different parts of speech and grammatical forms of words (-ly, -ance, in-, il-, -er, -ed). People often confuse bound morphemes, especially those who do not speak English fluently or lack experience in communicating in English. There was a party at my neighbors where I met a girl from China, and I still cannot get used to the way she talks. She confuses affixes that are used to form different words, for example, she says usely instead of useful.

The next observation concerns derivational morphemes which can be also considered affixes with semantic meaning which can create words. For example, if we add the suffix il- to the adjective legal, we shall have the word illegal which is opposite to legal. Foreigners and uneducated people who do not think about the usage of words add wrong derivational morphemes to derive words with negative meanings. When I was meeting my friend at the airport, I happened to eavesdrop on the conversation between two young men. Each of them wanted to impress another one with his brilliant command of English, though it did not happen. One was saying [inhappy] instead of unhappy, whereas another man was using the word [worse] instead of worse.

Combining forms are often called affixes, though one can make a word that would be composed of two affixes. Once, my friends invited me to spend a good evening. We were making new words; however, we could only suppose that they were new. For example, we added affixes that are typically used for word formation in the English language to those borrowed from Greek and Latin. The variants appeared to be very interesting and sometimes funny: the word autodome was invited for automobile industry.

Ways of forming English words are different, though I would like to discuss the most productive ones because not all of them can be used to create new words nowadays. Affixation (add affixes), compounding (combine two separate words to stand for a new one), and conversion (words from one part of speech converse to another) are considered to be the most productive ways of word formation in English. We use such conversions as care, examine, love, whistle, plant, planet, and many others in our everyday life.

Borrowings have helped to make the English language richer and culturally diverse. As a rule, we use words of Greek or Latin origin without thinking about their genuine meaning. Words like cardiology, photography, or automobile are used by all members of English-speaking society. The only difference is that educated people who studied the language (its history, structure, and peculiarities) can differentiate between borrowed words and genuine English words.

As you know, young people use slang because of many reasons; some of them want to seem tough, others do not know alternative literary variants that can be used instead. So, slang is a way of forming new words that apply to different areas of human life. For example, young people use such informal expressions as cool and hot instead of using their standard equivalents attractive, good-looking, nice, and a range of other synonyms.

Open class lexical categories present the parts of speech which can include new members through compounding, borrowing, and derivation. For example, when a word that is typically used to denote nouns can be derived into an adjective or an adverb, we call this process derivation. Nouns, verbs, and adjectives are open class parts of speech that can accept new items. A person can use a great number of words that can be commonly transferred into nouns or verbs. I use a lot of verbs and nouns which can be used to determine another part of speech.

Closed class lexical categories include prepositions, conjunctions, and pronouns, and they do not accept new words because their number has already been set. These parts of speech cannot be changed with verbs or nouns because a wrong preposition can change the whole meaning of a phrase. She went out can be opposed to She went away because these two phrases have a different meanings. The first one can be explained as a temporary absence, while the second can be considered as a permanent decision. When a wrong preposition is used, we can judge a person who uses it by his or her origin and education.

Descriptive syntax includes methods of syntactic analysis which makes the grammatical structure logical, and perspective rules help us to differentiate between grammatically correct and incorrect sentences. So, we can use perspective rules to decide whether the sentence is correct or incorrect. If one says, Give to me a letter, we would know that this phrase is incorrect because the correct form would sound like Give me a letter or Give a letter to me. In this respect, it is obvious that works of literature and cinematography can contain such incorrect phrases to define foreigners, uneducated, or poorly educated characters.

A lexicon is a group of words within the same language. Also known as thesaurus, a lexicon arranges the mental vocabulary of a language according to certain values. The lexicon of a language is the groupings of words, expressions, and vocabularies. A persons mental lexicon, or lexical understanding, or idea is the individuals knowledge of vocabulary. It also refers to organization of words in an individuals mind. The grammar in mental lexicon contains morphological, syntactic, and semantic in individual words. A word is stored together with its phonological images, which go together with syntactic and semantic aspects.

According to Kirkness (2004), a lexicon is a vocabulary of a language because it is found between the lines of what speech sounds, or the symbols mean in language. You cannot know a language if you do not know the lexicon because every culture has its lexicon and language. Phonetics and phonemes are important features of a language, and they make it different. In mental lexicons, the words of the same type are held better than words learnt separately; words are tied to one another by sight, meaning, form, and sound.

Likewise, language lexicon is seen as a connection between a language and the knowledge of message conveyed in that language. Hedge (2000) agrees that different languages have different vocabularies, and every language give the grammar mechanisms of combining its words to express a range of concepts. Bejoint (2000) conforms that language lexicons differ in grammar, words, and the thought they express.

The differences in the language lexicons are attributed to several factors. The first one is accidental; where the differences result from sound choices, and where to draw boundaries to a certain word. The second variation is systematic; where the language of a grammar establishes how conceptual structures are lined as strings of words in a sentence. For example, English and Chinese put the verb in the middle of a sentence, the subject first, and the object at the end, as compared to Latin and Japanese, which places the verb last. The third variation is cultural; where concepts expressed by a language are decided by culture of persons who speak the language, environment and activities done. The concepts expressed by grammar and words belong to the extra-linguistic awareness about the world.

Furthermore, Landua (2001) argues that when a person learns a new word, he stores it in his mind where it can be recalled when needed, and also bring it out from the minds store. A person is able to recognize and understand a word in listening and reading, and can produce it when writing. Understanding and identifying the word during reading and listening are processes in a persons memory which has mental lexicon or lexicons if it involves two languages. This can be termed as individual mental dictionary or word store.

In conclusion, a mental lexicon plays a big role in language discernment and production, and also how the words from mental lexicon are accessed. The language lexicon organizes the mental vocabulary on a speakers mind. A lexicon comprises of the lexemes used to actualize words which are generated according to morpho-syntatic rules and convey sememes. Mental vocabulary in a speakers mind is organized by a lexicon. It determines how a vocabulary in a language is structured, how individuals use the words, and how they store them, and their ability to learn words and write them clearly.

References

Bejoint, H. (2000). Modern Lexicography: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in Language Classroom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kirkness, K. (2004). Lexicology. In A. Davies & C. Elder (Eds.), The Handbook of Applied Linguistics (pp. 292-314). Oxford: Blackwell.

Landau, S. (2001). Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography. (2nd ed.). California: Cambridge University Press.