Phonological Acquisition in Three Languages
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Phonological Acquisition in Three Languages: A Cross-Sectional Study of English, Mandarin and Malay Volume I LimHui Woan Department of Human Communication Sciences University of Sheffield Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2010 Abstract The complex multiracial/multilingual situation of Malaysia poses challenges for local professionals, such as speech and language therapists, who work with children. The present cross-sectional study investigated ethnic Chinese children's simultaneous phonological acquisition of English, Mandarin and Malay, which are the three major local languages for the Malaysian Chinese population. The aims were to provide preliminary normative data on phonological acquisition for this population, as well as to investigate processes underlying multilingual phonological acquisition. Sixty-four pre-school children aged between 2;06-4;05 were recruited. A single-word naming test, a word consistency production sub test and an intonation imitation sub-test were devised for each of the three languages. Particular attention was paid to the characteristics of the local adult speech varieties as the benchmark for assessing and analyzing the children's responses on the tests. This sociolinguistic dimension has often been neglected in previous research with similar populations, where non-local, e.g. "standard" adult varieties have been taken to be the language model for the children being studied. The children's phonological acquisition was analysed in term of consonants, vowels, syllable structures, word production consistency, intonation and tones (Mandarin only). Overall, significant developmental trends were evident for all three languages. Most phonological components under study were acquired by 4;00-4;05. Similar phonological milestones were achieved as those reported in the literature for monolingual and bilingual peers acquiring the same languages, though some qualitative and quantitative differences were observed. Overall, the patterns of phonological development that were identified reflect the interaction of common cross-linguistic tendencies with the specific characteristics of the three ambient languages. As well as having clinical implications, the present findings contribute to the development of theory and models for multilingual phonological acquisition. The reliability and validity of the test battery indicate that it will prove a valuable tool for speech and language therapy practice and for future research. 1 Table of contents Page Abstract ......................................................................................... 1 Table of contents ................................................................................ 2 List of tables ..................................................................................6 List of figures ............................................................................... 11 Conventions ... ................................................................................ 12 Abbreviations ... .............................................................................. 12 Acknowledgements ....................................................................... 13 Dedication ....................................................................................... 14 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction: phonological development in multilingual communities ......... 15 1.1 The need for research into multilingual phonological acquisition in Malaysia ............................................................................. '" .18 1.2 Overview of the thesis ........................................................ , ........ 19 1.3 Aims of study ............................................................................. 22 1.4 Research questions ....................................................................... 23 Chapter 2: Phonological development 2.0 Introduction .................................................................................. 24 2.1 Phonological development in bilingual and multilingual children ......... 24 2.1.1 Introduction to bilingual and multilingual acquisition ................. 26 2.1.2 Theoretical perspectives of bilingual and multilingual acquisition .. 28 2.1.2.1 Bilingual and multilingual vs. monolingual acquisition ...... 28 2.1.2.2 One phonological system or two? ......................................... 29 2.1.2.3 Models of bilingual and multilingual phonological acquisition ........................................................... 31 2.1.2.3.1 Evidence from studies of Chinese bilingual phonological acquisition .............................. 32 2.1.2.3.2 Other studies on Chinese bilingual and multilingual phonological acquisition .............................. 36 2.1.3 Factors affecting bilingual and multilingual phonological acquIsItIon .................................................................. 39 2.2 Phonological development in monolingual children .............................. 55 2.2.1 Phonological development in English-speaking children .................. 55 2.2.2 Phonological development in Chinese-speaking children ................. 65 2.3 Conclusion .............................................................................. 72 Chapter 3: Local variety of languages 3.0 Introduction .................................................................................. 73 3 . 1 SOCIO- . l'InguIstIC " sItuatIon. ............................................................... 73 3.1.1 Malaysian Chinese .............................................................. 75 3.2 Local variety of languages ............................................................ 75 2 3.2.1 Malaysian English (ME) ....................................................... 77 3.2.1.1 The development of Malaysian English (ME) ....................... 78 3.2.1.2 Sub-varieties of Malaysian English (ME) .......................... 78 3.2.1.3 Malaysian English (ME) phonology ................................. 79 3.2.1.4 Malaysian English (ME) phonological features ................... 79 3.2.2 Mandarin ........................................................................... 87 3.2.2.1 Mandarin phonology ................................................... 89 3.2.2.2 Variations in Mandarin phonology ................................... 99 3.2.2.3 Malaysian Mandarin (Maldarin) phonological features ........ .101 3.2.3 The Malay language ............................................................ 106 3.2.3.1 Malay ..................................................................... 107 3.2.3.2 Malay phonology ...................................................... 108 3.2.3.3 Variations in Malay phonology ...................................... 113 3.2.3.4 Chinese Malay (ChinMalay) phonological features .............. 114 3.3 Conclusion ............................................................................ 116 Chapter 4: Phonological development in Malaysian Children 4.0 Introduction ................................................................................. 117 4.1 Phonological development studies of Malaysian children ............................ 117 4.2 Monolingual phonological development studies ................................. 117 4.2.1 Phonological development in Malay .......... , ................................ 117 4.2.2 Phonological development in English .. , ......................................... 119 4.2.3 Phonological development in Mandarin .......................................... 120 4.2.4 Phonological development in Cantonese ......................................... 123 4.3 Bilingual phonological development studies ..................................... 124 4.3.1 Bilingual phonological development in English-Mandarin ............. 124 4.4 Conclusion ................................................... " ............................ 125 Chapter 5: Methodology 5.0 Introduction ............................................................................... 126 5.1 Participants ................................................................................. 126 5.1.1 Language background ......................................................... 127 5.2 Test materials ............................................................................ 128 5.2.1 Single-word phonology naming test ........................................ 129 5.2.2 Word production consistency test ........................................... 132 5.3 Pilot study .................................................................................. 134 5.4 Testing procedure ......................................................................... 13 5 5.5 Participants' response to the test battery .......................................... 136 5.6 Scoring procedure .................................................................... 137 5.6.1 Establishing a benchmark for scoring ...................................... .137 5.6.2 Teachers' pronunciation as local norms ................................... .138 5.6.3 Scoring forms .................................................................. 139 5.6.4 Transcription and scoring of children's responses ........................ 141 5.6.5 Implications of using local norms when scoring children's responses. 142 5.6.6 Scoring of word production consistency test ................................ 143 5.7 Inter-transcriber reliability .......................................................... 144 3 Chapter 6: Results of the main study-quantitative analysis 6.0 Introduction