Can speakers of different languages be saying the same thing? Influences of non-native language exposure and explicit comparison on children’s language awareness

IF 2.4 2区文学 Q1 LINGUISTICS

Applied Psycholinguistics Pub Date : 2022-09-01 DOI:10.1017/S0142716422000248

Dolly P. Rojo, Catharine H. Echols, Zenzi M. Griffin

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract Language awareness (LA)—an understanding of the communicative functions and conventions of language—could benefit monolingual children as they navigate their increasingly multilingual world. To evaluate how non-native language exposure influences English-speaking children’s understanding that different languages can convey equivalent information, 63 5–7-year-olds compared utterances in English and Lithuanian (unfamiliar to all participants). Half of the children also compared English utterances to Spanish (a widely spoken language in their community—94% of children had some past exposure), whereas the other half compared English utterances to Tagalog (unfamiliar to all participants). Children in the Spanish condition were significantly more likely than those in the Tagalog condition to agree that a Lithuanian and an English speaker could be saying the same thing. We argue that children’s experience with Spanish as a community language, coupled with explicit questioning about commonalities between languages, served to scaffold an understanding of LA.

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不同语言的使用者会说同样的话吗？非母语暴露和外显比较对儿童语言意识的影响

摘要语言意识(LA)——一种对语言的交际功能和习惯的理解——可以使单语儿童在日益增长的多语言世界中生存。为了评估非母语接触如何影响英语儿童对不同语言可以传达等效信息的理解，63名5 - 7岁的儿童比较了英语和立陶宛语(所有参与者都不熟悉)的话语。一半的孩子还将英语话语与西班牙语(在他们的社区广泛使用的语言)进行比较，94%的孩子过去曾接触过西班牙语)，而另一半则将英语话语与他加禄语(所有参与者都不熟悉)进行比较。西班牙语组的孩子比他加禄语组的孩子更有可能认同立陶宛人和英语人说的是同一件事。我们认为，儿童使用西班牙语作为社区语言的经历，加上对语言之间共性的明确质疑，有助于建立对洛杉矶的理解。

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来源期刊

Applied Psycholinguistics Multiple-

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

4.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Applied Psycholinguistics publishes original research papers on the psychological processes involved in language. It examines language development , language use and language disorders in adults and children with a particular emphasis on cross-language studies. The journal gathers together the best work from a variety of disciplines including linguistics, psychology, reading, education, language learning, speech and hearing, and neurology. In addition to research reports, theoretical reviews will be considered for publication as will keynote articles and commentaries.