SUMMARY
This book, part of the LINCOM Text Collection series, is an anthology of
traditional folk tales of the Kabba people. Kabba (Kaba) is in the Nilo-Saharan
language family, and is spoken by 72,000 people in the Central African Republic
(C.A.R.) (Lewis, 2009). The volume consists of thirty-four Kabba folk tales plus
296 proverbs. The editor, Rosmarie Moser, elicited these folk tales during her
fieldwork in the C.A.R. The folk tales were told by eight Kabba storytellers and
were recorded in Kabba by six ''young men with an advanced education'' (Moser, p.
ix). Both the folk tales and the proverbs are in Kabba with French, English, and
German translations. This volume will appeal to linguists, Kabba specialists, as
well as to those interested in folklore.
The folk tale actors in these stories are predominantly animals such as the Dog,
Frog, Snake, Lion, Rat, Alligator, Wasp, Bee, Elephant, and Hyena to name a few.
There are human characters as well, such as ''Kerpetu the Liar'' (p. 54), ''Esu''
(p. 30), ''The Fulani Girl'' (p. 75) and ''The Orphan'' (p. 6). Each animal and
specifically-named human has certain characteristics which shape their fates and
so the stories.
''The Fulani Girl'' (p. 75), told by Jean Pierre Dingatoloum, is a short (103
words) story that exemplifies well the cultural importance of folk tales.
Briefly it is the story of a girl who is on her way to sell milk at the market.
On her trip she is imagining the way in which her profit from the milk will
result in riches (p. 76). However, she fails to pay attention to the present and
tragedy strikes. The story in Kabba is slightly shorter (98 words). The moral of
the story is clearly stated at the end, referencing a proverb.
In ''The Lion and the Rat'' (p. 18), told by Wali Baro, a hunter meets the Lion
and the Rat on his way home from a successful hunt. The Lion is hungry and
states that after the man eats his game, he will eat the man. Rat asserts that
he in turn will eat the Lion. Thereupon the three discover who will in fact eat
whom. The story concludes with an explanation that rats live with humans, but
also still live in the bush, which explains the relationship between rats and
humans that exists.
The proverbs are included in the final section of the book. In addition to the
translations there is a column for interpretation (in English). An excellent
example is ''When the rain hits the cheetah, it becomes a leopard'' which is
interpreted as ''With loss and suffering the one who was rich becomes poor'' (p.
22). This clarification of the meaning of the proverb makes insight possible for
those unfamiliar with Kabba culture. In addition to showing the uniqueness of
Kabba culture, the inclusion of proverbs also demonstrates the universality of
certain principles. For example, ''Night is like the skin of a wild pig'' is
interpreted with the common proverb ''Walls have ears.'' Though there is great
cultural difference between these proverbs, the explanation provides a useful
method of interpretation.
EVALUATION
This volume can be evaluated according to three criteria: as a text collection
for the Kabba people, as a corpus for future linguistic analysis and also as a
source of folk tales for and about the Kabba.
As a text collection for the Kabba people it is necessary to consider what the
Kabba might consider beneficial. Kabba is one of 72 languages used in the
C.A.R., and is a minority language (Lewis, 2009). Herman B. Batibo (2009)
asserts the documentation of minority languages requires that linguists,
''Develop research projects aimed not only at documentation but also
revitalization and intellectualization of African languages'' (p. 193). This
first aspect does seem to be addressed in that the value of the folk tales and
proverbs of the Kabba people are being recorded and translated not simply for
their corpus value, but also for their literary value. In addition linguists
should ''Consult with beneficiary communities before starting any documentation
project, involve communities in the research work and accompany research
projects with capacity-building in the communities'' (Batibo, p. 193). This
latter aspect is impossible to address based on the information provided in the
book. However, it is an important aspect that linguists in general consider, but
often do not record as it is peripheral to their work.
As a collection of texts for linguistic analysis this volume will be quite
useful. There is only one criticism, which concerns formatting. There are
changes in the font size throughout the book, which are distracting. This
irregularity is annoying, but minor. In contrast, a very helpful aspect of the
formatting is that each section of tales is paginated separately. This makes
comparing a folk tale in the original Kabba with the French, English, or German
version relatively straightforward. The French and Kabba sections have an equal
number of pages (pp. 121). The English (pp. 117) version and the German (pp.
126) versions have fewer and more pages than the Kabba sections respectively.
Though it is useful as a corpus for linguistic analysis, there is no
introduction to the phonology, syntax, or morphology of Kabba. These are
described in Moser's ''Kabba: A Nilo-Saharan language of the Central African
Republic'' (2004). However, as a corpus of stories to which the tools of
linguistic analysis might be applied this is an excellent resource.
As a source of folk tales for and about the Kabba, this volume has no equal.
However, there are several issues that bear mentioning. One is that some of the
proverbs are enigmatic because there is a lack of cultural information with
which to interpret them. For example, ''When your spear too long is, it puts
wasps onto your head'' (p. 19). This could benefit from some clarification.
Another example is, ''If the white calabash of the old woman breaks she takes one
that has been written on'' (p. 10). Here it would be beneficial to know what the
cultural significance of ''white'' as compared to ''written on'' calabashes is.
Ninety-three of the proverbs lack clarification, although for many the
clarification may be unnecessary, e.g., ''The hen that is stupid is not a mother
hen'' (p. 15). The meaning here seems to be that only smart hens live long enough
to become mothers. So despite the missing clarification of some proverbs they
are on the whole generally understandable.
The folk tales are quite enjoyable to read. In the introduction Moser states
that, ''Kabba folktales are metaphorical parables. They are an attempt to come to
terms with the realities of life and such things as superstitions, supernatural
forces or historical events affecting people's lives'' (p. vii). These attempts
are realized in artistic and creative ways. Many of the tales exemplify the oral
tradition from whence they come in that they begin with storytellers asking,
'Are you listening to me?
Yes!
Are you listening to me?
Yes!'
(p. 10)
As Moser states these folk tales and parables are meant to inform the listener
about essential cultural information and values. In this regard this volume
succeeds in communicating to a larger audience a sliver of the Kabba culture.
According to Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, ''The art of story telling, primordial and
prevalent in all cultures regales and reproduces our imaginative humanity,
filling us with the memories and imaginings of pleasure, pain, pathos, and
possibility'' (p. 379). It is possible to extend Zeleza's statement about story
telling to these static examples of storytelling. This book is an important
contribution to the field of linguistics, folklore and Kabba studies.
REFERENCES
Batibo, H.M. (2009). Language Documentation as a Strategy for the Empowerment of
the Minority Languages of Africa. Selected Proceedings of the 38th Annual
Conference on African Linguistics. In Masangu Matondo et al., eds., pp. 193-203.
Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Lewis, M. P. (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition.
Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.
Moser, R. (2004). Kabba: A Nilo-Saharan language of the Central African
Republic. Munich: LINCOM Europa.
(Reposted from LINGUIST List 21.1756, April 11, 2010)
Monday, April 12, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Affirming Students’ Right to Their Own Language: Bridging Language Policies and Pedagogical Practices
by Jerrie Cobb Scott, Dolores Y. Straker, and Laurie Katz
Confronting educational inequality, the National Council of Teachers of English proposed the “Students’ Right to Their Own Language” (SRTOL) Act in 1974. This resolution begins: “We affirm the students’ right to their own patterns and varieties of language – the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style…” (p. 9). This resolution was reaffirmed in 2003 due to its contemporary relevance. As an anniversary publication, this book is devoted to examining the results of the resolution, to strengthening the connection between pedagogy and policy, and to drawing attention to language ideologies.
The book consists of 24 chapters divided into four sections. The first section, consisting of two chapters, provides historical context through interviews with educators and linguists. The second section (seven articles) documents the educational policies and attitudes which prevent realization of SRTOL. The third section (eight articles) provides pedagogical examples of SRTOL implementation. The fourth section (seven articles) examines linguistic diversity in other nations. This review will focus on the main themes of the volume: monolingual ideology, possibilities for teacher agency, and opportunity for strengthening SRTOL.
Monolingual ideology, which is currently endemic in U.S. society, makes realization of the SRTOL resolution a distant goal. The influence of monolingual ideology, the volume argues, is manifested in the U.S. covertly through No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy, the use of high-stakes testing, and overtly in opinion surveys of pre-service teachers. Dorothea Anagnostopoulos (17) provides an analysis of how language learning is affected by high-stakes testing. Examining the issue through a Bakhtinian perspective which emphasizes language “as socially saturated” (p. 263), Anagnostopoulos scrutinizes a high school literature discussion to conclude that standardization of the language arts has resulted in the neglect of developing students’ ability to discuss and understand literature. A broader portrayal of NCLB policy is provided by Dorothy Aguilera and Margaret D. LeCompte (5) who compare the situation of two indigenous languages: Hawaiian and Yup’ik. Despite suppression of the Hawaiian language for a generation, it has become the medium of instruction in “33 schools” (p. 70). In contrast, one Yup’ik school lost its bilingual program funding due to the NCLB Act and is now in jeopardy. The authors go on to sketch a brief history of the systematic oppression of Native American languages, the effects of language legislation, and the methods by which Native American languages could be promoted rather than suppressed.
A third barrier to implementation of SRTOL is a lack of awareness of language diversity. This issue is explored by Laurie Katz, Jerrie Cobb Scott, and Xania Hadjioannou (7). Using the Language Knowledge and Awareness Study (LKAS) the authors surveyed students in two U.S. universities and one in Cyprus to determine their level of language awareness. The results of the survey indicate that survey participants’ viewed language diversity negatively.
Providing a connection between SRTOL and pedagogy, and thereby promoting teacher agency, is another important theme of this volume. Rick Meyer (4) describes the requirement of policy makers to have one official “portrait” (p. 58) to represent students. Most recently, due to the NCLB Act, the portrait emerges from a test which indicates that a student is below, at, or above grade level. However, arguing that such methodology is simplistic and inadequate, Meyer suggests that more holistic “counterportraits” (p. 60) made by teachers should also be considered. Meyer concludes by suggesting that any real educational policy must take local realities into consideration.
Valerie Kinloch (6) asserts that the value of SRTOL is in its political connotations and illustrates this importance through a description of a nineteen year-old student’s understanding of, and appreciation for SRTOL. According to Kinloch, “Quentin’s understanding of the phrase ‘students’ right to their own language’ is foundational in his learning to think critically about language, identity, rights, and choice” (p. 94). Kinloch concludes that teachers can use SRTOL to increase students’ critical awareness of language in their own lives.
A further significant theme of this volume is the opportunity to strengthen SRTOL. The two opportunities articulated for strengthening SRTOL are found in the linguistic practices of other nations, and in the training of future teachers. To foster multilingual ideology it is necessary to be aware of the range of possibilities. Thus, articles which describe the linguistic practices in education in Cyprus, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, South Africa, and India are included in this volume and provide a counterpoint to the monolingualism currently popular in the U.S. Several articles address the issue of training future teachers who will be aware of dialectical diversity. Nancy Rankie Shelton (8) offers the “positionality project” (p. 121) as a pedagogical method of teaching pre-service teachers about language diversity. This project requires that students collect conversational data using themselves as subjects and analyze it. Shelton offers student writing revealing a greater appreciation for dialectical variation to show the efficacy of this project.
This is an excellent volume in that it provides a concise and insightful introduction to U.S. educational policies from a linguistic point of view. However, one major shortcoming is that the SRTOL resolution itself is not critiqued at any point. In an article describing the process of linguistic prejudice Rosina Lippi-Green (drawing on Foucault) states that, “the educational system may not be the beginning, but it is the heart of the standardization process. Asking children who speak non-mainstream languages to come to schools in order to find validation for themselves, in order to be able to speak their own stories in their own voices, is an unlikely scenario” (p. 294). Yet this is exactly what the contributors to this book intend. This somewhat paradoxical situation is acknowledged by Kinloch (6) who states, “Smitherman’s belief that because the struggle for language rights has always been highly political, and because schools have never truly affirmed and accepted the mother tongue of non-mainstream English speech communities, a redefinition of the significance of SRTOL in relation to language rights, language policies, education, and power is necessary” (p. 87). The authors seem to implicitly acknowledge that the realization of SRTOL is extremely complex and that the schools and teachers may be challenged in achieving the key tenets of the resolution. That said, this book will be especially useful for pre- or in-service teacher education or educational leadership, as it provides a detailed history of language policies in the U.S.A. It will also be useful more generally for graduate students across language and literacy education who, with the authors, are committed to protecting students’ right to their own languages in an era of standardization.
References
Lippi-Green, R. (2004). Language ideology and language prejudice. In E. Finegan and J.R. Rickford (Eds.), Language in the USA: Themes for the twenty-first century (pp. 289-304). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Published in TESL-EJ December 2009: Volume 13, Number 3
Confronting educational inequality, the National Council of Teachers of English proposed the “Students’ Right to Their Own Language” (SRTOL) Act in 1974. This resolution begins: “We affirm the students’ right to their own patterns and varieties of language – the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style…” (p. 9). This resolution was reaffirmed in 2003 due to its contemporary relevance. As an anniversary publication, this book is devoted to examining the results of the resolution, to strengthening the connection between pedagogy and policy, and to drawing attention to language ideologies.
The book consists of 24 chapters divided into four sections. The first section, consisting of two chapters, provides historical context through interviews with educators and linguists. The second section (seven articles) documents the educational policies and attitudes which prevent realization of SRTOL. The third section (eight articles) provides pedagogical examples of SRTOL implementation. The fourth section (seven articles) examines linguistic diversity in other nations. This review will focus on the main themes of the volume: monolingual ideology, possibilities for teacher agency, and opportunity for strengthening SRTOL.
Monolingual ideology, which is currently endemic in U.S. society, makes realization of the SRTOL resolution a distant goal. The influence of monolingual ideology, the volume argues, is manifested in the U.S. covertly through No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy, the use of high-stakes testing, and overtly in opinion surveys of pre-service teachers. Dorothea Anagnostopoulos (17) provides an analysis of how language learning is affected by high-stakes testing. Examining the issue through a Bakhtinian perspective which emphasizes language “as socially saturated” (p. 263), Anagnostopoulos scrutinizes a high school literature discussion to conclude that standardization of the language arts has resulted in the neglect of developing students’ ability to discuss and understand literature. A broader portrayal of NCLB policy is provided by Dorothy Aguilera and Margaret D. LeCompte (5) who compare the situation of two indigenous languages: Hawaiian and Yup’ik. Despite suppression of the Hawaiian language for a generation, it has become the medium of instruction in “33 schools” (p. 70). In contrast, one Yup’ik school lost its bilingual program funding due to the NCLB Act and is now in jeopardy. The authors go on to sketch a brief history of the systematic oppression of Native American languages, the effects of language legislation, and the methods by which Native American languages could be promoted rather than suppressed.
A third barrier to implementation of SRTOL is a lack of awareness of language diversity. This issue is explored by Laurie Katz, Jerrie Cobb Scott, and Xania Hadjioannou (7). Using the Language Knowledge and Awareness Study (LKAS) the authors surveyed students in two U.S. universities and one in Cyprus to determine their level of language awareness. The results of the survey indicate that survey participants’ viewed language diversity negatively.
Providing a connection between SRTOL and pedagogy, and thereby promoting teacher agency, is another important theme of this volume. Rick Meyer (4) describes the requirement of policy makers to have one official “portrait” (p. 58) to represent students. Most recently, due to the NCLB Act, the portrait emerges from a test which indicates that a student is below, at, or above grade level. However, arguing that such methodology is simplistic and inadequate, Meyer suggests that more holistic “counterportraits” (p. 60) made by teachers should also be considered. Meyer concludes by suggesting that any real educational policy must take local realities into consideration.
Valerie Kinloch (6) asserts that the value of SRTOL is in its political connotations and illustrates this importance through a description of a nineteen year-old student’s understanding of, and appreciation for SRTOL. According to Kinloch, “Quentin’s understanding of the phrase ‘students’ right to their own language’ is foundational in his learning to think critically about language, identity, rights, and choice” (p. 94). Kinloch concludes that teachers can use SRTOL to increase students’ critical awareness of language in their own lives.
A further significant theme of this volume is the opportunity to strengthen SRTOL. The two opportunities articulated for strengthening SRTOL are found in the linguistic practices of other nations, and in the training of future teachers. To foster multilingual ideology it is necessary to be aware of the range of possibilities. Thus, articles which describe the linguistic practices in education in Cyprus, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, South Africa, and India are included in this volume and provide a counterpoint to the monolingualism currently popular in the U.S. Several articles address the issue of training future teachers who will be aware of dialectical diversity. Nancy Rankie Shelton (8) offers the “positionality project” (p. 121) as a pedagogical method of teaching pre-service teachers about language diversity. This project requires that students collect conversational data using themselves as subjects and analyze it. Shelton offers student writing revealing a greater appreciation for dialectical variation to show the efficacy of this project.
This is an excellent volume in that it provides a concise and insightful introduction to U.S. educational policies from a linguistic point of view. However, one major shortcoming is that the SRTOL resolution itself is not critiqued at any point. In an article describing the process of linguistic prejudice Rosina Lippi-Green (drawing on Foucault) states that, “the educational system may not be the beginning, but it is the heart of the standardization process. Asking children who speak non-mainstream languages to come to schools in order to find validation for themselves, in order to be able to speak their own stories in their own voices, is an unlikely scenario” (p. 294). Yet this is exactly what the contributors to this book intend. This somewhat paradoxical situation is acknowledged by Kinloch (6) who states, “Smitherman’s belief that because the struggle for language rights has always been highly political, and because schools have never truly affirmed and accepted the mother tongue of non-mainstream English speech communities, a redefinition of the significance of SRTOL in relation to language rights, language policies, education, and power is necessary” (p. 87). The authors seem to implicitly acknowledge that the realization of SRTOL is extremely complex and that the schools and teachers may be challenged in achieving the key tenets of the resolution. That said, this book will be especially useful for pre- or in-service teacher education or educational leadership, as it provides a detailed history of language policies in the U.S.A. It will also be useful more generally for graduate students across language and literacy education who, with the authors, are committed to protecting students’ right to their own languages in an era of standardization.
References
Lippi-Green, R. (2004). Language ideology and language prejudice. In E. Finegan and J.R. Rickford (Eds.), Language in the USA: Themes for the twenty-first century (pp. 289-304). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Published in TESL-EJ December 2009: Volume 13, Number 3
Monday, November 30, 2009
"Phrase française et francographie africaine (De l’influence de la socioculture)"
Dassi, M.
2008
Munich: LINCOM Europa. Pp. 425.
In this book (the third in the ‘LINCOM Studies in French Linguistics’ series) M. Dassi adopts a discourse analysis approach to explore the French sentence as it has evolved in literature emerging from West Africa. D's corpus consists of sixteen novels by eight authors (including Mongo Beti and Sembène Ousmane) from which the author draws excerpts as data. The result is six thoughtful chapters on the morphological, phonological, and syntactic aspects of the literature of Francophone West Africa.
In Ch. 1 D summarizes efforts to define the sentence from philosophic attempts originating in continental France, to the reinterpretations of the eight modern authors represented in his corpus. D examines hybrid sentences which he defines by their combination of French with the local language. Illustrative hybrid sentences are given. These two creoles are Noutchi - spoken in the Ivory Coast - and Camfranglais - spoken in Cameroon. The example in 1 from Temps de Chien is a characteristic hybrid sentence of Camfranglais:
(1) “Et il avait raison, a me ben tchup. TDC, 345.
(Et il avait raison, c’est moi qui le dis)” (59).
And he was right, I say.
Ch. 2 introduces African writers and the different linguistic methods they have employed in their writing. The chapter concludes with a description of the open syntactic classes and examples of locally derived nouns, adjectives, and verbs incorporated by West African French.
In Ch. 3, D defines glosses or annotations and explores their utility when West African cultural terms are borrowed into French. An example from Moi Taximan is given below,
(2) “L’année entrait dans le «Ncoe Ngesan», le mois de la récolte du maïs. MTM.85”
(p. 153).
The year entered in the "Ncoe Ngesan," the month of harvesting maize.
These cultural terms are thus inserted into French texts and enrich the French language. Ch. 4 commences with a definition and evaluation of the difficulties of translation. D provides an overview of translation theory and methodology. As an example, a portion of text is examined in French and in the original language, demonstrating that the original requires fewer phonetic units and is more concise than the translation. Also, sociolinguistic information is encoded in the code-switching and can be lost in translation into any single language.
Ch. 5 directly addresses how sentence structure is influenced by aspects of African sociology and culture. Among the many aspects which D focuses on are the linguistic markers of politeness, and the naming of characters using place-name, and gastronomic characteristics. Ch. 6 provides five points concerning the importance of African sociocultural contributions to French and how these should be incorporated into the language.
This is an excellent contribution to the study of language in the sociocultural milieu of West Africa. It propones a reevaluation of French as an evolving language. It should be read by anyone interested in sociolinguistics, African linguistics and literature, Camfranglais, Noutchi, or the French language.
Book Notice to appear in Language in 2010.
2008
Munich: LINCOM Europa. Pp. 425.
In this book (the third in the ‘LINCOM Studies in French Linguistics’ series) M. Dassi adopts a discourse analysis approach to explore the French sentence as it has evolved in literature emerging from West Africa. D's corpus consists of sixteen novels by eight authors (including Mongo Beti and Sembène Ousmane) from which the author draws excerpts as data. The result is six thoughtful chapters on the morphological, phonological, and syntactic aspects of the literature of Francophone West Africa.
In Ch. 1 D summarizes efforts to define the sentence from philosophic attempts originating in continental France, to the reinterpretations of the eight modern authors represented in his corpus. D examines hybrid sentences which he defines by their combination of French with the local language. Illustrative hybrid sentences are given. These two creoles are Noutchi - spoken in the Ivory Coast - and Camfranglais - spoken in Cameroon. The example in 1 from Temps de Chien is a characteristic hybrid sentence of Camfranglais:
(1) “Et il avait raison, a me ben tchup. TDC, 345.
(Et il avait raison, c’est moi qui le dis)” (59).
And he was right, I say.
Ch. 2 introduces African writers and the different linguistic methods they have employed in their writing. The chapter concludes with a description of the open syntactic classes and examples of locally derived nouns, adjectives, and verbs incorporated by West African French.
In Ch. 3, D defines glosses or annotations and explores their utility when West African cultural terms are borrowed into French. An example from Moi Taximan is given below,
(2) “L’année entrait dans le «Ncoe Ngesan», le mois de la récolte du maïs. MTM.85”
(p. 153).
The year entered in the "Ncoe Ngesan," the month of harvesting maize.
These cultural terms are thus inserted into French texts and enrich the French language. Ch. 4 commences with a definition and evaluation of the difficulties of translation. D provides an overview of translation theory and methodology. As an example, a portion of text is examined in French and in the original language, demonstrating that the original requires fewer phonetic units and is more concise than the translation. Also, sociolinguistic information is encoded in the code-switching and can be lost in translation into any single language.
Ch. 5 directly addresses how sentence structure is influenced by aspects of African sociology and culture. Among the many aspects which D focuses on are the linguistic markers of politeness, and the naming of characters using place-name, and gastronomic characteristics. Ch. 6 provides five points concerning the importance of African sociocultural contributions to French and how these should be incorporated into the language.
This is an excellent contribution to the study of language in the sociocultural milieu of West Africa. It propones a reevaluation of French as an evolving language. It should be read by anyone interested in sociolinguistics, African linguistics and literature, Camfranglais, Noutchi, or the French language.
Book Notice to appear in Language in 2010.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"Pathways to Multilingualism: Evolving Perspectives on Immersion Education"
Tara Williams Fortune & Diane J. Tedick
Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters (2008)
A very strong tendency of much research is to gradually focus on more and more narrow elements to study; such has been the case for research in language immersion and in Applied Linguistics more generally. However, as Tara Fortune, the Immersion Projects Coordinator, and Diane Tedick, both at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota, indicate, "to function as more or less isolated entities and limit our knowledge and understanding to research and practice in but one variety of immersion education is to remain uninformed about potentially enlightening findings emerging from another" (pp. 14). This edited volume thus seeks to represent a wide range of research for furthering knowledge in the field. The articles draw on a spectrum of ethnographic methods and primarily focus on school-based programs serving K-12 students in a variety of immersion contexts. What sets this book apart is the editors' assiduous framing of the articles with an informative Introduction and a Conclusion, the latter of which allows readers to assimilate what they have learned to achieve a holistic view of immersion education. Those interested in immersion education, bi/multilingualism, language pedagogy, and language and education more generally would benefit from reading this book. It is divided into three parts: (1) pedagogical practices, (2) the development of language, and (3) the societal backgrounds of immersion education.
In the Introduction (pp. 3-21) Fortune and Tedick assert that the multiplicity of terms for immersion education (e.g., two-way, one-way) arose from the genesis of such programs in different places at different times and with different goals. The editors demystify the sometimes confusing plethora of terms by providing a brief history of two of the most prominent immersion programs illustrating two types of immersion schooling: French immersion in Quebec and Spanish immersion in Florida. The immersion program in Quebec began as a way of providing a homogeneous group of native English speaking students the opportunity to become fluent in French; hence it is termed one-way. In contrast, the immersion program in Florida began with a heterogeneous group of Spanish and English speaking students and had the goal of producing bilingual Spanish and English speakers. These two models, one-way and two-way, have proved successful and have shaped the way that immersion education is theorized and implemented.
Part 1 examines both the theory and the practice of pedagogy in immersion education. The first article (pp. 49-70), by Myriam Met, is theoretical and addresses vocabulary instruction. By explicitly addressing academic texts and the specialized vocabulary that students must master to be successful, Met looks at the role of vocabulary in the immersion context. Explicit and incidental vocabulary learning are distinguished and methods of vocabulary instruction are discussed and evaluated. Though this is an informative article, one flaw inherent in it, and perhaps with the book as a whole, is the disregard for an essential element of language learning, that is, pragmatic competence. Though Met convinces us that vocabulary learning for academic achievement is essential, she presents it without considering how pragmatic use of the vocabulary could be integrated into the lesson.
Another article (pp. 97-118), contributed by Deborah K. Palmer, tackles the question of academic identities in two-way immersion programs and how teachers can provide alternate discourses to students. Observing six students in a second-grade Spanish immersion classroom, half Spanish and half English speaking, Palmer evaluates the success or lack thereof of two instructors in how they value their students' primary languages. This article contributes valuable insight into the practices most beneficial for increasing the linguistic capital of all students in the context of two-way immersion programs.
Part 2 addresses how language growth is fostered in immersion programs. In a macro-level study Roy Lyster and Hirohide Mori (pp. 133-151) examine reactive form-focused instruction in three Japanese immersion classes in the U.S. and four French immersion classes in Canada at the fourth or fifth grade level. This study discusses approaches to form-focused teaching and advocates for "instructional counterbalance," what the authors define as providing another angle from which to draw a student's attention to language development: If pedagogical focus is usually on form, then counterbalancing switches focus to meaning, or vice versa. The article then proceeds to give a comparative analysis of five studies dealing with proactive form-focused instruction. Synthesizing the results of the reactive and proactive approaches the researchers test the counterbalance hypothesis, paraphrased as follows: Tasks and feedback should counterbalance the normative communicative environment in order to provide interlanguage reorganization (p. 140).
Part 3 concentrates on the larger social context of immersion programs and includes the most diverse research. One contribution, by Richards and Burnaby (pp. 221-241), focuses on Canadian Aboriginal languages. An excellent overview of the history of First Nation immersion education in Canada is given. In addition to the problems which face all immersion education, there are problems specific to indigenous languages, such as language loss and lack of qualified and fluent teachers. Drawing on survey data from the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Education Association the researchers provide an outline of Aboriginal language immersion programs. Though school-based immersion programs are discussed, adult immersion programs dominate. And even though this article adds a unique perspective on immersion education, it does not mesh well with the other articles since it focuses on adult immersion programs to a greater extent than on K-12 programs. Also exceptionally, teaching culture is overtly discussed in this article, but is ignored in the rest of Part 3 and throughout the collection.
G. Richard Tucker and Deborah Dubiner (pp. 267-277) are the last contributors. They synthesize the previous articles based on thematic similarities and pose the question: Can immersion lead to multilingualism? An excellent and timely question, one which leads me to bring up again a point that this book fails to address, pragmatic competence: an essential element of being fluent in another language. According to Margaret A. DuFon, "the classroom context is limited compared to naturalistic contexts in terms of the learners' opportunities to genuinely take on different conversational roles in a wide range of situations and engage with a range of fluent competent speakers of the language" (p. 39). Arguably, one could consider pragmatics to be outside the scope of this volume since the collection is focused on classrooms; but this issue might have been addressed very fruitfully, as it is a difficulty faced by immersion educators.
Despite this oversight the volume covers a wide range of scholarship in a very accessible format. As such, I highly recommend it both as an introduction to immersion education and as an overview of current research.
References
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP.
DuFon, M.A. (2008). Language socialization theory and the acquisition of pragmatics in the foreign language classroom. In E. A. Soler & A. Martinez-Flor (Eds.), Investigating pragmatics in foreign language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 25-44). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
First published in TESl-EJ (March 2009) Volume 12, Number 4: http://tesl-ej.org/ej48/r2.html
Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters (2008)
A very strong tendency of much research is to gradually focus on more and more narrow elements to study; such has been the case for research in language immersion and in Applied Linguistics more generally. However, as Tara Fortune, the Immersion Projects Coordinator, and Diane Tedick, both at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) at the University of Minnesota, indicate, "to function as more or less isolated entities and limit our knowledge and understanding to research and practice in but one variety of immersion education is to remain uninformed about potentially enlightening findings emerging from another" (pp. 14). This edited volume thus seeks to represent a wide range of research for furthering knowledge in the field. The articles draw on a spectrum of ethnographic methods and primarily focus on school-based programs serving K-12 students in a variety of immersion contexts. What sets this book apart is the editors' assiduous framing of the articles with an informative Introduction and a Conclusion, the latter of which allows readers to assimilate what they have learned to achieve a holistic view of immersion education. Those interested in immersion education, bi/multilingualism, language pedagogy, and language and education more generally would benefit from reading this book. It is divided into three parts: (1) pedagogical practices, (2) the development of language, and (3) the societal backgrounds of immersion education.
In the Introduction (pp. 3-21) Fortune and Tedick assert that the multiplicity of terms for immersion education (e.g., two-way, one-way) arose from the genesis of such programs in different places at different times and with different goals. The editors demystify the sometimes confusing plethora of terms by providing a brief history of two of the most prominent immersion programs illustrating two types of immersion schooling: French immersion in Quebec and Spanish immersion in Florida. The immersion program in Quebec began as a way of providing a homogeneous group of native English speaking students the opportunity to become fluent in French; hence it is termed one-way. In contrast, the immersion program in Florida began with a heterogeneous group of Spanish and English speaking students and had the goal of producing bilingual Spanish and English speakers. These two models, one-way and two-way, have proved successful and have shaped the way that immersion education is theorized and implemented.
Part 1 examines both the theory and the practice of pedagogy in immersion education. The first article (pp. 49-70), by Myriam Met, is theoretical and addresses vocabulary instruction. By explicitly addressing academic texts and the specialized vocabulary that students must master to be successful, Met looks at the role of vocabulary in the immersion context. Explicit and incidental vocabulary learning are distinguished and methods of vocabulary instruction are discussed and evaluated. Though this is an informative article, one flaw inherent in it, and perhaps with the book as a whole, is the disregard for an essential element of language learning, that is, pragmatic competence. Though Met convinces us that vocabulary learning for academic achievement is essential, she presents it without considering how pragmatic use of the vocabulary could be integrated into the lesson.
Another article (pp. 97-118), contributed by Deborah K. Palmer, tackles the question of academic identities in two-way immersion programs and how teachers can provide alternate discourses to students. Observing six students in a second-grade Spanish immersion classroom, half Spanish and half English speaking, Palmer evaluates the success or lack thereof of two instructors in how they value their students' primary languages. This article contributes valuable insight into the practices most beneficial for increasing the linguistic capital of all students in the context of two-way immersion programs.
Part 2 addresses how language growth is fostered in immersion programs. In a macro-level study Roy Lyster and Hirohide Mori (pp. 133-151) examine reactive form-focused instruction in three Japanese immersion classes in the U.S. and four French immersion classes in Canada at the fourth or fifth grade level. This study discusses approaches to form-focused teaching and advocates for "instructional counterbalance," what the authors define as providing another angle from which to draw a student's attention to language development: If pedagogical focus is usually on form, then counterbalancing switches focus to meaning, or vice versa. The article then proceeds to give a comparative analysis of five studies dealing with proactive form-focused instruction. Synthesizing the results of the reactive and proactive approaches the researchers test the counterbalance hypothesis, paraphrased as follows: Tasks and feedback should counterbalance the normative communicative environment in order to provide interlanguage reorganization (p. 140).
Part 3 concentrates on the larger social context of immersion programs and includes the most diverse research. One contribution, by Richards and Burnaby (pp. 221-241), focuses on Canadian Aboriginal languages. An excellent overview of the history of First Nation immersion education in Canada is given. In addition to the problems which face all immersion education, there are problems specific to indigenous languages, such as language loss and lack of qualified and fluent teachers. Drawing on survey data from the Assembly of First Nations and the Canadian Education Association the researchers provide an outline of Aboriginal language immersion programs. Though school-based immersion programs are discussed, adult immersion programs dominate. And even though this article adds a unique perspective on immersion education, it does not mesh well with the other articles since it focuses on adult immersion programs to a greater extent than on K-12 programs. Also exceptionally, teaching culture is overtly discussed in this article, but is ignored in the rest of Part 3 and throughout the collection.
G. Richard Tucker and Deborah Dubiner (pp. 267-277) are the last contributors. They synthesize the previous articles based on thematic similarities and pose the question: Can immersion lead to multilingualism? An excellent and timely question, one which leads me to bring up again a point that this book fails to address, pragmatic competence: an essential element of being fluent in another language. According to Margaret A. DuFon, "the classroom context is limited compared to naturalistic contexts in terms of the learners' opportunities to genuinely take on different conversational roles in a wide range of situations and engage with a range of fluent competent speakers of the language" (p. 39). Arguably, one could consider pragmatics to be outside the scope of this volume since the collection is focused on classrooms; but this issue might have been addressed very fruitfully, as it is a difficulty faced by immersion educators.
Despite this oversight the volume covers a wide range of scholarship in a very accessible format. As such, I highly recommend it both as an introduction to immersion education and as an overview of current research.
References
Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP.
DuFon, M.A. (2008). Language socialization theory and the acquisition of pragmatics in the foreign language classroom. In E. A. Soler & A. Martinez-Flor (Eds.), Investigating pragmatics in foreign language learning, teaching and testing (pp. 25-44). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
First published in TESl-EJ (March 2009) Volume 12, Number 4: http://tesl-ej.org/ej48/r2.html
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"Investigating Pragmatics in Foreign Language Learning, Teaching and Testing"
Eva Alcón Soler, Alicia Martínez-Flor (Eds.)
Multilingual Matters, 2008
SUMMARY
This volume is a collection of scholarly articles edited by Eva Alcón Soler, and
Alicia Martínez-Flor. The editors are both distinguished for their contributions
to the fields of applied linguistics, and interlanguage pragmatics (ILP). This
volume attempts to answer the question of how second language pragmatics (SLP)
can be learned, taught, and tested in classroom settings. The approach to this
question is multifaceted in that there are sections concerning the learning,
teaching, and testing of pragmatics in foreign language contexts. The
contributed articles are derived from classroom-based research with a variety of
first and target language contexts in Spain, Iran, Japan, Australia and
elsewhere. The preface is written by Amy Snyder Ohta, and the introduction is
written by the editors. This book will interest anyone who is interested in the
fields of pragmatics, foreign language learning, teaching, or testing.
Section 1: The Learning of SLP
The first article of Section 1 is a theoretical overview of pragmatics learning
in classroom environments by M.A. Dufon. Drawing on the fields of cross-cultural
pragmatics, Second language acquisition (SLA) and ILP, Dufon asserts that
previous studies on pragmatic learning have relied heavily on cognitive
approaches including experimental methods. Arguing that language socialization
theory has been recognized as an alternative framework for understanding the
learning of pragmatics the article first defines what language socialization
theory is. It then goes on to discuss language socialization theory and its
relationship to first and second language acquisition. The article also reviews
some seminal studies of language socialization in foreign language classrooms.
A study of the teaching of pragmatics with the help of a native-speaker-visitor
is the subject of the second article by Y. Tateyama, and G. Kasper. The research
context was a Japanese classroom at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. A
discourse analysis of three request interactions in the class is provided. These
three requests were: teacher requests of the class, teacher requests of the
classroom guest, and classroom guest requests of the students. This study views
language learning as socially situated and draws on Vygotsky's concept of the
''Zone of proximal development'' to explore student learning.
Taking a more cognitive approach, T. Hassall probes the thought processes of
second language learners using video-recorded role-plays. The testing
environment is a university, and the populations are two groups of second
language learners of Indonesian. This study attempts to test Bialystock's model
of the divide between second language learner's pragmatic knowledge and control
over using that knowledge in interactions.
''Learning Pragmatics in Content-Based Classrooms'' by T. Nikula addresses whether
pragmatics can be learned in a non-language focused classroom. Through an
examination of video/audio recordings of a middle school physics class Nikula
uses discourse analysis techniques to explore pragmatic aspects of content based
classrooms. Drawing on the European tradition of content and language integrated
learning (CLIL), Nikula examines whether the more naturalistic language
acquisition assumed to be characteristic of CLIL extends to the acquisition of
pragmatic skills. This study takes a discourse-pragmatic approach and focuses on
pragmatics as it occurs in classrooms.
The last article in this section is by M. Gonzales-Lloret and describes a
long-term study of Spanish pragmatic norms for second language learners
regarding addressivity. The context of the study is a synchronous
computer-mediated communication project with student populations at Jaume
University learning English, and students at the University of Hawaii learning
Spanish. The student's online interactions were studied and instances of
incorrect address were examined to determine what changes occurred over the
course of time.
Section 2: The Teaching of SLP
The first article of this section, by J. House, is theoretical in orientation
and argues for the revitalization of translation as a language teaching method.
It commences by providing several definitions for translation. House argues that
translation requires not just grammatical, but pragmatic knowledge as well. In
addition, the differences between overt and covert translations are discussed.
Then it moves on to a brief history of translation as a method for instruction
before describing how it might be incorporated into current language teaching
practices.
''Effects on Pragmatic Development Through Awareness-raising Instruction:
Refusals by Japanese EFL Learners'' by S. Kondo focuses on increasing student
attention to their pragmatic options and developing an interlanguage identity.
An interventionist study with Japanese English language learners was conducted
which consisted of pre-instruction testing. Then instruction concerning English
language pragmatic interactions such as compliments, refusals, and complaints
was provided. After this post-instruction testing with Oral Discourse Completion
Tasks (ODCT) were carried out. The same tasks were completed by American
students for comparative purposes. The analysis examines the difference in test
results on the pre and post-instruction tests.
The final article in this section, by Z.R. Eslami, and A. Eslami-Rasekh, is a
study of explicit teaching of pragmatics during English as a foreign language
(EFL) teacher training programs at Najafabad Azad University in Iran. Examining
two groups of students, one receiving instruction in EFL teaching methods with a
focus on pragmatics, and the second receiving instruction in EFL teaching
methods without any pragmatics focus, the pragmatic skills of the two student
groups were compared with a discourse completion task and error recognition
task. The responses were evaluated for appropriateness and the preliminary and
post test were compared for the two groups.
Section 3: The Testing of SLP
Yamashita provides a theoretical framework for the testing of pragmatic
competence. This article begins by defining what pragmatic competence is as well
as test formats used to measure this competence. Construct and content validity
of tests is discussed. Six issues are identified as being in the realm of
pragmatics testing. Test components are identified and the article concludes
with a discussion of methods for testing pragmatic ability.
Brown contributes ''Raters, Functions, Item Types and the Dependability of L2
Pragmatics Tests''. Using data from Hudson (1992, 1995), it addresses type of
test, the number of items on a test, and rater reliability as factors which
influence the efficacy of pragmatics testing. In the original analysis ''power,
social distance, and degree of imposition'' were identified as important
variables in the testing of speech acts (Brown 226). These variables were then
subjected to statistical analysis using traditional and generalizability (G
theory) methods.
The final article is ''Rater, Item and Candidate Effects in Discourse Completion
Tests: A FACETS Approach'' by Roever. Using many-facet Rasch measurement in the
computer program FACETS this study reanalyzes data from Roever (2005) with three
variables: test takers, number of items, and raters. Twelve speech acts were
considered including requests, apologies, and refusals. These data were closely
analyzed to check what, if any, effects rater harshness, the number of test
items or test taker had to do with test scoring.
EVALUATION
Taken as a whole, this volume is a timely contribution to ILP research. Each
article is interesting independently, but due to the diversity of research in
the field of interlanguage pragmatics there seems to be loose connection between
some sections of the book. This was most noticeable in the section on the
testing of pragmatic competence and might have been caused by the paucity of
articles concerning the teaching and testing of pragmatic competence.
One issue not adequately addressed in the testing section was a discussion of
the relevancy of the written evaluative methods proposed to pragmatic competence
in verbal communication. Though the articles in this section fit together
thematically there seems to be less connection to the previous sections on
learning and teaching pragmatics. The socially-based learning described in the
earlier articles seem to be disconnected from the testing methodology outlined
in this last section. For instance, the teaching of requests in Tateyama and
Kasper seems to require face-to-face contact, but the question of evaluation of
role plays is not explored. This problem was peripherally acknowledged in these
articles. Yamashita writes, ''Because pragmatics does not operate according to
strict rules such as grammar, which usually involves right or wrong answers,
showing one's pragmatic ability only by a paper and pencil test is sometimes
difficult'' (218). This quote illustrates an essential problem with some of the
evaluative methods described in this volume. Roever, in the final article
asserts, ''findings allow conclusions about the learners' repertoire of
strategies but they do not allow conclusion as to the learners' ability to use
those strategies in actual conversation'' (263). This admission indicates the
divide between the tested skills, and the skills which are considered necessary
for pragmatic competence. This is a disjuncture which could have been addressed
more directly, rather than acknowledged as a peripheral problem. Kasper and
Schmidt posed the question, ''How can approximation to target language norms be
measured?'' (Bardovi-Harlig 2002: 187). This question which is answered
thoroughly in many of the articles in this volume seems not to be addressed with
the same breadth in this final section of testing pragmatic competence.
The second aspect which might be criticized is organizational. The first section
on learning pragmatics is considerably lengthier, with six articles, than the
teaching, and testing sections; which have only three articles each. Due to the
length of the first section and the wide variety of articles included in it, the
second and third sections are disappointing due to their brevity. This is not to
criticize the articles that were included, but to note that the sections on
teaching and testing, due to shortness were not as informative as expected based
on the lengthier section on learning pragmatics.
Overall, this volume provides an overview of recent research in the field of
ILP. It takes into consideration the wide variety of approaches currently being
used in classroom-based ILP research. The employment of both observational, as
well as more experimental methods provides a holistic picture of the current
state of research in ILP.
REFERENCES
Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen. (2002). ''Pragmatics and Second Language Acquisition.''
Oxford handbook of applied linguistics, edited by Robert B. Kaplan. New York,
NY: Oxford University Press.
Multilingual Matters, 2008
SUMMARY
This volume is a collection of scholarly articles edited by Eva Alcón Soler, and
Alicia Martínez-Flor. The editors are both distinguished for their contributions
to the fields of applied linguistics, and interlanguage pragmatics (ILP). This
volume attempts to answer the question of how second language pragmatics (SLP)
can be learned, taught, and tested in classroom settings. The approach to this
question is multifaceted in that there are sections concerning the learning,
teaching, and testing of pragmatics in foreign language contexts. The
contributed articles are derived from classroom-based research with a variety of
first and target language contexts in Spain, Iran, Japan, Australia and
elsewhere. The preface is written by Amy Snyder Ohta, and the introduction is
written by the editors. This book will interest anyone who is interested in the
fields of pragmatics, foreign language learning, teaching, or testing.
Section 1: The Learning of SLP
The first article of Section 1 is a theoretical overview of pragmatics learning
in classroom environments by M.A. Dufon. Drawing on the fields of cross-cultural
pragmatics, Second language acquisition (SLA) and ILP, Dufon asserts that
previous studies on pragmatic learning have relied heavily on cognitive
approaches including experimental methods. Arguing that language socialization
theory has been recognized as an alternative framework for understanding the
learning of pragmatics the article first defines what language socialization
theory is. It then goes on to discuss language socialization theory and its
relationship to first and second language acquisition. The article also reviews
some seminal studies of language socialization in foreign language classrooms.
A study of the teaching of pragmatics with the help of a native-speaker-visitor
is the subject of the second article by Y. Tateyama, and G. Kasper. The research
context was a Japanese classroom at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. A
discourse analysis of three request interactions in the class is provided. These
three requests were: teacher requests of the class, teacher requests of the
classroom guest, and classroom guest requests of the students. This study views
language learning as socially situated and draws on Vygotsky's concept of the
''Zone of proximal development'' to explore student learning.
Taking a more cognitive approach, T. Hassall probes the thought processes of
second language learners using video-recorded role-plays. The testing
environment is a university, and the populations are two groups of second
language learners of Indonesian. This study attempts to test Bialystock's model
of the divide between second language learner's pragmatic knowledge and control
over using that knowledge in interactions.
''Learning Pragmatics in Content-Based Classrooms'' by T. Nikula addresses whether
pragmatics can be learned in a non-language focused classroom. Through an
examination of video/audio recordings of a middle school physics class Nikula
uses discourse analysis techniques to explore pragmatic aspects of content based
classrooms. Drawing on the European tradition of content and language integrated
learning (CLIL), Nikula examines whether the more naturalistic language
acquisition assumed to be characteristic of CLIL extends to the acquisition of
pragmatic skills. This study takes a discourse-pragmatic approach and focuses on
pragmatics as it occurs in classrooms.
The last article in this section is by M. Gonzales-Lloret and describes a
long-term study of Spanish pragmatic norms for second language learners
regarding addressivity. The context of the study is a synchronous
computer-mediated communication project with student populations at Jaume
University learning English, and students at the University of Hawaii learning
Spanish. The student's online interactions were studied and instances of
incorrect address were examined to determine what changes occurred over the
course of time.
Section 2: The Teaching of SLP
The first article of this section, by J. House, is theoretical in orientation
and argues for the revitalization of translation as a language teaching method.
It commences by providing several definitions for translation. House argues that
translation requires not just grammatical, but pragmatic knowledge as well. In
addition, the differences between overt and covert translations are discussed.
Then it moves on to a brief history of translation as a method for instruction
before describing how it might be incorporated into current language teaching
practices.
''Effects on Pragmatic Development Through Awareness-raising Instruction:
Refusals by Japanese EFL Learners'' by S. Kondo focuses on increasing student
attention to their pragmatic options and developing an interlanguage identity.
An interventionist study with Japanese English language learners was conducted
which consisted of pre-instruction testing. Then instruction concerning English
language pragmatic interactions such as compliments, refusals, and complaints
was provided. After this post-instruction testing with Oral Discourse Completion
Tasks (ODCT) were carried out. The same tasks were completed by American
students for comparative purposes. The analysis examines the difference in test
results on the pre and post-instruction tests.
The final article in this section, by Z.R. Eslami, and A. Eslami-Rasekh, is a
study of explicit teaching of pragmatics during English as a foreign language
(EFL) teacher training programs at Najafabad Azad University in Iran. Examining
two groups of students, one receiving instruction in EFL teaching methods with a
focus on pragmatics, and the second receiving instruction in EFL teaching
methods without any pragmatics focus, the pragmatic skills of the two student
groups were compared with a discourse completion task and error recognition
task. The responses were evaluated for appropriateness and the preliminary and
post test were compared for the two groups.
Section 3: The Testing of SLP
Yamashita provides a theoretical framework for the testing of pragmatic
competence. This article begins by defining what pragmatic competence is as well
as test formats used to measure this competence. Construct and content validity
of tests is discussed. Six issues are identified as being in the realm of
pragmatics testing. Test components are identified and the article concludes
with a discussion of methods for testing pragmatic ability.
Brown contributes ''Raters, Functions, Item Types and the Dependability of L2
Pragmatics Tests''. Using data from Hudson (1992, 1995), it addresses type of
test, the number of items on a test, and rater reliability as factors which
influence the efficacy of pragmatics testing. In the original analysis ''power,
social distance, and degree of imposition'' were identified as important
variables in the testing of speech acts (Brown 226). These variables were then
subjected to statistical analysis using traditional and generalizability (G
theory) methods.
The final article is ''Rater, Item and Candidate Effects in Discourse Completion
Tests: A FACETS Approach'' by Roever. Using many-facet Rasch measurement in the
computer program FACETS this study reanalyzes data from Roever (2005) with three
variables: test takers, number of items, and raters. Twelve speech acts were
considered including requests, apologies, and refusals. These data were closely
analyzed to check what, if any, effects rater harshness, the number of test
items or test taker had to do with test scoring.
EVALUATION
Taken as a whole, this volume is a timely contribution to ILP research. Each
article is interesting independently, but due to the diversity of research in
the field of interlanguage pragmatics there seems to be loose connection between
some sections of the book. This was most noticeable in the section on the
testing of pragmatic competence and might have been caused by the paucity of
articles concerning the teaching and testing of pragmatic competence.
One issue not adequately addressed in the testing section was a discussion of
the relevancy of the written evaluative methods proposed to pragmatic competence
in verbal communication. Though the articles in this section fit together
thematically there seems to be less connection to the previous sections on
learning and teaching pragmatics. The socially-based learning described in the
earlier articles seem to be disconnected from the testing methodology outlined
in this last section. For instance, the teaching of requests in Tateyama and
Kasper seems to require face-to-face contact, but the question of evaluation of
role plays is not explored. This problem was peripherally acknowledged in these
articles. Yamashita writes, ''Because pragmatics does not operate according to
strict rules such as grammar, which usually involves right or wrong answers,
showing one's pragmatic ability only by a paper and pencil test is sometimes
difficult'' (218). This quote illustrates an essential problem with some of the
evaluative methods described in this volume. Roever, in the final article
asserts, ''findings allow conclusions about the learners' repertoire of
strategies but they do not allow conclusion as to the learners' ability to use
those strategies in actual conversation'' (263). This admission indicates the
divide between the tested skills, and the skills which are considered necessary
for pragmatic competence. This is a disjuncture which could have been addressed
more directly, rather than acknowledged as a peripheral problem. Kasper and
Schmidt posed the question, ''How can approximation to target language norms be
measured?'' (Bardovi-Harlig 2002: 187). This question which is answered
thoroughly in many of the articles in this volume seems not to be addressed with
the same breadth in this final section of testing pragmatic competence.
The second aspect which might be criticized is organizational. The first section
on learning pragmatics is considerably lengthier, with six articles, than the
teaching, and testing sections; which have only three articles each. Due to the
length of the first section and the wide variety of articles included in it, the
second and third sections are disappointing due to their brevity. This is not to
criticize the articles that were included, but to note that the sections on
teaching and testing, due to shortness were not as informative as expected based
on the lengthier section on learning pragmatics.
Overall, this volume provides an overview of recent research in the field of
ILP. It takes into consideration the wide variety of approaches currently being
used in classroom-based ILP research. The employment of both observational, as
well as more experimental methods provides a holistic picture of the current
state of research in ILP.
REFERENCES
Bardovi-Harlig, Kathleen. (2002). ''Pragmatics and Second Language Acquisition.''
Oxford handbook of applied linguistics, edited by Robert B. Kaplan. New York,
NY: Oxford University Press.
This review appeared originally in the LINGUIST List at http://linguistlist.org/issues/20/20-1944.html"Essai de description morphophonologique du Yisangu"
Pierre Ondo-Mebiame
Lincom GmbH, 2007
SUMMARY
This monograph is a morphophonological description of the Yisangu language that
is intended to supplement the morphosyntactic description by Idiata (1998). The
purpose is a refining of previous understandings of Yisangu phonology and a
reevaluation of Idiata's data to delineate the rules which govern morphology and
phonology. The result is worth the notice of anyone who has an interest in Bantu
linguistics, typological linguistics, or morphophonology generally.
The book begins with a brief description of its purpose, the location of Yisangu
speakers, the classification of Yisangu and the methodology of the data
collection. Yisangu, also known as Isangu, Chango, Shango, Yisangou language, is
spoken by 20,911 Gabonese people (Gordon 2005). This volume seeks to lay out the
phonological and morphological units of the language. The author describes in a
paragraph that Yisangu is spoken in the interior of Gabon. Yisangu speakers are
inhabitants of the Iboundji area, Mimongo and Ngounie Provinces of Gabon (Gordon
2005). Yisangu has been classified as belonging to the Sira (B.40) group (Gordon
2005). The research is based on data gathered from three consultants between
December 1987 and January 14, 1988 in Bruxelles, Belgium and Libreville, Gabon.
The book has four sections: phonology, morphophonology, morphology, and a
summary conclusion.
The phonology section is divided into two parts: paradigmatic and syntagmatic
phonology. The paradigmatic phonology section contains an inventory of Yisangu
vowels and consonants. Yisangu has eight short, and seven long vowels,
twenty-five consonants, and five tones. Additionally, a phonetic description and
minimal pair examples are provided. The extensive (177) examples, are evidence
that these are the phonemes of Yisangu. Syntagmatic phonology describes the
syllable structure very briefly and provides examples of the six syllable
structures described.
The second section describes the morphophonology for Yisangu. This section
begins with the author's explanation that ''morphophonology is an important hinge
(charnière) between phonology and morphology'' (66). The author describes the
system which he has constructed to show how morphological, and tone rules apply
to given words. An example provided is that of |#mù+ànà#N| which becomes
[#mwâ:nà] after applying rules 31.1, and 60.2 (68). Rule 31.1 states that when a
vowel such as [i] or [u] comes into contact with a different vowel that both
will change so as to create a more homorganic cluster (78). Rule 60.2 states
that the two vowels, in this case [ù+à] meld and become [â:] (107). These rules,
numbering 30-61, and their description compose the remainder of this chapter.
The section on morphology is organized according to markers of class and
morphemes of tone. A chart is given showing the nominal, pronominal, and verbal
prefixes. A list of morphemes of tonality, which composes the second part of
this chapter, consists of the description of eighteen rules which change the
tone of morphemes. For example ''N''' indicates that a low tone on the nominal
prefix becomes a high tone for substantives of ''tonal type B and C'' (120). An
example given is |mì+rúmbà#N''| which becomes /mí+rúmbe/ [barrier] (135). These
morphotonemic rules provide a basis for understanding how tones and morphology
interact in Yisangu.
The conclusion consists of a summary of the phonetic, phonological,
morphophonological, and morphological features of Yisangu.
EVALUATION
This book was written, as the author states, as an enlargement upon the volume
by Idiata on the morphosyntax of Yisangu (1998). This previous work devoted less
to the description of phonology than it did to syntax and morphology.
Additionally the issue of morphophonology was not addressed. Hence, the author
of the current book, states in the introduction that this book seeks to provide
a complementary account of the Yisangu language, focusing on the phonology and
morphology, and the space between the two, morphophonology.
The structure of this book is excellent for the purpose it was written for. The
three main sections: phonology, morphophonology, and morphology, parallel
Idiata's which has sections on phonology, syntax, and morphology (1998). What
sets this book apart is the assiduous detail which the author has brought to
bear on showing the phonetic, phonological, and morphological rules, and the
order in which they are applied. This process and the resulting lexemes, is
shown through 136 examples.
One issue concerning the book is that the data were gathered from only three
consultants. The principal consultant had not lived in the Masangu speaking
region since he was seven. Perhaps more explanation could be given concerning
how well the consultant was able to provide a representative sample of Yisangu.
Though the other two informants were natives of Masangu the reader is left
wishing for a larger pool of consultants, due to possible idiolectic variation.
Overall this book can be described as a careful exposition of the Yisangu
language. However, this is not a book that should be read in isolation. The
complementarity of this book with Idiata's is stated by the author and
reinforced by comparisons and contrasts drawn throughout the text between the
two analyses. The examples and minimal pairs provided will be extremely useful
to those interested in Yisangu, or Bantu languages in general. The explanation
of the rules governing phonology and morphology facilitates further study of the
relationship between the two areas of linguistics.
REFERENCES
Gordon, R. G., Jr. (ed.). (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth
edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version:
http://www.ethnologue.com/.
Idiata D.F. (1998). _Aperçu sur la morphosyntaxe de la langue isangu (bantou,
B42)_. Munich: Lincom Europa.
This review appeared originally in the LINGUIST List at http://linguistlist.org/issues/19/19-2342.html
"Lexical Borrowings as Sociolinguistic Variables in Saint-Louis, Senegal"
Fallou Ngom
Lincom GmbH, 2006
SUMMARY
This monograph is the result of a study of lexical borrowings in Saint-Louis
Senegal. The use of lexical borrowings from Arabic, French, English, and Wolof
by inhabitants of Saint-Louis is examined across registers, age groups, and
genders. The main goal of this study is to demonstrate that lexical borrowings
vary between age groups and genders and that lexical borrowings can be viewed as
sociolinguistic variables. This book is relevant reading for anyone interested
in multilingualism, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, Arabic,
Francophone, or Wolof linguistics. Lexical Borrowings as Sociolinguistic
Variables in Saint-Louis, Senegal consists of seven chapters, an appendix of
methodology and a bibliography. It is the fifth book in the Studies in
Sociolinguistics series published by LINCOM.
Chapter 1: Background
In Chapter 1 the author begins by stating the hypotheses of the study, and then
provides a general history of Senegal, as well as the Arabic, French, English,
and Pulaar linguistic influences in the country, and concludes with a
description of Saint-Louis.
The author begins with some perceived shortcomings of the literature on lexical
borrowing. These shortcomings arise from simplifying assumptions, such as using
a paradigm of contact between only two languages, or generalizing study results
to entire communities, rather than to social groups within a community, or
overlooking the wider social context of lexical borrowings. The following
predictions, termed hypotheses by the author, are intended to correct for these
errors. The author's first prediction is that the number of lexical borrowings
used by an individual is influenced by their sex, age and social group. In
particular, younger speakers, who are thought to have greater exposure to
multiple languages and cultures, are predicted to use more lexical borrowings
than other age groups. The author goes on to predict that lexical items used by
the entire speech community are those which have become phonetically,
morphologically and syntactically Wolof. It is then suggested that loanwords
borrowed for reasons of prestige, rather than practicality, are inroads by which
introduced languages and cultures begin to infiltrate Wolof. Building from this,
it is predicted that a greater understanding of lexical change in multilingual
societies requires consideration of the influence of social and political
variables on lexical borrowing. Finally the author predicts that the process of
lexical borrowing varies between individuals in part because they use particular
mechanisms of borrowing to identify themselves as members of a specific age group.
The rest of the chapter provides an overview of Saint-Louis, Senegal, and the
country's major linguistic influences. Senegal is a large country with a
multiplicity of languages. The government recognizes six national languages:
Wolof, Pulaar, Seereer, Mandinka, Joola, and Soninke. Arabic lexical borrowings
in Senegalese speech are due to the Arabic invasion and the conversion of
inhabitants to Islam. The French influence on Wolof result from colonization by
the French. The author attributes the spread of English lexical borrowings to
various smaller events, and more recently the rise of English as an
international language. The influence of Pulaar on Wolof derives from the
prominence of Pulaar speakers in Saint-Louis. To conclude this section the
author delineates the history and geography of the city of Saint-Louis.
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
In this chapter the author reviews and comments on theoretical constructions of
lexical borrowing, typologies of borrowing, the sociological importance of
lexical borrowings, and the creation of language ideology. The author
distinguishes between borrowing, interference, code switching and mixing (citing
Haugen (1956)). Then he draws on the work of Gingras (1974) and Pfaff (1979) to
define clearly what lexical borrowing is (one lexical unit) and what it is not
(more than one lexical unit - code switching). Crystal's (1997:66) definition of
lexical borrowing is introduced stating that a lexical borrowing can be
''phonological, morphological or syntactic'' (30). This broad definition allows
consideration of the greatest amount of data.
The author draws on the literature to distinguish two types of loanwords:
Unassimilated (perceived as alien) and assimilated (not perceived as alien)
(Deroy 1956). The author acknowledges that these are not discrete, but
continuous and that the progression from unassimilated to assimilated is
considered an essential element of loans to some theories, such as Deroy's
(1956). The author goes on to say that Deroy (1956) discovered some of the
processes which loanwords undergo to become phonologically acceptable words
(assimilated) in the borrowing language. To illustrate the morphological aspects
of lexical borrowing the author provides some examples [such as _liiraat_ (to
read again) _lire_ (Fr 'to read') + -_aat_ (Wolof 'to do again')] to show the
fusion of French and Wolof.
Subsequently the author discusses prestige as an aspect of loanword promotion,
and how it affects which lexical items are borrowed from which languages. Deroy
(1956) is invoked as arguing that lexical items are borrowed if there is not an
equivalent in the borrowing language or to satisfy reasons of prestige. Then the
author focuses on the factors which make a language more highly valued
ideologically. Beginning in colonial times the French language was promoted as
superior to the national languages of Senegal, and of all the languages in the
French colonial empire. This high prestige can be thought to account for the
abundance of lexical borrowings. An essential understanding of prestige
relations is stated by the author as ''History shows that a language or
linguistic variety is worth what those who speak it are worth, i.e., their
economic, political, social or cultural power, prestige and authority'' (47). The
author concludes with an explanation of how this study will extend the
examination of lexical borrowings from phonological variation in monolingual
communities to a more holistic examination of variation in multilingual communities.
Chapter 3: Methodology
Chapter 3 consists of a description of the Labovian sociolinguistic interview, a
section on the participants, an overview of interviews and modules, a
description of variables, the data transcription and coding, the analysis, the
modified coach tests, a section on education levels in Arabic, French and
English, and concludes with research difficulties.
The Labovian Sociolinguistic interview was used for the advantages that Labov
(1994:157) cited for it, that it yields a large corpus of speech data, and
allows the author to study linguistic variation in the community. The author
spent four months in 2000 collecting speech data and interviewed 200
participants. Half the participants were male, half were female, and they were
divided by age into two groups. All participants were from Saint-Louis. The
interviews consisted of six modules and lasted twenty minutes. The modules were
designed to bring out a response in one of three registers: Political,
religious, and cultural. These registers were selected due to their close
association with French, Arabic, and English. The six modules were: explanation
of study, subjects' biography, warm-up, political register, religious register,
and the cultural register.
In the next section the author defines the variables of the study. The
independent are variables the age, gender, and register of the participants. The
dependent variables are the number of Arabic, French and English borrowings, and
the degree of assimilation they have undergone in Wolof. The author then
describes the transcription and coding of the speech data according to the
previously identified variables. Linguistic processes which indicate the degree
of assimilation into Wolof are: Verlanization, hypercorrection, lexical
innovation, semantic change, nasal unpacking, denasalization, cluster
simplification, category change, truncation, calque, lexicalization,
unincorporated and incorporated loans.
The author applied two statistical analysis tests to the data: Wilcoxon Rank
sums test, and the Test of Contingency Tables. The author then describes Labov's
Coach Test (1994). The Coach Test was designed by Labov (1994) to determine the
phonological competence of members of a monolingual community (1994). The author
modified the test to determine the lexical proficiency of study participants in
a multilingual community. He describes the two modified coach tests, one for
older subjects, and one for younger subjects. He adds education level as an
independent variable, and defines it as years spent studying French, Arabic, or
English. On average older subjects have more education in Arabic. Younger
subjects have more education in French, and English. He concludes the chapter
with a brief overview of a research difficulty that was encountered - older
subjects reluctance to participate - and overcome.
Chapter 4: Results of the Statistical Analysis
This chapter summarizes the statistical analysis applied to the data. The first
section indicates that the lexical hybridization is a reflection of the cultural
hybridization. The next three sections address lexical borrowings as they
correlate with register, age group, and gender respectively. The concluding
three sections address linguistic processes as they correlate with register, age
group, and gender respectively.
The results of the statistical analysis show that French and Arabic have a high
percent of loans incorporated in Wolof. English has fewer. Pulaar and Spanish
have the same amount. One example from the data is [sarax-a:t] ('to give charity
again'), which is a combination of [sadaqa] (Arabic 'charity') and -_aat'_
(Wolof iterative morpheme). The author states that based on the mixing of
lexemes Saint-Louis is a ''Creolized society'' (88). Lexical borrowings are a
linguistic reflection of the cultural melding.
The next three sections deal with the relationship between lexical borrowings
and the register, age group, and gender of participants. Lexical borrowings from
French are highest in the political and cultural register. Borrowings from
Arabic are highest in the religious register. English borrowings are highest in
the cultural register. The relationship between age and lexical borrowings shows
that older participants use Arabic borrowings more frequently than younger, and
English borrowings are more common for younger participants. There is no
difference in the use of French borrowings between older and younger
participants. In the final section on lexical borrowings the independent
variable is gender. The results show that there is no statistically significant
difference between genders regarding the number of lexical borrowings from
Arabic or French. There is a significant difference in the use of English loans,
in that male participants use more.
The final three sections of this chapter address the relationship between
linguistic processes and the independent variables, register, age group, and
gender. The results show that the linguistic processes verlanization,
hypercorrection, category change, unincorporated, and incorporated loans are not
statistically different across registers, whereas the other dependent variables
are significant. The linguistic processes, lexical innovation, semantic change,
nasal unpacking, denasalization, cluster simplification, lexicalization,
unincorporated, and incorporated loans, are found to be statistically
significant across age groups as well. The linguistic processes, semantic
change, unincorporated, and incorporated loans, are the only variables of
statistical significance across gender.
Chapter 5: Discussion and Interpretation of the Results
Chapter 5 is composed of three sections interpreting the results of the lexical
borrowings according to register, age group, and gender. The first section deals
with the relationship between lexical borrowings and register. French loans are
most common in the political and cultural registers, Arabic in the religious,
and English in the cultural. The author states that this indicates that Arabic,
French, and English are the dominant languages, distributing lexical borrowings
to Wolof.
Next, the author discusses loans and age groups. The author suggests that older
study participants use more Arabic borrowings to show their cultural, and
religious knowledge; which has been gained with age. Younger participants, more
concerned with demonstrating cultural hipness, use more English loans.
The chapter concludes with a section on loans and gender. Although there is no
statistical relationship between gender and the number of Arabic and French
loans used, the author interprets the trend for females to use them with greater
frequency, and their significantly lower use of English, to indicate the
linguistic conservatism of women. The author cites Foley (2000:302) who
suggested that women are more conservative in their speech, using more standard
prestigious forms than men.
Chapter 6: Sociolinguistic Implications of Linguistic Processes
In this chapter the author analyzes the linguistic processes that are common to
lexical borrowing in Saint-Louis. First the author gives a brief description of
the phonotactic systems in Wolof, French, English and Arabic. This is followed
by sections on incorporated Arabic, French and English loans. A chart of Wolof
incorporations from Arabic, French and English is provided showing the
linguistic processes which each item has undergone to become incorporated. The
author proceeds to discuss the linguistic processes (verlanization,
hypercorrection, lexical innovation, semantic change, nasal unpacking,
denasalization, cluster simplification, category change, truncation, calqueing,
lexicalization, unincorporated, and incorporated loans) in relation to age
group. Each of these processes can be studied as an indicator of social identity.
Chapter 7: Conclusion
The author concludes the book by reviewing how this study has tested and
expanded Labovian and variationist approaches by studying lexical borrowings in
a multilingual community. The assumption that sociolinguistic variables must be
phonological, is incomplete, and should be enlarged to include morphological or
syntactic variables as well. The author reiterates the importance of lexical
borrowings in the formation of identity. He concedes that there are two
limitations for his study of lexical borrowing: Human error in transcription and
coding, and the larger theoretical issue of frequency and semantic equivalency.
He also indicates areas for further research.
EVALUATION
This book is an excellent introduction to the world of sociolinguistic analysis.
There are only minor inconsistencies which distract from the overall focus and
structure of the book. The first oddity is in the introduction which includes a
section on Arabic, French, English and Pulaar influence in Senegal, but no
section devoted just to Wolof. To understand the influence of other languages it
seems important to understand the language being influenced. The second
inconsistency occurs in Chapter 4 when Spanish suddenly appears in Table 2 (86)
and Figure 6 (92), though Spanish was not mentioned previously. While one cannot
take into account all the languages possibly influencing a speech community, the
sudden inclusion of Spanish and the addition of it to the figure and chart seems
arbitrary. As the results indicate that Pulaar and Spanish have each lent fewer
than one percent of lexical borrowings to Wolof, both should be left out, or
included. To treat them differently, even though they are roughly equivalent in
the number of lexical borrowings lent to Wolof is inconsistent. Both of these
issues are minor and do not touch on the main thesis of the book.
This study is unique in its application of theory in a multilingual community.
It is grounded in Labovian theory and provides the reader with an understanding
of the uses of the theory, as well as the shortcomings. The author undertook a
great amount of field work, and data analysis to complete this study. The result
is a succinct, data-rich examination of lexical borrowing.
REFERENCES
Crystal, D. (1997). _The Cambridge encyclopedia of language_. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Deroy, L. (1956). _Les emprunts linguistiques_. Paris: Belles Lettres.
Foley, William A. (2000). _Anthropological Linguistics: An introduction_.
Cambridge Massachussetts: Blackwell Publishers.
Gingras, R.C. (1974). Problems in the description of Spanish-English
intrasentential code switching. In G. Bills (Ed.), _Southwest Areal Linguistics_
(pp. 167-174). University of California at San Diego: Institute for Cultural
Pluralism.
Haugen, E. (1956). _Bilingualism in the Americas: A bibliographical and research
guide_. Alabama: University of Alabama Press.
Labov, W. (1994). _Principles of linguistic change: Internal factors_.
Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.
Pfaff, C.W. (1979). Constraints on language mixing: Intrasententential
code-mixing and borrowing in Spanish/English. _Language_, 55, 291-331.
This review appeared originally in the LINGUIST List at http://linguistlist.org/issues/18/18-3538.html
Lincom GmbH, 2006
SUMMARY
This monograph is the result of a study of lexical borrowings in Saint-Louis
Senegal. The use of lexical borrowings from Arabic, French, English, and Wolof
by inhabitants of Saint-Louis is examined across registers, age groups, and
genders. The main goal of this study is to demonstrate that lexical borrowings
vary between age groups and genders and that lexical borrowings can be viewed as
sociolinguistic variables. This book is relevant reading for anyone interested
in multilingualism, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, Arabic,
Francophone, or Wolof linguistics. Lexical Borrowings as Sociolinguistic
Variables in Saint-Louis, Senegal consists of seven chapters, an appendix of
methodology and a bibliography. It is the fifth book in the Studies in
Sociolinguistics series published by LINCOM.
Chapter 1: Background
In Chapter 1 the author begins by stating the hypotheses of the study, and then
provides a general history of Senegal, as well as the Arabic, French, English,
and Pulaar linguistic influences in the country, and concludes with a
description of Saint-Louis.
The author begins with some perceived shortcomings of the literature on lexical
borrowing. These shortcomings arise from simplifying assumptions, such as using
a paradigm of contact between only two languages, or generalizing study results
to entire communities, rather than to social groups within a community, or
overlooking the wider social context of lexical borrowings. The following
predictions, termed hypotheses by the author, are intended to correct for these
errors. The author's first prediction is that the number of lexical borrowings
used by an individual is influenced by their sex, age and social group. In
particular, younger speakers, who are thought to have greater exposure to
multiple languages and cultures, are predicted to use more lexical borrowings
than other age groups. The author goes on to predict that lexical items used by
the entire speech community are those which have become phonetically,
morphologically and syntactically Wolof. It is then suggested that loanwords
borrowed for reasons of prestige, rather than practicality, are inroads by which
introduced languages and cultures begin to infiltrate Wolof. Building from this,
it is predicted that a greater understanding of lexical change in multilingual
societies requires consideration of the influence of social and political
variables on lexical borrowing. Finally the author predicts that the process of
lexical borrowing varies between individuals in part because they use particular
mechanisms of borrowing to identify themselves as members of a specific age group.
The rest of the chapter provides an overview of Saint-Louis, Senegal, and the
country's major linguistic influences. Senegal is a large country with a
multiplicity of languages. The government recognizes six national languages:
Wolof, Pulaar, Seereer, Mandinka, Joola, and Soninke. Arabic lexical borrowings
in Senegalese speech are due to the Arabic invasion and the conversion of
inhabitants to Islam. The French influence on Wolof result from colonization by
the French. The author attributes the spread of English lexical borrowings to
various smaller events, and more recently the rise of English as an
international language. The influence of Pulaar on Wolof derives from the
prominence of Pulaar speakers in Saint-Louis. To conclude this section the
author delineates the history and geography of the city of Saint-Louis.
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
In this chapter the author reviews and comments on theoretical constructions of
lexical borrowing, typologies of borrowing, the sociological importance of
lexical borrowings, and the creation of language ideology. The author
distinguishes between borrowing, interference, code switching and mixing (citing
Haugen (1956)). Then he draws on the work of Gingras (1974) and Pfaff (1979) to
define clearly what lexical borrowing is (one lexical unit) and what it is not
(more than one lexical unit - code switching). Crystal's (1997:66) definition of
lexical borrowing is introduced stating that a lexical borrowing can be
''phonological, morphological or syntactic'' (30). This broad definition allows
consideration of the greatest amount of data.
The author draws on the literature to distinguish two types of loanwords:
Unassimilated (perceived as alien) and assimilated (not perceived as alien)
(Deroy 1956). The author acknowledges that these are not discrete, but
continuous and that the progression from unassimilated to assimilated is
considered an essential element of loans to some theories, such as Deroy's
(1956). The author goes on to say that Deroy (1956) discovered some of the
processes which loanwords undergo to become phonologically acceptable words
(assimilated) in the borrowing language. To illustrate the morphological aspects
of lexical borrowing the author provides some examples [such as _liiraat_ (to
read again) _lire_ (Fr 'to read') + -_aat_ (Wolof 'to do again')] to show the
fusion of French and Wolof.
Subsequently the author discusses prestige as an aspect of loanword promotion,
and how it affects which lexical items are borrowed from which languages. Deroy
(1956) is invoked as arguing that lexical items are borrowed if there is not an
equivalent in the borrowing language or to satisfy reasons of prestige. Then the
author focuses on the factors which make a language more highly valued
ideologically. Beginning in colonial times the French language was promoted as
superior to the national languages of Senegal, and of all the languages in the
French colonial empire. This high prestige can be thought to account for the
abundance of lexical borrowings. An essential understanding of prestige
relations is stated by the author as ''History shows that a language or
linguistic variety is worth what those who speak it are worth, i.e., their
economic, political, social or cultural power, prestige and authority'' (47). The
author concludes with an explanation of how this study will extend the
examination of lexical borrowings from phonological variation in monolingual
communities to a more holistic examination of variation in multilingual communities.
Chapter 3: Methodology
Chapter 3 consists of a description of the Labovian sociolinguistic interview, a
section on the participants, an overview of interviews and modules, a
description of variables, the data transcription and coding, the analysis, the
modified coach tests, a section on education levels in Arabic, French and
English, and concludes with research difficulties.
The Labovian Sociolinguistic interview was used for the advantages that Labov
(1994:157) cited for it, that it yields a large corpus of speech data, and
allows the author to study linguistic variation in the community. The author
spent four months in 2000 collecting speech data and interviewed 200
participants. Half the participants were male, half were female, and they were
divided by age into two groups. All participants were from Saint-Louis. The
interviews consisted of six modules and lasted twenty minutes. The modules were
designed to bring out a response in one of three registers: Political,
religious, and cultural. These registers were selected due to their close
association with French, Arabic, and English. The six modules were: explanation
of study, subjects' biography, warm-up, political register, religious register,
and the cultural register.
In the next section the author defines the variables of the study. The
independent are variables the age, gender, and register of the participants. The
dependent variables are the number of Arabic, French and English borrowings, and
the degree of assimilation they have undergone in Wolof. The author then
describes the transcription and coding of the speech data according to the
previously identified variables. Linguistic processes which indicate the degree
of assimilation into Wolof are: Verlanization, hypercorrection, lexical
innovation, semantic change, nasal unpacking, denasalization, cluster
simplification, category change, truncation, calque, lexicalization,
unincorporated and incorporated loans.
The author applied two statistical analysis tests to the data: Wilcoxon Rank
sums test, and the Test of Contingency Tables. The author then describes Labov's
Coach Test (1994). The Coach Test was designed by Labov (1994) to determine the
phonological competence of members of a monolingual community (1994). The author
modified the test to determine the lexical proficiency of study participants in
a multilingual community. He describes the two modified coach tests, one for
older subjects, and one for younger subjects. He adds education level as an
independent variable, and defines it as years spent studying French, Arabic, or
English. On average older subjects have more education in Arabic. Younger
subjects have more education in French, and English. He concludes the chapter
with a brief overview of a research difficulty that was encountered - older
subjects reluctance to participate - and overcome.
Chapter 4: Results of the Statistical Analysis
This chapter summarizes the statistical analysis applied to the data. The first
section indicates that the lexical hybridization is a reflection of the cultural
hybridization. The next three sections address lexical borrowings as they
correlate with register, age group, and gender respectively. The concluding
three sections address linguistic processes as they correlate with register, age
group, and gender respectively.
The results of the statistical analysis show that French and Arabic have a high
percent of loans incorporated in Wolof. English has fewer. Pulaar and Spanish
have the same amount. One example from the data is [sarax-a:t] ('to give charity
again'), which is a combination of [sadaqa] (Arabic 'charity') and -_aat'_
(Wolof iterative morpheme). The author states that based on the mixing of
lexemes Saint-Louis is a ''Creolized society'' (88). Lexical borrowings are a
linguistic reflection of the cultural melding.
The next three sections deal with the relationship between lexical borrowings
and the register, age group, and gender of participants. Lexical borrowings from
French are highest in the political and cultural register. Borrowings from
Arabic are highest in the religious register. English borrowings are highest in
the cultural register. The relationship between age and lexical borrowings shows
that older participants use Arabic borrowings more frequently than younger, and
English borrowings are more common for younger participants. There is no
difference in the use of French borrowings between older and younger
participants. In the final section on lexical borrowings the independent
variable is gender. The results show that there is no statistically significant
difference between genders regarding the number of lexical borrowings from
Arabic or French. There is a significant difference in the use of English loans,
in that male participants use more.
The final three sections of this chapter address the relationship between
linguistic processes and the independent variables, register, age group, and
gender. The results show that the linguistic processes verlanization,
hypercorrection, category change, unincorporated, and incorporated loans are not
statistically different across registers, whereas the other dependent variables
are significant. The linguistic processes, lexical innovation, semantic change,
nasal unpacking, denasalization, cluster simplification, lexicalization,
unincorporated, and incorporated loans, are found to be statistically
significant across age groups as well. The linguistic processes, semantic
change, unincorporated, and incorporated loans, are the only variables of
statistical significance across gender.
Chapter 5: Discussion and Interpretation of the Results
Chapter 5 is composed of three sections interpreting the results of the lexical
borrowings according to register, age group, and gender. The first section deals
with the relationship between lexical borrowings and register. French loans are
most common in the political and cultural registers, Arabic in the religious,
and English in the cultural. The author states that this indicates that Arabic,
French, and English are the dominant languages, distributing lexical borrowings
to Wolof.
Next, the author discusses loans and age groups. The author suggests that older
study participants use more Arabic borrowings to show their cultural, and
religious knowledge; which has been gained with age. Younger participants, more
concerned with demonstrating cultural hipness, use more English loans.
The chapter concludes with a section on loans and gender. Although there is no
statistical relationship between gender and the number of Arabic and French
loans used, the author interprets the trend for females to use them with greater
frequency, and their significantly lower use of English, to indicate the
linguistic conservatism of women. The author cites Foley (2000:302) who
suggested that women are more conservative in their speech, using more standard
prestigious forms than men.
Chapter 6: Sociolinguistic Implications of Linguistic Processes
In this chapter the author analyzes the linguistic processes that are common to
lexical borrowing in Saint-Louis. First the author gives a brief description of
the phonotactic systems in Wolof, French, English and Arabic. This is followed
by sections on incorporated Arabic, French and English loans. A chart of Wolof
incorporations from Arabic, French and English is provided showing the
linguistic processes which each item has undergone to become incorporated. The
author proceeds to discuss the linguistic processes (verlanization,
hypercorrection, lexical innovation, semantic change, nasal unpacking,
denasalization, cluster simplification, category change, truncation, calqueing,
lexicalization, unincorporated, and incorporated loans) in relation to age
group. Each of these processes can be studied as an indicator of social identity.
Chapter 7: Conclusion
The author concludes the book by reviewing how this study has tested and
expanded Labovian and variationist approaches by studying lexical borrowings in
a multilingual community. The assumption that sociolinguistic variables must be
phonological, is incomplete, and should be enlarged to include morphological or
syntactic variables as well. The author reiterates the importance of lexical
borrowings in the formation of identity. He concedes that there are two
limitations for his study of lexical borrowing: Human error in transcription and
coding, and the larger theoretical issue of frequency and semantic equivalency.
He also indicates areas for further research.
EVALUATION
This book is an excellent introduction to the world of sociolinguistic analysis.
There are only minor inconsistencies which distract from the overall focus and
structure of the book. The first oddity is in the introduction which includes a
section on Arabic, French, English and Pulaar influence in Senegal, but no
section devoted just to Wolof. To understand the influence of other languages it
seems important to understand the language being influenced. The second
inconsistency occurs in Chapter 4 when Spanish suddenly appears in Table 2 (86)
and Figure 6 (92), though Spanish was not mentioned previously. While one cannot
take into account all the languages possibly influencing a speech community, the
sudden inclusion of Spanish and the addition of it to the figure and chart seems
arbitrary. As the results indicate that Pulaar and Spanish have each lent fewer
than one percent of lexical borrowings to Wolof, both should be left out, or
included. To treat them differently, even though they are roughly equivalent in
the number of lexical borrowings lent to Wolof is inconsistent. Both of these
issues are minor and do not touch on the main thesis of the book.
This study is unique in its application of theory in a multilingual community.
It is grounded in Labovian theory and provides the reader with an understanding
of the uses of the theory, as well as the shortcomings. The author undertook a
great amount of field work, and data analysis to complete this study. The result
is a succinct, data-rich examination of lexical borrowing.
REFERENCES
Crystal, D. (1997). _The Cambridge encyclopedia of language_. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Deroy, L. (1956). _Les emprunts linguistiques_. Paris: Belles Lettres.
Foley, William A. (2000). _Anthropological Linguistics: An introduction_.
Cambridge Massachussetts: Blackwell Publishers.
Gingras, R.C. (1974). Problems in the description of Spanish-English
intrasentential code switching. In G. Bills (Ed.), _Southwest Areal Linguistics_
(pp. 167-174). University of California at San Diego: Institute for Cultural
Pluralism.
Haugen, E. (1956). _Bilingualism in the Americas: A bibliographical and research
guide_. Alabama: University of Alabama Press.
Labov, W. (1994). _Principles of linguistic change: Internal factors_.
Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.
Pfaff, C.W. (1979). Constraints on language mixing: Intrasententential
code-mixing and borrowing in Spanish/English. _Language_, 55, 291-331.
This review appeared originally in the LINGUIST List at http://linguistlist.org/issues/18/18-3538.html
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