Kwara State University
Adebola Isaiah
Designation: Lecturer
Department: Linguistics African and European Languages
| My Publications | ||||||||
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| S/N | Title | Abstract | Authors | Volume Numbers | Publication Type | Publication Date | Link | |
| 1 | Tongue Mingles: Code-switching in Yorulish child language. |
Yorulish, a blend of Yorùbá and English, refers to the combined substrates of Yorùbá-English code mixed/switched linguistic variety (Lamidi and Ajongolo, 2001; Lamidi, 2017). Extant studies have discussed Yorulish from the adult language perspectives, however, the child language aspect has not received much scholarly attention. Through participant observation this study investigates how bilingual Yorùbá-English children (age 5-10 years, the early to middle childhood stage) use both of their linguistic repertoires in their homes and environs in Ilorin, Nigeria. It also accounted for all lexical categories in their utterances with a view to presenting the complexity and prominence (as applicable) of each category that serves as triggers/targets for code-switching. This study was carried out using a combination of theories of language development and code-switching. The study submits that bilingual children code switch because they have the cognitive ability to determine the use of a language which they hitherto did not begin an utterance in and could switch back to the start off language at will without jeopardizing communication in terms of choices of words and word order. It also shows the linguistic components that signal switching. They are basically nouns, verbs, and pronouns. Ultimately, code switching in children show that Yorùbá is the Matrix language as it dominates/determines the order of the morphemes. With the psycholinguistic function found in children code-switching, it concludes that switching at this stage is for expressive purpose; children are concerned with whether their utterances are properly put together rather than whether they are from different languages. | Adebola Isaiah | 11 (1) | Journal | 2022-01-01 | http://www.ysan.org | |