Code - Switching in Trilingual Child

master's thesis

• Author: Marija Krasić
• Mentor: Kristina Cergol Kovačević (mentor)
• Committee member: Marija Andraka (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Ivana Cindrić (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Kristina Cergol Kovačević (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Teacher Education; Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2017-07-11, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies; Teaching Methods in the Humanistic Sciences

Abstract

Multilingual speakers, when faced with communication difficulties, employ different communication strategies, a common one being code-switching if they believe that their collocutors are able to follow such a conversation. This case study investigates the most frequent communication strategies used by a young trilingual girl, who speaks Croatian and Ukrainian as hereditary languages while German is the language of her environment. The focus of this study is on her conversations with her father, who uses Croatian (his mother tongue) with the child. As Croatian is the Participant’s weakest language, communication difficulties are expected to occur when her father addresses her, providing the author of the study with an opportunity to investigate the strategies she uses to overcome communication problems in the mentioned circumstances. It was expected that the Participant would use the code-switching communication strategy, so a further aim of the study was set to investigate which type of code-switching (inter-sentential, intra-sentiential or intra-word) most commonly occurs in the Participant’s speech and which parts of speech the Participant most commonly produces when she code-switches. The study was divided into two parts. First, a semi-structured interview was carried out with the participant’s parents in order to learn about the Participant's personality, the usage of her languages and code-switching which occurs in her speech. In the second part of the study the Participant’s naturally occurring speech was audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed to meet the study’s aims. The results of the case study confirm that the most commonly used communication strategy the Participant uses in interacting with the father (in Croatian) is indeed code-switching, followed by miming and control of emotions. The most frequently 3 occurred type of code-switching is intra-sentential followed by the inter-sentential code-switching, while inter-word code-switching was found only once. Nouns are the most common part of speech produced when code-switching occurred. Although the Participant’s dominant language is German, she, rather impressively, and with her parents’ strong support, keeps all three of her languages active.

Abstract (croatian)

Višejezični govornici, kada su suočeni s komunikacijskim teškoćama, koriste različite komunikacijske strategije od kojih je česta prebacivanje, ukoliko vjeruju da njihovi sugovornici mogu pratiti takav razgovor. Ova studija slučaja se bavi komunikacijskim strategijama koje trojezična djevojčica najčešće koristi a koja govori hrvatski i ukrajinski jezik kao nasljedne jezike te njemački kao jezik okoline. Istraživanje je usmjereno na razgovor s ocem, koji koristi hrvatski jezik (svoj materinji jezik) u razgovoru sa svojim djetetom. Budući da je hrvatski najslabiji jezik ispitanice, očekivano je pronaći komunikacijske teškoće u razgovoru s ocem, pružajući na taj način autoru studije priliku za istraživanje strategija koje ispitanica koristi u rješavanju komunikacijskih problema u spomenutim okolnostima. Kako je očekivano ispitaničino korištenje prebacivanja kao komunikacijske strategije, idući cilj istraživanja je bio istražiti koji se tip prebacivanja (međurečenični, unutarrečenični ili unutar riječi) najčešće može pronaći u ispitaničinom govoru te koje vrste riječi ispitanica najčešće proizvodi prilikom prebacivanja. Studija je podijeljena u dva dijela. Najprije je proveden polu-strukturirani intervju s ispitaničinim roditeljima kako bi se prikupile informacije o njenoj osobnosti, korištenju jezika te prebacivanju koje se pojavljuje u ispitaničinom govoru. Drugi dio istraživanja obuhvaća snimanje ispitaničinog prirodno proizvedenog govora koji je potom transkribiran a zatim i analiziran kako bi se rezultati mogli usporediti sa zadanim ciljevima. Rezultati istraživanja potvrđuju da ispitanica najčešće koristi prebacivanje kao komunikacijsku strategiju u razgovoru s ocem (na hrvatskom jeziku), a osim prebacivanja, koristi i strategiju mimike te kontrole emocija. Najčešći tip prebacivanja, koji se pojavljuje u ispitaničinom govoru, je unutarrečenično prebacivanje, a slijede ga međurečenično te prebacivanje unutar riječi koje se pojavilo samo jednom. U trenutku prebacivanja, ispitanica najčešće proizvodi imenice kao vrstu riječi. Unatoč tomu što je njemački jezik ispitaničin dominantan 2 jezik, ona zaista na impresivan način, uz veliku potporu roditelja, sva svoja tri jezika održava aktivnima.

• Keywords: multilingualism; code-switching; five-year-old child; Croatian; Ukrainian; German
• Keywords (croatian): višejezičnost; prebacivanje; petogodišnje dijete; hrvatski jezik; ukrajinski jezik; njemački jezik
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:147:592915
• Study programme: Title: Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Programme of Study of Primary Teacher Education and Integrated Undergraduate and Graduate University Programme of Study for Primary Teacher Education with English and German Language; Study programme type: university; Study level: integrated undergraduate and graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja (magistar/magistra primarnog obrazovanja)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Access restricted to students and staff of home institution
• Created on: 2019-05-08 07:17:54