Indian Journal of Language and Linguistics

Language Choice Among Children of Couples of Different Languages: A Case Study of Techiman Municipality in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana

Sylvester Kwabena Anto, Elvis ResCue, Victoria Nana Poku Frimpong — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ghana is a multilingual country with an average Ghanaian being exposed to at least more than one language. This linguistic situation often impacts language choices among bi/multi-lingual families where parents from different linguistic backgrounds face the reality of deciding which language(s) to expose their children to. This study investigates possible opportunities and challenges that the children of Ghanaian couples of different languages face in choosing the language(s) to speak with either parents or both parents at home using families in Techiman in the Bono East Region of Ghana as a case study. The study, therefore, sought to answer the key question, “What language(s) do children of couples of different languages speak at home with their parents?” Using the purposive sampling technique, the study collected data using questionnaires which were analysed using the bivariate data analysis procedure of Content Analysis (CA). The analyses of the data show that the children of couples of different languages spoke English and Twi/Bono as the major unmarked codes used at home. Some other languages such as Dagomba/Mampruli, Gonja, Sissala, and Hausa were also used at home by a minority of the respondents. The study further found that speaking multiple languages helped the children to make friends seamlessly and to participate in school, church, and mosque activities, and the languages play certain roles in those domains. The study also shows that the main domains where the children of Ghanaian couples of different languages choose a particular code or language are schools, churches, and markets. The outcome of the study contributes to studies on family language use and has implications for language maintenance.

On Indo–European /H/

Xaverio Ballester, Peter Dunphy-Hetherington — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The existence of a phoneme /h/ in Proto–Indo–European is still the subject of debate in academic circles. While the supporters of the laryngeal theory take its existence foregranted along with other phonemes of an abstractly laryngeal nature, the detractors of this theory are basically divided between those who deny its existence and those others, supporters of the so–called monolaryngealist theory, who do accept its existence.

Code-mixing in Chhattisgarhi Conversation of Undergraduate Students

Shabiya Noor Mansuri, Kothakonda Suman — Sun, 24 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper investigates code-mixing in Chhattisgarhi based on conversation collected from the undergraduate students in the district of Gourella-Pendra-Marvahi (GPM). In India, lexical items from other languages are often mixed in most of the Indian languages since it is a multilingual country. In fact, this happens in Chhattisgarhi conversation by mixing English words in various situations. English language is used in India as second and foreign language in different places. So, the possibilities of mixing English words in Chhattisgarhi are commonly found in the spoken data. Code-mixing is a phenomenon in the society in which speakers mix words for various reasons. This paper focuses on the nature of code-mixing, the significance of code-mixing, how Chhattisgarhi undergraduate students mix English words, phrases, idioms, baster forms and clauses and the reasons for code-mixing in their Chhattisgarhi conversation. In this study, data was collected from twenty Chhattisgarhi undergraduate students at Pandit Madhav Rao Sapre College in Pendra Road of GPM district. Descriptive qualitative method was used and the informal conversations were collected from undergraduate students in different situations. The data was collected from the students through the audio-recorder in the natural settings. The recorded audio has been transcribed in IPA script, analyzed and discussed in detail in this paper. The participant of one of the researchers also helped to draw on first-hand observation through her membership in the community. The findings reveal that undergraduate students mix considerably English words, phrases, baster forms and clauses in Chhattisgarhi conversation. It is also identified that certain Chhattisgarhi case markers were attached to the English words and the insertion of sounds were found within the words i.e., intra-lexical code-mixing which leads to change the actual pronunciation of the word. The findings disclose the attitudes and opinions of undergraduate students while mixing the English elements and the main reasons for code-mixing in Chhattisgarhi conversation.

Profiling word retrieval abilities in persons with aphasia - A preliminary study

Yashaswini Channabasave Gowda, Hema Nagaraj — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Various methods are used to elicit the naming responses. The current study aimed to assess different naming abilities in persons with aphasia. Naming abilities were assessed using varied types of naming tasks for PWA. PWA was subjected to eight types of naming tasks [Confrontation Naming (CN), Phonemic Fluency (PF), Semantic Fluency (SF), Serial Naming (SN), Ordinate Naming (ON), Automated Naming (AN), Responsive Naming (RN) and Sentence Completion (SC)] and compared with age, education matched neurotypical individuals (n=15). The assessment was carried out in the Kannada Language. The raw scores obtained for each task were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis. On eight naming tasks, neurotypical individuals performed better than persons with post-stroke aphasia. Mann Whitney U test revealed a significant difference in the phonemic fluency task in both groups of participants with a value less than 0.05. Friedman analysis with adjusted Bonferroni showed a significant difference in pairwise comparison for eight naming tasks. Among which pairs with phonemic fluency task had a significant difference in both the groups (p< 0.05). The correlation between language impairment in PWA and types of naming was studied using WAB AQ scores with accuracy scores on different types of naming tasks. A significant correlation was seen between WAB AQ and the Phonemic fluency task. The nature of the task and the factors affecting the naming of each task influence the performance of the individuals. PWA has a difference in brain mechanism for naming compared to NTI. Phonemic fluency is recommended for regular naming assessments as it is simple, easy, and quick to administer. Also, it taps both the cognitive and linguistic abilities of an individual. Language impairment and different types of naming are well related in the current study. The need to assess all types of naming to understand the word production deficit is justified.