Children and Language Choice: A Case Study of Abraka Speech Community
Keywords:
Language choice, plurilingualism, Abraka, ChildrenAbstract
In plurilinguistic societies, there are linguistic alternatives which are constantly available to speakers. Thus in communicative situations, speakers must decide, in the first place, the language(s) within which the communication is to be executed. However, such choice is driven by certain factors. In the present study, attempt is made to examine the typical language attitude of bi-/multi-lingual children in Abraka speech community. The goal is to investigate patterns of choice of language made in different domains by bi-/multilingual children residing in a multilingual society. The research work draws evidence from data elicited from 25 pupils from schools in Abraka town. The pupils were randomly selected, and information was elicited from them through structured interview and participant observation. The data are analyzed using descriptive frequency within the issue-focused framework.
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