The Acquisition of Egyptian Arabic as a Native Language 9783110819335, 3110819333, 9789027924681, 9027924686

Citation preview

JANUA LINGUARUM STUDIA MEMORIAE NICOLAI VAN WIJK DEDICATA edenda curai C . H . VAN S C H O O N E V E L D Indiana University

Series Practica,

160

THE ACQUISITION OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC AS A NATIVE LANGUAGE

by

M A R G A R E T K . OMAR

1973

MOUTON THE H A G U E • P A R I S

Copyright 1973 in The Netherlands Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER:

Printed in Hungary

To the memory of Abdel-Hakim Omar 1898-1968

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe thanks to many persons for their advice and assistance to me while I was carrying out research for this project. I am especially grateful to Professors Daniel P. Dato and Wallace M. Erwin of Georgetown University for their guidance, and to Mr. and Mrs. Mohamed Ali Yousef of Sheikh Mubarak village, U.A.R., for their hospitality and help during the research period. Assistance received from Miss Fatma Omar and the late Omar H. Omar in the preparation of the research design is also much appreciated. And finally, I thank my husband, Hanai, for his patience and encouragement during the entire time the project was being completed and written up. Margaret K. Omar April, 1970

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

VII

List of Figures and Tables

XV

List of Symbols

XVII

1. Introduction 1.1. Scope of the Study 1.1.1. Goals of the Study 1.1.2. Need for the Study 1.2. Duration and Location of the Study 1.2.1. Duration 1.2.2. Location 1.3. Methodology Followed 1.3.1. Recordings and Transcriptions 1.3.2. Types of Speech Observed 1.3.3. Children in the Study 1.3.4. Families in the Village and in the Study 1.3.5. Approach Used with Village Residents 1.3.6. Assistance Received in Conducting the Study 1.4. Structural Sketch of the Language 1.4.1. The Root and Pattern System 1.4.2. Phonology 1.4.3. Morphology 1.4.4. Syntax

1 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 9 9 9 10 10 11

2. Basic Characteristics of the Physical and Family Environment . . . 2.1. The Physical Environment 2.1.1. The Village Surroundings 2.1.2. Family Homes 2.1.3. The Government Cooperative Unit 2.1.4. Physical Characteritics of the Children in the Study . .

13 13 13 13 14 14

X

CONTENTS

2.2. The Social Structure 2.2.1. The Extended Family 2.2.2. Roles of Family Members 2.2.3. Training of Children 2.2.4. Children's Daily Routines, Work and Games 2.2.5. Formal Education 2.2.6. Effects on the Social Structure on Children 2.2.7. Special Uses of Language 2.2.7.1. Story-telling and Singing 2.2.7.2. Memorization and Recitation 2.2.7.3. The Zikr 3. The Development of Phonology 3.1. The Phonological System in Adult Language 3.1.1. Consonants 3.1.1.1. Analysis and Classification 3.1.1.2. Realization 3.1.1.3. Allophones 3.1.1.4. Morphophonemic Alternation 3.1.1.5. Distribution 3.1.2. Vowels 3.1.2.1. Analysis and Classification 3.1.2.2. Realization 3.1.2.3. Allophones 3.1.2.4. Morphophonemic Alternation 3.1.2.5. Distribution 3.1.3. Functional Load of Phonemes 3.1.3.1. Consonants 3.1.3.2. Vowels 3.1.4. Syllable Types 3.2. The Babbling Stage 3.2.1. Theoretical Considerations 3.2.2. Data Obtained in This Study 3.2.3. Early Imitation 3.2.4. Classification of Data 3.3. Stages of Acquisition of the Phonological System 3.3.1. Theoretical Considerations 3.3.2. Stage I 3.3.3. Stage II 3.3.4. Two Intermediate Case Studies 3.3.5. Stage III 3.4. Order of Acquisition of Phonemes

15 15 17 17 18 19 20 20 20 21 21 23 23 23 23 24 25 27 27 28 28 28 28 30 30 31 31 32 33 34 34 36 37 38 40 40 43 45 49 52 53

CONTENTS

XI

3.4.1. 3.4.2. 3.4.3. 3.4.4.

Individual Phonemes Phoneme Combinations Summary Comparison with Phonemic Development in Other Languages 3.5. Imitation 3.5.1. Theoretical Considerations 3.5.2. Data Obtained in This Study 3.5.3. The Imitation Tests 3.5.4. Final Observations

53 57 58

4. Early Communication and Initial Vocabulary 4.1. Comprehension 4.1.1. Theoretical Considerations 4.1.2. The Comprehension Test 4.1.2.1. Results: Part 1, General Recognition of Objects . 4.1.2.2. Results: Part II, Object Manipulation 4.1.2.3. Results: Part III, Minimal Grammatical Contrasts 4.1.3. Conclusions 4.1.4. Effects of Other Factors on Performance 4.2. Early Speech and Vocabulary 4.2.1. Theoretical Considerations 4.2.2. Data Obtained in This Study 4.3. Baby Talk 4.3.1. Theoretical Considerations . . 4.3.2. Data Obtained in This Study 4.3.3. Linguistic Features 4.3.4. Social Context 4.3.5. Belief System

74 74 74 76 76 77 77 78 81 81 81 83 89 89 89 91 92 92

5. The Development of Syntax 5.1. Early Stages of Syntactic Development 5.1.1. Theoretical Considerations 5.1.2. The One-Word Stage 5.1.3. The Multi-Word Stages 5.1.3.1. Early Stage 5.1.3.2. Later Stage 5.2. The Acquisition of the Negative 5.2.1. Rules for Negation in Adult Language 5.2.2. The Negation Test 5.2.3. Child Syntactical Rules and Stages for Negation 5.2.3.1. Stage I

. . . .

58 60 60 61 64 72

93 93 93 101 102 104 Ill 117 117 120 124 124

XII

CONTENTS

5.2.3.2. Stage II 5.2.3.3. Stage III 5.3. The Acquisition of the Interrogative 5.3.1. Rules for Interrogation in Adult Language . 5.3.2. The Interrogation Test 5.3.3. Child Syntactical Rules and Stages for Interrogation . . . 5.3.3.1. Stage I 5.3.3.2. Stage II 5.3.3.3. Stage III 5.4. Summary

125 126 127 127 130 132 133 133 134 135

6. The Development of Morphology 6.1. Early Stages of Morphological Development 6.1.1. Theoretical Considerations 6.1.2. Some Characteristics of Early Morphological Development 6.1.2.1. Children E and F 6.1.2.2. Child 1 6.1.2.3. Child 2 6.1.2.4. Child 3 6.1.2.5. Child 4 6.2. The Acquisition of Inflectional Affixes for Noun Plurals . . . . 6.2.1. Rules for Pluralizing Nouns in Adult Language 6.2.1.1. Noun Inflections for Number 6.2.1.1.1. The Singular Form 6.2.1.1.2. The Dual Inflection 6.2.1.1.3. The Plural Inflections 6.2.1.2. The Use of Cardinal Numerals with Nouns . . . . 6.2.1.2.1. The Numerals 3-10 6.2.1.2.2. The Numerals 11 and Above 6.2.2. The Noun Plural Test 6.2.3. Child Rules and Stages for Noun Pluralization 6.2.3.1. Noun Inflections for Plural 6.2.3.1.1. Quantitative Results of the Test . . . . 6.2.3.1.2. Development of the Use of Plurals . . . 6.2.3.2. Noun Inflection for Dual 6.2.3.2.1. Quantitative Results of the Test . . . . 6.2.3.2.2. Development of the Use of the Dual . . 6.2.3.3. The Use of Nouns with Numerals 6.2.3.3.1. Quantitative Results of the Test . . . . 6.2.3.3.2. Development of the Use of Nouns with Numerals 6.3. The Acquisition of the Inflectional Affixes and Agreement for

136 136 136 139 139 140 141 142 143 144 144 144 144 145 145 148 149 149 150 157 157 157 159 162 162 163 165 165 165

CONTENTS

Adjectives 6.3.1. Rules for Adjective Inflection and Agreement in Adult Language 6.3.1.1. Adjective Inflections for Gender and Number . . . 6.3.1.1.1. Adjective Inflections for Gender 6.3.1.1.2. Adjective Inflections for Plural 6.3.1.2. Inflections for Comparison 6.3.1.3. Agreement of Adjectives and Nouns 6.3.2. The Adjective Test 6.3.3. Child Rules and Stages for Adjective Inflection and Agreement 6.3.3.1. Adjective Inflections for Gender and Number . . . 6.3.3.1.1. The Inflection for Gender 6.3.3.1.2. The Inflections for Plural 6.3.3.2. Agreement of Adjectives and Nouns 6.3.3.2.1. Agreement for Gender 6.3.3.2.2. Agreement for Number 6.4. Summary 7. Conclusion 7.1. Review of Findings in This Study 7.2. Implications for Theories Regarding Language and Primary Language Acquisition 7.3 Suggestions for Further Research Bibliography

XIII 168 168 168 168 169 170 171 172 177 177 177 177 181 181 183 185 187 187 189 196 199

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure: Map of Egypt

3

Tables: 1. Children Studied and Tests Administered 5 2. Families in the Village and in the Study 6 3. Physical Characteristics of Children in the Study 14 4. Consonant Phonemes 24 5. Vowel Phonemes 28 6. Imitations Produced by Child E 103 7. Imitations Produced by Child F 103 8. Imitations Produced by Manal 103 9. Imitations Produced by Wafa 105 10. Multi-Word Utterances Produced by Manal and Wafa 107 11. Semantic Similarities in Arabic and English P - 0 Constructions . . Ill 12. Imitations Produced by Sana 112 13. Multi-Word Utterances Produced by Sana, 113 14. Noun Phrase Constructions Produced by Sana 115 15. Number of Children Using Correct Noun Plurals, Real Nouns . . . . 158 16. Number of Children Using Plural Patterns, Nonsense Nouns . . . . 159 17. Number of Children Using the Dual Inflection 163 18. Number of Children Using the Correct Noun Form with Numerals. . 166 19. Number of Children Using Types of Adjective Plural Inflections . . . 1 7 8 20. Number of Children Using Correct Nominal-Adjective Agreement, Gender 182 21. Number of Children Using Correct Nominal-Adjective Agreement, Number 184 22. Age and Order of Acquisition of Arabic Language Structure . . 1 9 0

LIST OF SYMBOLS

Symbols will be listed according to the chapter and section in which they are introduced. Chapter 3 / / [ ] ' { } a / / — m. f. pi. sing. C V V ' vs. ~ > +

Slant lines enclosing phonemic transcription Brackets enclosing phonetic transcription Single quotes enclosing glosses (translations) Braces enclosing a morpheme Slant lines enclosing an allomorph Hyphen indicating a point of affixation Masculine Feminine Plural Singular Consonant Vowel Long vowel Primary stress Versus, as opposed to Alternating with Becomes, is realized as Plus, indicating obligatory concatenation of elements in a construction Syllable boundary Chapter 5

S P O W N Nfof Nindef NP Vneg Adj

5.1. Early Stages of Syntactic Development Sentence Pivot class word Open class word Word Noun Definite noun Indefinite noun Noun phrase Negated verb Adjective

XVIII Ad

?'de>c Adjdem Adjquant AdjP Pron Pronindef Nutn Loc Part H Mod Neg Pred Pred P

{( )}

LIST OF SYMBOLS Descriptive adjective Demonstrative adjective Quantifying adjective Adjective phrase Pronoun Indefinite p r o n o u n Numeral Locative particle Head Modifier Negative Predicate Predicate phrase I s r e w r i t t e n as P a r e n t h e s e s indicating a n optional element in a construction Braces indicating a l t e r n a t i v e elements; only one of t h e enclosed symbols occurs in t h e position in t h e construction 5.2. T h e Acquisition of t h e N e g a t i v e

V imper

Vpret Partie Prep Prep P Subj Obj PronpeT, Aux =>

T opt Niafite T opt N2aACid>ej,g T opt N,

Verb I m p e r a t i v e verb P r e s e n t tense verb Participle Preposition Prepositional p h r a s e Subject Object Personal p r o n o u n Auxiliary Is transformed to Optional negative t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s w i t h /mi§/ Optional negative t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s w i t h / m a - . . .-§/ Optional negative t r a n s f o r m a t i o n w i t h /1«6?/ 6.3. T h e Acquisition of t h e I n t e r r o g a t i v e

VP QW # / / 1 2 3 T opt Qt T opt Q2a,b

Verb phrase Question word Falling t e r m i n a l j u n c t u r e Rising t e r m i n a l j u n c t u r e L o w level of p i t c h Mid level of p i t c h H i g h level of p i t c h Optional interrogative t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , 'yes-no' t y p e Optional interrogative t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s , question word t y p e

LIST OF SYMBOLS

Chapter 6 6.2. The Acquisition of Inflectional Affixes for Noun Plurals Na Af Nfs Nms NP, Nsing Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule

Dual Plx Pl2 Pl3 Num

Noun stem Affix Feminine singular noun Masculine singular noun Plural noun Singular noun Optional dualizing morphophonemic rule Optional pluralizing morphophonemic rule, regular Optional pluralizing morphophonemic rule, collective Optional pluralizing morphophonemic rule, irregular Optional enumeration morphophonemic rule

6.3. The Acquisition of Inflectional Affixes and Agreement for Adjectives Adj s Adj Adj s2 Adjmt Adjfs Adjpi Ninan Ncott Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule Opt Rule

F1i2 Pl[ Pl2 Compl 2 Sup Adj Mod1 Adj Mod2 Adj Mod3 Adj Modt

Adjective stem Adjective of color Comparative adjective Masculine singular adjective Feminine singular adjective Plural adjective Dualized noun Inanimate noun Collective pluralized noun Optional feminizing morphophonemic rules Optional pluralizing morphophonemic rule, regular Optional pluralizing morphophonemic rule, irregular Optional comparison rules Optional superlative rule Optional adjective modification rule, number Optional adjective modification rule, inanimate nouns Optional adjective modification rule, collective nouns Optional adjective modification rule, definiteness

XIX

1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. SCOPE OF T H E STUDY

This study was undertaken to investigate some developmental stages by which children acquire Egyptian Arabic as a native language. Children were observed at various ages and stages of linguistic development. In addition to linguistic data, certain relevant ethnographic data were gathered, in order to provide additional information about socialization as related to primary language learning and the effects of social and environmental factors on linguistic development. The case study technique was followed. The inhabitants of one small village were selected for study, which provided an insight into a real, complete social and linguistic unit. All inhabitants of the village shared approximately the same standard of living and had approximately the same occupations, daily routines, education and income. Because of this, there were fewer socio-economic variables which had to be considered in evaluating family setting, childrearing attitudes, or children's performance than might be found in a more densely populated, urban area. 1.1.1. Goals of the Study Both general and specific goals of the study were based on suggestions for this type of field research project outlined in the publication, A Field Manual for the Cross-Cultural Study of the Acquisition of Communicative Competence,1 hereafter referred to as the Field Manual. The general goals were to determine the rate and order of linguistic development of the children studied. The specific goals included investigation of: 1. the basic characteristics of the physical and social environment in which the native language was learned; 2. the characteristics and development of early communication and speech; 1

Dan I. Slobin, ed., A Field Manual for the Cross-Cultural Study of the Acquisition of Communicative Competence, 2nd draft (Berkeley, Univ. of California Press, 1967).

2

INTRODUCTION

3. the stages and rate of development of the phonological system; 4. the stages of development of two syntactic transformations, the negative and interrogative transformations; 5. the stages of development of two complex morphological inflections, the plural of nouns, and the gender and plural of adjectives; 6. comparison of findings with those reported in studies of other languages, and testing hypotheses and generalizations about the acquisition of language by children. 1.1.2. Need for the Study The variety in the structure of natural languages is so great that information is needed about language acquisition in languages structurally different from 'western' languages. Most hypotheses and theories about primary language acquisition have been based on data gathered from children learning English and other Indo-European languages.2 There also have been proposals that certain grammatical structures are universal and that certain universal cognitive abilities are likely to be involved in language learning. These findings and proposals should be compared to those obtained in observations of the language learning process in non-western languages. Arabic is a Semitic language, with a structure very different from English. I know of no investigation that has been made to date regarding primary language acquisition in Arabic or any other Semitic language. 1.2. D U R A T I O N A N D LOCATION OF T H E S T U D Y

1.2.1. Duration The field work was carried out from June through September, 1968. Most of this period was spent in the village, with daily contacts with its residents. While in the village, interviews, examinations, and taping sessions were conducted daily. 1.2.2. Location

The village selected for study was Sheikh Mubarak, an extremely small village by Egyptian standards, with only about thirty families. They are families of small landowners, tenants, agricultural workers, or craftsmen, who work for the local landlord or in the surrounding area. 2

A list of studies of primary language acquisition in 21 languages is presented in Slobin, 1967, pp. 224-225.

INTRODUCTION

3

The village of Sheikh Mubarak is located in the district of Abu Qurqas, province of Al-Minya. This province is approximately in the middle of the country, about halfway between Alexandria and Aswan. It is considered part of Upper Egypt, which includes the whole area south of Cairo. The village is about five miles from the nearest town, Abu Qurqas, and about twenty miles south of the city of Al-Minya, the provincial capital and a major city in Upper Egypt (see Figure). The village is composed of a compact group of 35 houses, arranged along three lanes, and surrounded by a high mud-brick wall. Outside this enclosure and across the road to the east are the water pump and well, mosque, and roads leading to the fields, Abu Qurqas, and the Government Cooperative Unit. North of the wall is the landlord's house. To the west lies West Village, /?ilyarb/, another large group of houses connected with a neighboring farm. In this village is located the local school. To the south of the village are fields.

4

INTRODUCTION

1.3. METHODOLOGY FOLLOWED

1.3.1. Recordings and Transcriptions The procedure followed was to select children ranging in age from approximately six months to 15 years and to record their utterances on tape and in phonetic transcription. Because of the short duration of field work, several children representing each age group or level of linguistic development were selected. Utterances were later analyzed to discover patterns and stages in development approaching the adult model. 1.3.2. Types of Speech Observed Smaller children were recorded in dialogue situations and free conversation. Comprehension and imitation tests were administered to children up to age 7, and grammar elicitation tests were administered to all children in the study. The four children under age 2% were too young to be tested. 1.3.3. Children in the Study Altogether 37 children were included in the study. All resided in Sheikh Mubarak village except the children of one family who lived in West Village (Children 16 and 25) and one child (Child 3) who lived in the landlord's house because his mother was a servant there (she is a native of Sheikh Mubarak). They were of at least normal health and intelligence, and all knew each other and had daily contact with each others' families. Table 1 shows the children studied, their age and sex, and which tests were administered to each child. The spelling of names is regularized, not in phonemic transcription. (The symbol /