Comprehension and Use of English Article by Urdu L1 Speakers in Pakistan

Authors

  • Iqra Yasmeen University of Sargodha
  • Musarat Nazeer M.Phil Scholar, Department of Linguistics and Language Studies, University of Sargodha
  • Azhar Pervaiz Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Language Studies, University of Sargodha

Keywords:

Netizens, Slang, social media, word formation, Clipping, Information structure, Markers of givenness, Definite articles, Indefinite articles, Referents

Abstract

The focus of this study is to find out the production and comprehension of definite and indefinite articles for the given and the new referents. The study involves 52 graduates and post-graduates aged eighteen to twenty-five years with normal language skills from the University of Sargodha (UOS). There are two parts of the study done in this paper, one is the production task which is based on a picture story (Schroder, Gemballa, Ruppin & Wartenburger, 2012), and the other task is the comprehension task which follows van Hout et al (2010) through the truth-value judgment task. The instrument of the study i.e. the questionnaire is divided into three parts. The third part of the questionnaire consists of the truth value judgment task, in which participants choose the right option by looking at the picture. Production and comprehension of the definite and indefinite articles as a mark of givenness show that participants have a better understanding of given referents as compared to the new referents. The results show that most of the participants responded with the right option for the given referents.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Iqra Yasmeen, University of Sargodha

 

 

Musarat Nazeer, M.Phil Scholar, Department of Linguistics and Language Studies, University of Sargodha

 

 

Azhar Pervaiz, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Language Studies, University of Sargodha

 

   

References

Fuchs, J., Domahs, U., and kauschke, K., (2021) Information structure in language acquisition. Production and comprehension of (in) definite articles by German-speaking children. Journal of Child Language (2021), 48, 55–87. Ids (2019). Folk. Informationen zum forschungs- und lehrkorpus gesprochenes deutsch.

John Benjamins de Cat, C. (2011). Information tracking and encoding in early L1: linguistic competence vs. cognitive limitations. Journal of Child Language, 38(4), 828–860.

Karmiloff-Smith, A. (1979). A functional approach to child language. A study of determiners and reference. Cambridge University Press.

Keydeniers, D., Eliazer, J., & Schaeffer, J. (2017). Definite-indefinite article choice development in Dutch child language. In S. Lestrade, & B. Le Bruyn (Eds.), Linguistics in the Netherlands 2017, 93–109. Amsterdam & Philadelphia:

München: Urban & Fischer. Sims, K. M. (1990). Children’s knowledge of indefinite and definite reference (Doctoral diss discourseertation). Durham University. Retrieved from http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6233/.

Schaeffer, J., & Matthewson, L. (2005). Grammar and pragmatics in the acquisition of article systems. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 23(1), 53–101.

Schafer, R. J., & de Villiers, J. (2000). Imagining articles: What ‘a’ and the can tell us about the emergence of DP. In C. S. Howell, S. A. Fish & T. Keith-Lucas (Eds.), Proceedings of the 24th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development 2 (pp. 609–620). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.

Schröder, A., Gemballa, T., Ruppin, S., & Wartenburger, I. (2012). German norms for semantic typicality, age of acquisition, and concept familiarity. Behavior Research Methods 44(2), 380–394.

Siegmüller, J., Kauschke, von Minnen, S., & Bittner, D. (2011). Test zum Satzverstehen von Kindern. Eine profilorientierte Diagnostik der Syntax (TSVK).

Szagun, G., Stumper, B., Sondag, N., & Franik, M. (2007). The acquisition of gender marking by young German-speaking children: Evidence for learning guided by phonological regularities. Journal of Child Language, 34, 445–471.

Van Hout, A., Harrigan, H., & de Villiers, J. (2010). Asymmetries in the acquisition of definite and indefinite NPs. Lingua, 120(8), 1973–1990.

Warden, D. A. (1976). The influence of context on children’s use of identifying expressions and references. British Journal of Psychology 67(1), 101–112.

Zehler, A. M., & Brewer, William F. (1982). Sequence and principles in article system use: an examination of a, and null acquisition. Child Development 53(5), 1268–1274.

Downloads

Published

2024-01-30

How to Cite

Yasmeen, I., Nazeer, M., & Pervaiz, A. (2024). Comprehension and Use of English Article by Urdu L1 Speakers in Pakistan. JELLL, 2(1), 49–66. Retrieved from https://ojs.aiou.edu.pk/index.php/jelll/article/view/1935