Exploratory task 1.3

Compare the language of normative English and Hawaiian Creole English. Write your observations notes in the space provided. Comment on the structures, cause-and-consequence relationship in sentences, use of negations, choice of words, typical language inaccuracies.

Standard English	Creole English
The two of us had a hard time	Us two bin get hard time
He doesn't want to play because he's lazy	He lasy 'a'swhy he no like play
The one who falls first is the loser	Who go down first is loser
She can't go	She no can go
She hasn't money	She no more money
Observation notes:

Exploratory task 1.4

Compare Creole child English and the British child English (After Durkin D. 1995.Language Issues. Longman). Write your observation notes in the space provided. Answer the questions: How do children express negations? How do children express comparisons? How do children give orders? How do children ask questions?

Creole Child English	British Child English
Where I can put om?	Where I can put it?
Nobody no like me	Nobody don't like me
I no like do that	I no like do that
Johny big more than me	Johny big more than me
Make Daddy get pen write am	Let Daddy get pen write it
I more better than Johny	I more better than Johny
Observation notes:

Input reading 2 Universal Grammar

For the Language Acquisition Device to work, the child needs exposure to the samples of the natural language. This encounter triggers the LAD functions. When the device is activated the child is able to discover the rules of the language. These general language rules are called Universal Grammar (UG). The guess is that children must be born equipped with "Universal Grammar" (UG). Universal Grammar is characterised with certain universal ways to construct the meaningful utterances at the very start of using the language. These universal ways are demonstrated by children around the globe (Chomsky, N. 1986. Knowledge of Language. It's Nature, Origin and Use. N.Y. P. 43). It is possible to suppose that in the brain there is a pre-wired schema for processing the language. A schema is a route in the brain, which channels the process of language processing (Harley, T. 1995. The Psychology of Language. Psychology Press. P. 193). The sudden realisation that things have names appears to lead to a surge of "labelling" the world around. Gradually the labels unite in structures, the children discover the existence of prepositions etc. The first discoveries such as that words can label the world around are called the language principles. A typical phenomenon of the child’s first grammar is called "pivot grammar" because all the sentence revolve around a “pivot” word, e.g. “Daddy come”, “Daddy go”, Want ball”, “Want milk” etc. A simple utterance "Daddy car" could mean "Daddy is washing the car", That's Daddy's car", "Daddy's under the car" (Aitchison. J. 1999. The Articulate Mammal. An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. L. N.Y. P. 116-117). Interestingly, children all over the world seem to talk about very similar things at the two-word stage. Requests such as "Want milk", rejections such as "No wash", questions such as "Where Daddy?" are typical for geographically widely separated children and their pivot grammar (Aitchison. J. 1999. The Articulate Mammal. An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. L. N.Y. P. 143).

Exploratory task 2.1

Match the following types of early sentences produced by children with their examples.

Type	Examples
Attributive Agent-action Action-object Agent-object Pointing at Showing where Asking for more Disappearance Possessive Object-place Action-place	Daddy hit Hit ball More ball Daddy ball That ball There ball All-gone ball Daddy chair Book table Go store Big house

Data of Brown cited in Harley, T. 1997. The Psychology of Language. Psychology Press. P. 370).

Generative grammar

First the children learn the primitive structures, which constitute the Universal Grammar of language acquisition. Later they learn how to extend the structures and gradually acquire the rules of Generative Grammar. E.g. a child can say "Want soup", "Want more soup", "I want some more soup", "I want some more soup, please Mummy" etc. (After Aitchison, J. 1999. P. 170-173). In acquiring “generative grammar” the children proceed from “language principles” (discoveries that in the language there are words for things, processes, qualities and attitudes, that using the language one can manipulate the behavior of other people, that words can be connected with prepositions and conjunctions”, that sentences can be made longer etc). Further discoveries are that “language principles” function through “language switches” or “language parameters”. In the Turkish language the case system is extremely difficult. The Turkish children first ignore their native case system using the universal principle of joining the words together without inflections. Later they acquire the necessary “switches”. In acquiring the “switches” the children acquire the core grammar and periphery grammar. The “core grammar” is governed by rules and is highly predictable by the language generalities. The “periphery grammar” is made of exceptions to the rule and is predictable by the typical language use. The “core grammar” is necessary to use the language correctly from the point of the language system. The “periphery grammar” is necessary to use the language authentically from the point of native language use.

Exploratory task 2.2

Give examples of the English “core grammar” (cases that are fully consistent with the rules” and “periphery grammar” (cases that are exceptions to the rules)

Core grammar	Periphery grammar
In spelling
In pronunciation
In morphology (e.g. plural of nouns, use of tenses)
In syntax (e.g. word order)