Cross-linguistic interactions in the spontaneous productions of preschoolers who speak Jamaican-Creole and English

ABSTRACT

Knowledge of typical cross-linguistic interactions in bilingual speakers is important for informing clinical practice and avoiding misdiagnosis of typically developing bilingual children as disordered. The present study investigated cross-linguistic interactions in the spontaneous productions of Jamaican Creole (JC)-English speaking preschoolers. Participants in this study were 61 JC-English bilingual preschoolers (aged 4;2-5;10). The Index of Productive Syntax (IPSyn) and token-based analyses were used to quantify and characterize preschoolers’ cross-linguistic interactions. Within-utterance cross-linguistic interactions identified using the IPSyn framework (Noun Phrases, Verb Phrases, Questions/Negation, Sentence Structures) were present for 49.6% and 41.7% of linguistic structures, in JC and English respectively. Token-based analysis revealed cross-linguistic interactions, with syntax being the most often involved in the JC context and phonology in the English context, for both within- and across-utterance analyses. Children used cross-linguistic interactions more often in the JC context, at an average rate of 44.9%, compared to an average rate of 27.8% in the English context. Most cross-linguistic interactions occurred towards the end of the language sample for both languages. The results of this study provide specific knowledge regarding JC-English preschoolers’ cross-linguistic interactions in spontaneous speech. This knowledge is critical to increasing speech-language pathologists’ cultural competence and responsivity for interpreting dynamic language use in this bilingual population.

KEYWORDS:

• Jamaican Creole
• English
• expressive language
• narrative
• cultural and linguistic diversity
• bilingual
• Index of Productive Syntax
• code-switching
• assessment

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge dissertation committee members (Nancy Creaghead, Amy Hobek, Lesley Raisor-Becker, and Jennifer Vannest); the Jamaican Language Unit; Professors Laura and Richard Kretschmer; and research assistants Melanie Basinger, Corrine Deutenberg, Julia Scherler, and Cecilia Schwartz for their support. We would also like to thank the educators, families, and children who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by in part by an Endowment to the Jamaican Creole Language Project and the U.S. Department of Education: [Grant Number H325D160007]. The first author was a recipient of the US Department of Education OSEP Preparation of Special Education and Early Intervention grant that funded her doctoral studies. The second author is a lead faculty member on this grant with salary support provided.