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The Linguistic Affiliation Constraint and phoneme recognition in diglossic Arabic*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2010

ELINOR SAIEGH-HADDAD ,
IRIS LEVIN ,
NAREMAN HENDE  and
MARGALIT ZIV
ELINOR SAIEGH-HADDAD*
Affiliation:
Department of English (Linguistics Division), Bar-Ilan University, Israel
IRIS LEVIN
Affiliation:
School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
NAREMAN HENDE
Affiliation:
School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
MARGALIT ZIV
Affiliation:
School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Elinor Saiegh-Haddad, Department of English (Linguistics Division), Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 52900, Israel. tel: +972 3 531 8239; fax: +972 3 535 4062; e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This study tested the effect of the phoneme's linguistic affiliation (Standard Arabic versus Spoken Arabic) on phoneme recognition among five-year-old Arabic native speaking kindergarteners (N=60). Using a picture selection task of words beginning with the same phoneme, and through careful manipulation of the phonological properties of target phonemes and distractors, the study showed that children's recognition of Standard phonemes was poorer than that of Spoken phonemes. This finding was interpreted as indicating a deficiency in the phonological representations of Standard words. Next, the study tested two hypotheses regarding the specific consequences of under-specified phonological representations: phonological encoding versus phonological processing. These hypotheses were addressed through an analysis of the relative power of distractors. The findings revealed that children's difficulty in accessing Standard Arabic phonemes was due to a difficulty in the phonological encoding of Standard words. We discuss the implications of the findings for language and literacy development in diglossic Arabic.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , March 2011 , pp. 297 - 315
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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Footnotes

[*]

Our thanks are extended to the Price Brodi Initiative for supporting this study and especially to the director, Yehudit Shvili, for facilitating its implementation. We are also grateful to the children, teachers and school principals for participating in this study.

References

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