幼童語言及幼童導向語言中的自我重複現象

Abstract

自我重複現象在語言使用中經常發生。自我重複現象不僅在成人對話中常見，在成人與幼童對話中更為頻繁。過去的研究對成人對話中的自我重複多視為一種溝通策略，然而對成人與幼童對話中的自我重複卻僅限於視其為一種教導策略或學習策略。本研究的目的在於探討除了可能的教導或學習目的之外，在親子對話中母親與小孩是否及如何使用自我重複作為他們溝通的策略。換句話說，本研究認為需考慮幼童不僅是學習者也是溝通者這個事實。 本研究的參與者為12位說漢語的幼童及他們的母親。這些幼童可分為三個年齡層：兩歲組（2;1-2;7），三歲組（3;1-3;2），及四歲組（4;5-4;11），每組包括四位幼童（兩男兩女）。幼童與母親在家中的自然對話以錄影方式錄下，每對親子對話錄影一小時。所蒐集的語料以CHAT系統（MacWhinney, 2000）進行譯寫。然後對幼童語料中的自我重複現象以及母親語料中的自我重複現象進行形式與功能的分析，分類成4種形式及9種功能。 研究結果發現，幼童的自我重複在形式與功能的種類上隨年齡的增加而增加，顯示了發展上的變化。幼童顯然在自我重複中學習溝通，他們學習架構語句形式來達到特定的溝通需求。在母親的自我重複部分，研究結果發現，母親自我重複的頻率、形式、及功能都與幼童的年齡有關，反映了兒童導向語言的特性。母親的自我重複現象顯然顯示了母親在與認知及語言發展中的孩子對話時，特殊的互動敏感度及溝通需求。 Self-repetition, repetition of a speaker’s own utterances, has been noted as a pervasive phenomenon in language behavior. Self-repetition occurs frequently in adult conversation, and perhaps even more frequently in adult-child interaction. While self-repetition in adult conversation has been examined as a communicative strategy, it has often been treated merely as an instructive/learning strategy in adult-child conversation. The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how self-repetition, in addition to its potential instructive/learning purpose, may be used by mothers and children as a communicative strategy in mother-child interaction. In other words, this study attempts to take into account the fact that children are not only learners but also communicators. The participants of this study were 12 Mandarin-speaking children and their mothers. These children can be divided into three age groups: two-year-olds (2;1-2;7), three-year-olds (3;1-3;2), and four-year-olds (4;5-4;11); each group consisted of four children (two boys and two girls). The children’s natural conversation with their mothers was video-recorded in their homes. Each mother-child dyad was recorded for an hour. The collected conversation data were then transcribed using CHAT convention (MacWhinney, 2000) for analysis. Self-repetitions were identified in the children’s speech and in the mothers’ child-directed speech. The identified self-repetitions were further classified into four forms and nine functions according to the coding scheme used in this study. The results show that the children expanded their repertoires of both the forms and the functions of self-repetitions with increasing age, revealing a developmental change. It appears that in repeating, children are learning to communicate and to construct utterances to meet specific communicative needs. As for the mothers’ self-repetitions, the results showed that the frequencies, the forms, and the functions of the mothers’ self-repetitions were related to the ages of the children, reflecting the characteristics of child-directed speech. It appears that the mothers’ use of self-repetitions demonstrates their particular interactional sensitivity and communicative needs when addressing their cognitively and linguistically developing children.