ICLSL 2016
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://repository.kln.ac.lk/handle/123456789/14246
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Item Word Formation in Tamil Baby Talk(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Wijeratne, W.M.This research is aimed at discovering the nature of the words used by Tamil children at the early stage of their language acquisition. Language is acquired by humans during the early part of their life. While acquiring a language they also try to communicate with people around them using either signs or words. These words may not be the same as the words used by adults in the language concerned. The adults who participate in conversation with children also imitate these words or use words specific to child language. Thus the words used in baby talks are somewhat different from those in the adult talk. The children in Tamil community are not an exception in this regard. In Tamil baby talks, children also employ specific words. They are called "koiy" and show different word formation patterns. Therefore, it is useful to study the nature of the formation of these words. Data was collected from different parts of Sri Lanka with the help of mothers and caretakers of children. The sample consists of children who belong to the age group year one to year four. Data was also collected through direct observation and participation. Collected data was analysed structurally on the basis of the structural linguistic method. The research indicates that words in baby talks are formed using several processes such as deletion, shortening, assimilation and substitution.Item The Logical Relationship between the Writing Errors and the Acquisition Order of the English Grammatical Morphemes(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Jeyaseelan, S.; Wijeratne, W.M.The study of the acquisition of the grammatical morphemes seems to be a key concern of this study in terms of the order of acquisition. Acquisition order is very much inter-related with the process of second language learning and acquisition. The grammatical morpheme like third person singular –„s‟ is acquired later than the other morphemes such as the plural-„s‟ and the past tense –„ed‟. The research problem is however, the teachers deal with the learners making errors in such morphemes repetitively. The objective is to investigate the logical relationship between the acquisition order and the errors. The first year students of the Faculty of Business Studies of Vavuniya Campus were selected as the sample. The convenient sampling method was used. The data were collected by conducting tests based on the nine grammatical morphemes. The findings reveal that the use of some morphemes the copula-„be‟, the auxiliary-„be‟, the possessive –„s‟, and the irregular past are used less than the plural –„s‟, the past tense –„ed‟, and the progressive –„ing‟. The reasons for less or no errors in the use of the morphemes can be attributed to the non-attempt nature and a strategy of the respondents to avoid using any forms difficult to be used correctly. There is a logical relationship between the findings of the ranking order of the morphemes based on the results of the closed test and the findings of their use in the creative writing assignment. The morphemes of the lower ranks in the closed-test are used less or not used at all in the creative writing.