Choice of classroom language in bidialectal communities: to include or to exclude the dialect?

Yiakoumetti, Androula

doi:10.1080/03057640601179046

Cited by 37 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…We use this term after ‘semilingualism’ (Baker, 2001) to denote limited competence in their two proximal varieties. Studies on the island have already identified that students’ written SMG is laden with CG features (Yiakoumetti, 2006, 2007). Our study sheds light on the linguistic realities of students with proximal varieties: in the absence of language-policy support for harnessing and promotion of their native varieties, students seem to be left alone to identify crosslinguistic differences and similarities between the various varieties and this lack of support can comprise their linguistic repertoires.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In pursuit of this aim, a flourishing area of research has grown up around the premise that dialectal diversity may often have favorable outcomes and, in particular, that there is merit in assessing the potential for bidialectal programs in formal educational settings to produce beneficial learning outcomes. In Cyprus, Yiakoumetti (2006, 2007) demonstrated that the experimental introduction of bidialectal education (deploying the Cypriot Greek (CG) dialect alongside Standard Modern Greek) led to improved learning of the targeted standard variety. In Australia, Malcolm and Truscott (2012) provided evidence of positive influences on repertoire building when a bidialectal program (deploying Australian Aboriginal English alongside Standard Australian English) was introduced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Skewed Sociolinguistic Awareness of a Native Non-standard Dialect: Evidence from the Cypriot Greek Writing of Greek Cypriot Students

Ayiomamitou

Yiakoumetti

2017

Front. Psychol.

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Over the last 50 years, sociolinguistic research in settings in which a regional, social, or ethnic non-standard linguistic variety is used alongside the standard variety of the same language has steadily increased. The educational implications of the concomitant use of such varieties have also received a great deal of research attention. This study deals with regional linguistic variation and its implications for education by focusing on the Greek Cypriot educational context. This context is ideal for investigating the linguistic profiles of speakers of proximal varieties as the majority of Greek Cypriots are primarily educated in just one of their varieties: the standard educational variety. The aim of our study was to understand Greek Cypriot primary school pupils’ sociolinguistic awareness via examination of their written production in their home variety [Cypriot Greek (CG) dialect]. Our assumption was that, because written production is less spontaneous than speech, it better reflects pupils’ conscious awareness. Pupils were advised to produce texts that reflected their everyday language with family and friends (beyond school boundaries). As expected, students’ texts included an abundance of mesolectal features and the following were the ten most frequent: (1) palato-alveolar consonants, (2) future particle [ená] and conditional [ítan na] + subjunctive, (3) consonant devoicing, (4) CG-specific verb stems, (5) final [n] retention, (6) [én/ éni] instead of [íne], (7) CG-specific verb endings, (8) [én/é] instead of [ðen], (9) elision of intervocalic fricative [ɣ], and (10) CG-specific adverbs. Importantly, in addition to the expected mesolectal features that reflect contemporary CG, students included a significant and unexpected number of basilectal features and instances of hyperdialectism (that are not representative of today’s linguistic reality) which rendered their texts register-inappropriate. This led us to conclude that Greek Cypriot students have a skewed sociolinguistic awareness of variation within their first dialect and a distorted impression of their own everyday language. We argue that the portrayal of CG in its basilectal form was performed intentionally by students in an effort to distance themselves from a socially constructed identity of a rural, uneducated, and stigmatized non-standard-dialect speaker. The study is of international relevance as it deals with sociolinguistic issues that pertain to all bidialectal speakers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Skewed Sociolinguistic Awareness of a Native Non-standard Dialect: Evidence from the Cypriot Greek Writing of Greek Cypriot Students

Ayiomamitou

Yiakoumetti

2017

Front. Psychol.

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“…These two are distinguished by phonological, morphological, lexical and syntactic differences. However, there are also significant overlaps between the two varieties in pronunciation, grammar and lexicon (Yiakoumetti, 2006(Yiakoumetti, , 2007. It is interesting to note that the Greek-Cypriot dialect was also employed by Turkish-Cypriots before the 1974 invasion during their interactions with Greek-Cypriots, and it is still used among many Turkish-Cypriots and Greek-Cypriots during intercommunal interactions.…”

Section: The Linguistic Landscape Of Cyprusmentioning

confidence: 96%

Standard Modern Greek and Greek-Cypriot dialect in kindergarten classroom interaction: teachers' and learners' language attitudes and language use

Sophocleous

Wilks

2010

Language, Culture and Curriculum

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This study investigates language use and language attitudes in state kindergarten education in Cyprus. Kindergarten education is the primary setting where GreekCypriots learn to employ the standard variety on a systematic basis. Consequently, the context of kindergarten education is a principal setting for examining language attitudes and language variation. Specifically, this study examines whether teachers' ambiguities regarding language use exist in kindergarten education as in other levels of formal education and whether at the age of kindergarten education children's language attitudes towards the standard and non-standard varieties begin to develop. The data gathered via class observations and teacher interviews suggest that teacher ambiguities do seem to exist in relation to the use of the two varieties in the classroom and children do distinguish between the two language varieties, as they employ these on different speaking occasions in the classroom with their peers and teachers.

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“…Yet there are also significant overlaps between the two varieties in pronunciation, grammar, and lexicon (Yiakoumetti, 2006(Yiakoumetti, , 2007. Consequently, Greek-Cypriots code switch and code mix between the two depending on various factors relevant to the interactional exchange, such as the setting, speakers' relationship, profession, age, and topic of discussion.…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Two Languages in the Classroom: The Inconsistency Between National and Local Objectives of Formal Education in Cyprus

Sophocleous

2011

Journal of Language, Identity & Education

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Choice of classroom language in bidialectal communities: to include or to exclude the dialect?

Cited by 37 publications

References 23 publications

Skewed Sociolinguistic Awareness of a Native Non-standard Dialect: Evidence from the Cypriot Greek Writing of Greek Cypriot Students

Skewed Sociolinguistic Awareness of a Native Non-standard Dialect: Evidence from the Cypriot Greek Writing of Greek Cypriot Students

Standard Modern Greek and Greek-Cypriot dialect in kindergarten classroom interaction: teachers' and learners' language attitudes and language use

Two Languages in the Classroom: The Inconsistency Between National and Local Objectives of Formal Education in Cyprus

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