This week Suzanne Hopf began studying her PhD with me. She is based in Fiji and will be undertaking her PhD as a distance education student (Charles Sturt University has many PhD students who successfully complete their PhDs by distance education). Suzanne's proposed topic and abstract is below. I am looking forward to our journey together as we learn from multilingual children in Fiji.
Title:
An analysis of speech sound acquisition patterns and phonological awareness
skills in simultaneous and sequential learners of Fiji English
Fiji, in the South Pacific Ocean, has a
rich cultural mix and a remarkable degree of linguistic diversity for a country
of less than a million people (Mangubhai & Mugler, 2006). This study is
primarily concerned with the Fijian dialect of English known as “Fiji English”. Fiji English is spoken by the majority of Fijian residents but with diverse
levels of proficiency and dialectical variance (Tent & Mugler, 2008). It is
also the dominant language of the Fijian school system with children receiving
the majority of their instruction and materials in English even though they may
have had minimal contact with English prior to commencing school (Shameem, 2002
& 2007).
Fijians, like other Pacific Island
nationals, have a strong presence around the world. Significant immigrant
numbers are recorded in many English speaking countries including Australia,
New Zealand and the US. It is apparent that speakers of Fiji-English are in the school
systems of these and other English speaking countries, even if their specific
numbers are currently unknown. An understanding of the unique nature of English
dialects, such as Fiji English, will help elucidate the impact of any potential
speech sound disorder or delay and its subsequent influence in all areas of the
academic curriculum, particularly literacy and English language studies (Hambly
et al., 2013; Hus, 2009; McCormack et al., 2011).
Little is currently known about Fijian
children’s speech acquisition or early literacy skills despite research
concerning the linguistic profiles of adults speaking indigenous (Fijian),
adapted (Fiji-Hindi) and adopted (Fiji English) languages. As such, the proposed study aims are
threefold. Firstly, to describe the characteristic phonetic inventories and
developmental pattern of speech sound acquisition in 4- to 7-year-old children who speak Fiji English.
Secondly, to evaluate emergent literacy skills, such as phonological awareness,
in the same population. Finally to compare the patterns of both speech sound
and literacy development to age matched monolingual Australian English
speakers. Data obtained will help to elucidate the unique
linguistic characteristics of Fiji English, so that if necessary, appropriate
accommodations and modifications can be made to future learning environments and
materials to which these children are exposed.
