variation and diversity in the nzsl community€¦ · david mckee, rachel mckee, & sara pivac...
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Variation and diversityin the NZSL community
David McKee, Rachel McKee, & Sara Pivac AlexanderDeaf Studies Research Unit
Victoria University of Wellington
Language, Education and DiversityNovember 2007
Outline• About sociolinguistic variation
• Some research findings from NZSL• Lexical variation - examples
• Addressing variation in NZSL education• Issues & strategies
Variation in language is normal
In all language communitiesvariation occurs in - lexicon,phonology, grammar,discourse
Variation is not random: it’spatterned by social factors(age, gender, region, ethnicity,sexuality, class, setting), andlinguistic factors
Knowledge of variation is part ofnative speaker competence
Choice of words/style connoteinformation about identity andsituation
Social meanings of lexicalchoice: example
Large scale studies ofsociolinguistic variation in SL
ASL (Lucas, Bayley & Valli 2001)
Auslan (Schembri & Johnston 2004)
NZSL (in progress)Large representative corpus - 138 signers, 3 agegroups, 5 sites (collapsed to 3 regions)3 data types: interview, conversation, lexicalStatistical analysis of correlation between severallinguistic variables and age, region, gender, ethnicity
Social Variables Age
- generational differences expected due toeducation history & contact with other signlanguages
Region- based on place of residence/school attendance
Gender- do patterns of gender difference in spoken
language change apply to SL?
Ethnicity - does Pakeha/Maori status relate to NZSLuse?
Lexical variation study NZSL & Auslan studies: 80 target items, known to vary
Meaning shown on flash card (picture or word) to elicitsign
Signs selected for different reasons: family, colours, time signs, numbers, classifier-based,
technology-change, ‘PC’, new concepts, old/TC signs
Social variables considered for this study: Age, region & gender Ethnicity not considered due to insufficient data
Effect of Age:FATHER
Overall 25%65+ yr signers 55%15-64 yr signers 14%
Overall 72%65+ yr signers 33%15-64 yr signers 86%
Change in progress
Effect of Gender:number 8
Males use this form of 8more than females
Effect of Region:MY
Overall 55%North signers 32%Central signers 70%South signers 56%
Overall 25%North signers 59%Central signers 10%South signers 15%
North vs Central/South
Effect of Age & Region:WORK (semantic change)
Overall 14%65+ yr signers 44%40-64 yr signers 6%15-39 yr signers 0
Region - favoured South
Overall 86%65+ yr signers 55%40-64 yr signers 92%15-39 yr signers 100%
Region - favoured North
Effect of Age & Region:AUGUST - from mouth to fingerspelling
Overall 56%65+ yr signers 72%40-64 yr signers 39%15-39 yr signers 62%
Region - favoured South
Overall 34%65+ yr signers 14%40-64 yr signers 47%15-39 yr signers 28%
Region - favoured North
Overall Age is the biggest factor in lexical variation. Generational
differences reflect change in the lexicon thru apparent time. Region - has an effect in fewer cases Gender - least significant factor
Social factors may interact in lexical choice, eg. Age + Region NZSL lexicon more standardised since TC in schools, post-1979:
less variation among younger signers than among older signers. TC has replaced many earlier NZ signs Some lexical items have several co-existing variants: a sign of
growth & relexification in progress, internal & external influences.
Implications forLanguage Planning
Research has important role in documenting variation disseminating information about reasons for social variation
to communities of interest – impacts attitudes andknowledge base
Deaf Education has important role in L1transmission & maintenance of NZSL competent language models; access to NZSL community
Developing L2 teaching resources selecting and introducing variation for learners
Conclusions
Extent of variation in NZSL shows: The language is changing fast in response to
social change in usage of NZSL Changes evident within community language use
through time - and within individual lifespans Sociolinguistic information is an important
foundation for planning for use of NZSL innew domains
Thanks
Sociolinguistic Variation in NZSL project info:http://www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/research/research-
projects.aspx
Thanks to George Major andanonymous participants forcontributing to this research.