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The role of literacy in the conceptualization of words: Data from Kannada-speaking children and non-literate adults

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Abstract

‘Metalinguistic skill’ has emerged as an important measure of the sophistication of an individual’s mastery of language. Some of the impetus for studies of metalinguistic skills, stemmed from an interest in its contribution to the acquisition of literacy. The central debate in these studies has been the issue of whether metalinguistic skills appear as a product of cognitive development or as a product of literacy instruction. In addition, there is also an increased interest in the cross-linguistic perspectives, given that replication of some of this research in non-alphabetic scripts are at variance with the earlier studies on alphabetic scripts. In the current study, identical experiments were conducted on a group of pre-school children and a group of non-literate adults, in Kannada, to investigate their understanding of the relationship between written language and oral language in particular their understanding of the relationship between the ‘word’ and its ‘referent’ and the effect of literacy acquisition on the same. Overall, the results support the view that acquisition of literacy has a significant influence on an individual’s conception of words, though an interaction between cognitive maturation and literacy exposure cannot be ruled out.

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Acknowledgements

The first study reported here was carried out by the first author, under the guidance of the second author, as a part of his Master’s dissertation in Speech and Hearing at the MVS College of Speech and Hearing. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Ms. Anita and Ms. Laavanya David, both formerly lecturers at the MVS College of Speech & Hearing, Mangalore for their support during the course of this study. We also thank the two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions, which contributed substantially to the final version of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication sciences and Disorders, Marywood University, MS Gowan Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA, 18505, USA

    Vijayachandra Ramachandra

  2. MVS College of Speech and Hearing, Mangalore, 575013, DK, Karnataka, India

    Prathibha Karanth

Authors
  1. Vijayachandra Ramachandra
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  2. Prathibha Karanth
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vijayachandra Ramachandra.

Appendix

Appendix

Experiment 1: List of notation, negation, and description phrases

I. Notation:

  • ondu na:yi

  • one dog

  • eradu na:yigalu

  • two dogs

II. Negation phrase:

  • na:yigalu illa

  • no dogs

III. Description phrase:

  • kempu na:yi

  • red dog

  • ni:li na:yi

  • blue dog

Experiment 2: Word cover and Word circle (Text-based tasks)

I. Word Cover task:

  • eradu chikka na:yigalu

  • two little dogs

  • mu:ru chikka na:yigalu

  • three little dogs

  • ondu dodda ni:li handi

  • one big blue pig

II. Word Circle:

  • marada melina pakshi

  • the bird on tree top

  • pustaka nirinalli te:lutide

  • book is floating in water

  • magu naguta: ide

  • baby is laughing

  • huduga shalege hogutida:ne

  • boy is going to school

  • makkalu kallu du:dutidare

  • children are pushing the rock

  • hudugaru gida nedutidha:re

  • boys are planting a tree

  • ivanu u:ta ma:duthidha:ne

  • he is having lunch

  • huduga pustaka odutida:ne

  • boy is reading book

  • idu avana ka:ru

  • this is his car

  • idu namma mane

  • this is our house

  • idu avana ka:lu

  • this is his leg

  • idu avana ta:yi

  • this is his mother

Pre-test Story

Mola Mathu A:Me

mola mathu a:me mithraru. avu dinavu paraspara betiyaguthidavu. ondu dina avu otada pandhyavanadalu thirmanisidavu. mola elliyu niladhe a:ru mailigalavarege odithu. a:dare a:me nidhanavagi sa:githu. idannu no:di mola ondu marada kelage malagi visharanthi padeyatodagitu. molakke a:yasavagidhudharindha adu nidhe maadi bittithu. Aame nidhanava:gi guriyannu talupi pandhyadalli gedhitu.

The rabbit and the tortoise

The rabbit and the tortoise were friends. They used to meet up everyday. One day they decided to run a race. The rabbit ran for six miles without stopping at any point, but the tortoise moved slowly. Seeing this, the rabbit slept under a tree and took rest. It fell asleep, as it was very tired. The tortoise moved slowly and reached the target and thus won the race.

Post-test Story:

Nari Mathu Drakshi

ondu dina ondu narige samiipadalliye: ondu drakshi to:ta ka:nisithu. tho:tada hathira bandaga adakke drakshiya gonchalugalu kaanisithu. narige tinallu aaseya:gi drakshi gonchalannu yetukisikollalu prayatnisithu. aadare narige avu yetukalilla. nari kelage bidhithu. che( i: drakshi bahala huli enutha: nari horatu ho:yitu.

The fox and the grapes

One day a fox saw a grape yard nearby. When he came near the grape yard he noticed a bunch of grapes. The fox had a desire to eat the grapes and tried to reach for it. But, the fox could not reach it. The fox fell down. The fox said-“Oh( These grapes are very sour” and went away.

Training Phase:

  • dodda chendu haladi ide

  • the big ball is yellow

  • kempu angi doddadide

  • the red shirt is big

  • chikka na:yiya banna kappu

  • the color of the little dog is black

  • kempu handi nidde ma:dide

  • the red pig is sleeping

  • dodda na:yiya banna bili

  • the color of the big dog is white

  • a:ne ondu dodda pra:ni

  • the elephant is a big animal

  • chikka a:meya mane iruvudu mele

  • the house of the little tortoise is on the top

  • avana angiya banna kempu

  • the color of his shirt is red

  • alli ka:nuvudu ondu mane

  • what you can see there is a house

  • dodda hu:vina banna haladi

  • the color of the big flower is yellow

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Ramachandra, V., Karanth, P. The role of literacy in the conceptualization of words: Data from Kannada-speaking children and non-literate adults. Read Writ 20, 173–199 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-006-9000-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-006-9000-7

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