Nativization

Nativizationis the process through which in the virtual absence of native speakers, a language undergoes newphonological,morphological,syntactical,semanticandstylisticchanges, and gains new native speakers.^[1]This happens necessarily when asecond languageused by adult parents becomes thenative languageof their children. Nativization has been of particular interest tolinguists,and tocreolistsmore specifically, where the second language concerned is apidgin.

It was previously thought by scholars that nativization was simply interlanguagefossilization,a step taken duringsecond-language acquisitionby learners who apply rules of their first language to their second. However, recent studies now suggest that nativization is simply another form of language acquisition. Several explanations ofcreolegenesis have relied on prior nativization of a pidgin as a stage in achieving creoleness. This is true forHall's(1966) notion of the pidgin-creole life cycle as well asBickerton'slanguage bioprogram theory.^[2]^[3]

There are few undisputed examples of a creole arising from nativization of a pidgin by children.^[4]^[5]

TheTok Pisinlanguage reported bySankoff & Laberge (1972)is one example where such a conclusion could be reached by scientific observation.^[4]A counterexample is the case where children ofGastarbeiterparents speaking pidgin German acquired German seamlessly without creolization.^[5]Broad treatments ofcreolizationphenomena such asArends, Muysken & Smith (1995)acknowledge now as a matter of standard that the pidgin-nativization scheme is only one of many explanations with possible theoretical validity.^[6]Additionally, the emergence of Nicaraguan sign language without a prior established set of symbols puts forth new questions regarding the process of nativization itself.

Strategies

It has been noted among many scholars that speakers adopt a few well-established strategies during the process of nationalization. These strategies are the generalization of grammatical rules and the transfer of features from other languages to the target language.

Extension of productive processes

One strategy that occurs during nativization is the extension of a source language’s grammatical, phonological, syntactic and semantic features.^[1]Unlike erroneous overgeneralizing of grammatical rules, it has been found that such instances of overgeneralization in the process of nativization are an extension of processes that are found in well-established varieties of English.

Philippines English:He has manyluggages.^[7]
Ghanaian:I lost all myfurnituresand many valuable properties.^[8]

In the examples given above, we can observe that the method of pluralizing a noun by affi xing -s has been extended to words that do not accept the suffix inAmericanorBritish English,in other nativized varieties of English.

This generalization of grammatical rules was interpreted to be similar to the overgeneralizing processes in the second-language acquisition, or of native language interference. However, it is argued that these are not erroneous but rather grammatical processes generated in the minds of the speakers.^[1]

Transfer of features from other languages

As nativization occurs in situations oflanguage contact,there is often influence between the superstrate language and thesubstrate languages.There will inevitably be transfers of features from one language to another.^{[citation needed]}

Phonological transfer

In emerging language varieties, speakers are often heavily influenced by the phonological characteristics of their native language. Other elements of speech such asprosody,speed, andstressare also similarly affected.

Lack ofdental fricativesinSingaporean English.

For most speakers of Singaporean English, the /θ/ and /ð/ are lost in the process of nativization, and instead have been replaced with /t, d/ at the start of words and /f, v/ at the end of words.^[9]This phenomenon is not unique to this particular variety of English, but can be found in various Southeast Asian, and African varieties as well.^[1]One reason for this is themarkednessof these sounds; they are rare cross-linguistically. See below for another example of phonological transfer inChavacano.

Stress patterns

The lexical stress patterns inSinglishis also significantly different from British^{[citation needed]}varieties. Notably, the stress of a word falls in the frontsyllable.^[10]

British English	Singapore English
COLLeague	collEAGUE
CHARacter	chaRACter

The diagram above shows where the stress is places in a lexical word according to the variety. Portions of the word that have been capitalized reflect where the stress is placed. In Singapore English, the word "colleague", for example, typically has stress on the second syllable, rather than the first.

Discourse transfer

With the intermingling of languages, transfer ofdiscoursenorms from one language to another also takes place.

Formal writing in British or American varieties of English values directness with a lack of literary flourish. However, English formal writing style inIndiais indirect and highly ornamental. This is directly influenced by the discourse style of various indigenous Indian languages which values indirectness and stylization in formalregisters.An example of such can be seen in this wedding invitation.

You are requested to make it convenient to reach here with family well in time to participate in all the connected ceremonies. In case you would like to invite anyone else from your side, kindly intimate the name and address.^[11]

The process of nativization is not only a linguistic process, but also a social one. The transfer of features from other languages into a target language may stem from ‘cultural embedding’. In the case of English nativization, English is often a functional language meant to serve as the language of communication in a multilingual, multi-ethnic community. This transfer of features from other languages to the target language is a variation of the extension strategy, but takes on a sociolinguistics slant. Speakers of this emergent varieties of English often view their unique pronunciations as a marker of cultural identity, rather than something to be correct^{[citation needed]}.These are acceptable ways to speak; in contrast, to imitate British or American English phonologies can come across as snobbish to a speaker’s speech community.

Language varieties that have undergone nativization

Solomon Islands Pijin

As their mother tongue,Pijinwas acquired from the urban adult population by a generation of children who were raised in urban areas. This resulted in changes in the variety of Pijin that they acquired. Reduction of the variation found in their parent’s speech can be observed. For example, thepronouncopy rule in this nativized variety of Pidgin was reduced.^[12]

Hem

FP

nao

TOP

hem

SP

bos.

Boss

'He is the Boss.'

Hem

FP

nao

TOP

bos.

Boss

'He is the Boss.'

After the Subject Pronoun in the first sentence is deleted, it becomes the subject (as seen in the second sentence).

Chavacano

As a result of nativization ofSpanish,unique Spanish varieties have emerged, as demonstrated by examples such asChavacanoin thePhilippinesand the different varieties of Spanish inSouth America.Feature changes are manifested at the phonetic/phonological,lexical,syntactic andpragmaticlevels.

Phonetic/phonological change

Cavite Chabacano, which is one of the Spanish contact varieties spoken in Cavite City, is a result of language contact betweenMexican Spanishand CaviteTagalog.It occasionally retains the pronunciation ofOld Spanish/h/, which is written but no longer pronounced in most contemporary Spanish varieties as a result of input from Mexican Spanish. For example,hablá‘to talk’ can be pronounced with or without the initial /h/.^[13]

Stress patterns that differ from Spanish are found in Cavite Chabacano due to the dialectal variation in Tagalog.^[14]

Stress Patterns
Spanish	Chavacano	Glossing
éllos	ilós	3SGpronoun
nosótros	nisós	1PLpronoun

Lexical change

Semantic shifthas occurred in a lot of Spanish words that have entered Cavite Chavacano as a result of nativization. For example,lenguajein general Spanish which means ‘style of speech’ has shifted to ‘national language’. The wordcuidadowhich means ‘caution’ can mean ‘will take charge of’ when combined with subject pronouns, such asyo cuidao‘I’ll take care of it’.^[15]

Syntactic change

Due to the influence of Tagalog, Cavite Chavacano usesVerb-Subject-Objectpatterns unlike Spanish which usesSubject-Verb-Objectpatterns.^[16]

Spanish:Ustedes enseñan a niños (SVO) para la escuela.

English:You all teach children (SVO) for the school.

Chavacano:Ta enseña ustedes na mga bata (VSO) para na escuela.

Nicaraguan Sign Language

The emergence ofNicaraguan Sign Language(NSL) provides an interesting insight into the process of nativization. It is a full natural language, developed by deaf Nicaraguan children in the absence of a language of their own. It is distinct from Spanish, and unrelated toAmerican Sign Languageor any othersign language.

When public schools opened in Nicaragua for deaf children, it advocated for an oral approach instead of a signing one.^[17]However, with the congregation of deaf children, many of them invented an indigenous sign language. The first generation of Nicaraguan Sign Language has been compared to a rudimentary pidgin; however, with the introduction of younger speakers into this language community, the language has been refined in the minds of these young speakers. These younger speakers, despite a rudimentary and impoverished language input, have produced a complex, full language. It has been said that NSL is a product of nativization, or Bickerton’s language bioprogram theory.^[3]

The emergence of NSL is special because it has emerged without the influence of a superstrate and substrate languages unlike most creoles, but rather came from an undeveloped sign system that was evolved by its own speakers. It raises interesting questions on the study of the mental processes of nativization.

References

^^a ^b ^c ^dLowenberg, Peter H. (1986)."Non-Native Varieties of English: Nativization, Norms, and Implications".Studies in Second Language Acquisition.8(1): 1–18.doi:10.1017/S0272263100005805.ISSN 0272-2631.JSTOR 44486848.S2CID 145152117.
^Taylor, Douglas; Hall, Robert A. (1967)."Review of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Robert A. Hall, Jr".Language.43(3): 817–824.doi:10.2307/411822.ISSN 0097-8507.JSTOR 411822.
^^a ^bBickerton, Derek (June 1984)."The language bioprogram hypothesis".Behavioral and Brain Sciences.7(2): 173–188.doi:10.1017/S0140525X00044149.ISSN 1469-1825.S2CID 144264276.
^^a ^bSankoff, Gillian; Laberge, Suzanne (1980-01-31),"10. On the Acquisition of Native Speakers by a Language",The Social Life of Language,Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,doi:10.9783/9781512809589-014,ISBN 978-1-5128-0958-9,retrieved2021-04-01
^^a ^bPfaff, Carol W. (1981)."Incipient Creolization in" Gastarbeiterdeutsch? "an Experimental Sociolinguistic Study".Studies in Second Language Acquisition.3(2): 165–178.doi:10.1017/S0272263100004150.ISSN 0272-2631.JSTOR 44487210.S2CID 146491510.
^Arends, Muysken & Smith (1995).
^Gonzalez, Andrew (1997),"Philippine English",Englishes around the World,Varieties of English Around the World, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, p. 205,doi:10.1075/veaw.g19.18gon,ISBN 978-90-272-4877-0,retrieved2021-04-02
^Purves, Alan C.; Kachru, Braj B. (April 1985)."The Other Tongue: English across Cultures".College English.47(4): 419.doi:10.2307/376966.ISSN 0010-0994.JSTOR 376966.
^David., Deterding (2010).Singapore English.Edinburgh Univ. Press.ISBN 978-0-7486-2544-4.OCLC 734061092.
^Deterding, D., & Hvitfeldt, R. (1994). The features of Singapore English pronunciation: implications for teachers.Teaching and Learning,15(1), 98-107.
^Kachru, Yamuna (March 1982)."English and Hindi".Annual Review of Applied Linguistics.3:50–77.doi:10.1017/S0267190500000659.ISSN 1471-6356.S2CID 145776184.
^Jourdan, Christine (1989)."Nativization and anglicization in Solomon Islands Pijin".World Englishes.8(1): 25–35.doi:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1989.tb00432.x.ISSN 1467-971X.
^German, Alfredo B (1939).The Spanish dialect of Cavite(Thesis).OCLC 20331644.
^Lesho, Marivic (2014).The sociophonetics and phonology of the Cavite Chabacano vowel system(Thesis). The Ohio State University.
^Lipski, J. M. (2001). Chabacano/Spanish and the Philippine linguistic identity.Shedding light on the Chabacano language: Learning from general linguistic and similar cases (= Estudios de Sociolingüística 2.2). Vigo: Universidad de Vigo,119-164.
^Mirative, Rommel M. (2009).Chavacano reader.R. David Paul Zorc. Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press.ISBN 978-1-931546-68-3.OCLC 703102739.
^Senghas, A. (1995). "The development of Nicaraguan Sign Language via the language acquisition process".S2CID 140986031.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)

[:2-1] Lowenberg, Peter H. (1986)."Non-Native Varieties of English: Nativization, Norms, and Implications".Studies in Second Language Acquisition.8(1): 1–18.doi:10.1017/S0272263100005805.ISSN 0272-2631.JSTOR 44486848.S2CID 145152117.

[2] Taylor, Douglas; Hall, Robert A. (1967)."Review of Pidgin and Creole Languages, Robert A. Hall, Jr".Language.43(3): 817–824.doi:10.2307/411822.ISSN 0097-8507.JSTOR 411822.

[:3-3] Bickerton, Derek (June 1984)."The language bioprogram hypothesis".Behavioral and Brain Sciences.7(2): 173–188.doi:10.1017/S0140525X00044149.ISSN 1469-1825.S2CID 144264276.

[:0-4] Sankoff, Gillian; Laberge, Suzanne (1980-01-31),"10. On the Acquisition of Native Speakers by a Language",The Social Life of Language,Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press,doi:10.9783/9781512809589-014,ISBN 978-1-5128-0958-9,retrieved2021-04-01

[:1-5] Pfaff, Carol W. (1981)."Incipient Creolization in" Gastarbeiterdeutsch? "an Experimental Sociolinguistic Study".Studies in Second Language Acquisition.3(2): 165–178.doi:10.1017/S0272263100004150.ISSN 0272-2631.JSTOR 44487210.S2CID 146491510.

[FOOTNOTEArendsMuyskenSmith1995-6] Arends, Muysken & Smith (1995).

[7] Gonzalez, Andrew (1997),"Philippine English",Englishes around the World,Varieties of English Around the World, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, p. 205,doi:10.1075/veaw.g19.18gon,ISBN 978-90-272-4877-0,retrieved2021-04-02

[8] Purves, Alan C.; Kachru, Braj B. (April 1985)."The Other Tongue: English across Cultures".College English.47(4): 419.doi:10.2307/376966.ISSN 0010-0994.JSTOR 376966.

[9] David., Deterding (2010).Singapore English.Edinburgh Univ. Press.ISBN 978-0-7486-2544-4.OCLC 734061092.

[10] Deterding, D., & Hvitfeldt, R. (1994). The features of Singapore English pronunciation: implications for teachers.Teaching and Learning,15(1), 98-107.

[11] Kachru, Yamuna (March 1982)."English and Hindi".Annual Review of Applied Linguistics.3:50–77.doi:10.1017/S0267190500000659.ISSN 1471-6356.S2CID 145776184.

[12] Jourdan, Christine (1989)."Nativization and anglicization in Solomon Islands Pijin".World Englishes.8(1): 25–35.doi:10.1111/j.1467-971X.1989.tb00432.x.ISSN 1467-971X.

[13] German, Alfredo B (1939).The Spanish dialect of Cavite(Thesis).OCLC 20331644.

[14] Lesho, Marivic (2014).The sociophonetics and phonology of the Cavite Chabacano vowel system(Thesis). The Ohio State University.

[15] Lipski, J. M. (2001). Chabacano/Spanish and the Philippine linguistic identity.Shedding light on the Chabacano language: Learning from general linguistic and similar cases (= Estudios de Sociolingüística 2.2). Vigo: Universidad de Vigo,119-164.

[16] Mirative, Rommel M. (2009).Chavacano reader.R. David Paul Zorc. Hyattsville, MD: Dunwoody Press.ISBN 978-1-931546-68-3.OCLC 703102739.

[17] Senghas, A. (1995). "The development of Nicaraguan Sign Language via the language acquisition process".S2CID 140986031.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)

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