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The current study examines students' beliefs about languages in general, their overt attitudes towards Cypriot Greek and the status that is accorded to this variety. Results, from a quantitative research approach, show that the Cypriot Greek variety is in a process of changing status and it seems that it is appreciated more than in the past (Papapa...
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... Moreover, a vast body of recent studies that investigated the language attitudes of learners is either fixed on mother tongue against the background of multilingualism, restricted on the learning of a particular foreign language, or unrelated to the possible learning gains of the learners (e.g. Hohenthal, 2003;Rahman, 2008;Chalak, & Kassaian, 2010;Galloway, 2011;Liu & Zhao, 2011;Bobkina, & Fernandez, 2012;Mamun, Rahman, Rahman, & Hossain, 2012;Yang, 2012;Asmari, 2013;Tahaineh & Daana, 2013;Becker, 2014;Beyogle, 2014;Goktepe, 2014;Ahmed, 2015;Samadani & Ibnian, 2015;Agbalu, 2016;Deji-Afuye, 2016;Naima, 2017;Papapavlou & Mavromati, 2017;Salmon & Menjívar, 2017;Tódortodor & Dégi, 2017;Bouhmama & Dendane, 2018;Makelä & Posti, 2018;Mbato & Kharismawan, 2018;Teklesellassie & Boersma, 2018;Zebaria, Allob, & Mohammadzadehc, 2018;Dharmaputra, 2019;Nduwimana, 2019;Fischer & Niebuhr, 2020;Orfan, 2020;Tsunemoto & McDonough, 2020;Vennela & Kandharaja, 2020;Yilmaz, 2020). ...
The influence of language attitude on the academic achievement of young children in the monolingual context has not been explored. Thus, this research ascertained the degree of relationship between attitudes toward the mother tongue and the academic performance of the learners. It entailed correlation research design. The respondents were 20 Grade II pupils in a rural public school considered as monolingual in the southern Philippines. The data gathered were treated using frequency distribution, weighted mean, percentage rate, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. It was found out that there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward the mother tongue and the academic performance of learners. Amid the vast body of diverse researches in the area of language education, the present study weaves pieces of evidence that attitudes of learners toward mother tongue are associated with their academic performance in the context of a monolingual environment. It is suggested that such a conclusion should be further tested in other contexts.
... grecs envers le dialecte deviennent de plus en plus une réalité est traduite par l'usage du chypriote grec au sein de plusieurs domaines de la vie quotidienne (Papapavlou, A. & Mavromati, 2017;Yiakoumetti & Ayiomamitou, 2017). ...
... Cette réalité était clairement attestée lorsqu'on a essayé de changer la dénomination de certains toponymes géographiques et que le peuple s'est nettement opposé à une partie de ces propositions. À la suite de ces faits, l'on peut affirmer qu'il existe un prestige covert qui signifie que les locuteurs maintiennent des attitudes positives envers le chypriote grec, mais ces attitudes sont cachées (Yule, 2010, p. 258 Des recherches diverses ont démontré qu'aujourd'hui l'usage du chypriote grec est étendu dans les domaines jusqu'à récemment interdits au dialecte et que son usage était considéré comme inapproprié : on l'utilise désormais dans des contextes formels et informels remplaçant l'usage du grec moderne standard dans un nombre élevé de cas (Themistocleous, 2009(Themistocleous, , 2010Papapavlou, 2010Papapavlou, , 2017. Par exemple, le chypriote grec contemporain (ou au moins son niveau acrolecte) est aujourd'hui utilisé dans les contextes formels ou demi-formels tels que la salle judiciaire, les discours publics, les cours universitaires et les médias. ...
... De telles mentalités émergent des croyances erronées que le locuteur possède envers un code, celui considéré comme inférieur, des idées fausses qui ne cessent d'être alimentées dans l'éducation. Il est démontré que les locuteurs qui ne maintiennent pas de fausses croyances envers les langues officielles, autrement dit qui ne les considèrent pas comme supérieures, apprécient et attribuent plus de valeur au dialecte que les autres locuteurs.Les locuteurs, qui n'ont pas une pensée fixe et dépassée envers les langues officielles et qui sont loin des idées qui dictent et accordent une autorité absolue à la langue officielle, utilisent le dialecte dans des contextes plus variés(Papapavlou, A. & Mavromati, 2017). Ceci est observé parmi les locuteurs à Chypre, donnée qui permet à Papapavlou etMavromati (2017) ...
Nous ne sommes pas réalistes si on affirme qu’un locuteur peut parler ou maitriser une langue parfaitement. Il est vrai qu’un locuteur peut maitriser honorablement les règles linguistiques, pourtant cognitivement parlant, cela ne signifie pas trop. Les relations cognitives qu’on entretient avec les langues du monde dépassent la dimension linguistique amplement analysée aux manuels scolaires. Parler une langue veut dire être capable d’exister dans cette langue, en ce sens que son être y est inscrit. On est dirigé par son intuition linguistique pour s’exprimer spontanément et conformément au génie de cette langue. Toutefois, toutes les relations cognitives qu’on entretient avec les langues du monde, sont assujettis au temps et aux circonstances de vie; elles peuvent soit évoluer, détériorer mais toujours se modifier. En ce sens, le locuteur est un locuteur inachevé, un être inachevé, perfectible à l’infini. Ceci est une des principes du cadre théorique que nous adoptons à cette thèse; la théorie de la néoténie linguistique. Il s’agit d’une étude scientifique des langues et de leur appropriation par les locuteurs, dans laquelle la dichotomie, faits de langue/faits d’appropriation y sont traités comme une entité.Dans cette étude nous utilisons le cade théorique de la néoténie linguistique et en adoptant ses termes et notions, nous examinons le cas intéressent du locuteur chypriote-grec. Un locuteur dont le paysage linguistique est au moins compliqué. La première (chronologiquement) langue de ce locuteur est le dialecte chypriote-grec, mais puis pendant sa scolarisation on doit s’exprimer et écrire en grec moderne. Certains locuteurs affirment que dans leur vie quotidienne ils parlent le grec moderne, des autres le chypriote-grec et en même temps les chercheurs semblent être indécis sur ce sujet. À cela s’ajoute la présence de facto du moins trois encore langues; l’anglais, le français et le turc. Avec la théorie de la néoténie linguistique, nous essayons de fournir d’attribuer nous aussi à la divergence du parler local du grec moderne et d’examiner les relations cognitives de ses locuteurs avec les langues trouvées dans leur environnement linguistique.
... Contemporary CG is employed by all Greek Cypriots independently of their socioeconomic backgrounds. Various researchers on the island argue that today's CG has expanded in domains which previously dismissed the dialect as inappropriate: its use has taken over both formal and informal domains replacing the use of SMG in a substantial number of cases (Themistocleous, 2009(Themistocleous, , 2010Papapavlou, 2010Papapavlou, , 2017. For example, contemporary CG (or at least its acrolectal levels) are now used in formal or semi-formal domains such as the court, public speeches, university lectures and the media. ...
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.
The aim of this research was to investigate the teaching of pluricentric languages as heritage languages in Finland, examine how they are perceived, and explore the expectations related to their teaching. Moreover, the study aimed to identify successful approaches in the teaching of pluricentric heritage languages. The motivation for conducting this study was my personal experience of teaching a pluricentric language as a heritage language and the limited coverage of this topic in academic literature. In addition, the lack of attention paid to attitudes in heritage language studies was also noted in the literature. The method used is a direct measures approach. Respondents provided their answers through a questionnaire predominantly including Likert-scale statements. The findings indicate that there is a desire to improve communication among the stakeholders in heritage language teaching. Respondents expressed positive attitudes towards groups with different language varieties and active inclusion of different varieties in class. They believed that all varieties should be treated as equally valid, and teachers should not treat forms of other varieties as mistakes. Studying in a linguistically heterogeneous group was seen as an enriching experience that can contribute to combating prejudices and building solidarity among speakers. The limitations of the study included a small number of respondents and imbalanced material in terms of language. The findings of the study have practical implications for heritage language coordinators and educators in their planning and teaching activities, as well as for policymakers seeking to enhance heritage language education. Additionally, the study advances the academic discourse on heritage language teaching and suggests areas for further research. Heritage language teaching in general requires significant improvement to achieve its aims. The study highlights the importance of addressing issues in pluricentric heritage language teaching and implementing strategies that promote positive attitudes towards language varieties and effective communication between coordinators, teachers, and guardians.
Although English is the official language of the University of Buea (UB), Cameroon Pidgin English (CPE) is quite commonly used on campus, particularly in extra curricula situations by Anglophones, who have it as their language of wider communication (LWC). However, Francophone students, some of whom meet CPE for their first time upon enrolment, tend to manifest much dislike for this language. Faced with the challenge of maximising the opportunities for learning and studying in English, a language in which they have limited spoken and written competence in, they view CPE as a sub-standard code, indeed, an impediment to the English language learning process. This paper surveys Francophone students’ attitudes towards CPE at UB with focus on the underlying motivations for these attitudes. Data was elicited from a questionnaire administered to first-year Francophone students. The findings evince that Francophone students harbour unfriendly attitudes towards CPE.
Key words: attitude, unofficial language, LWC, competence
The influence of language attitude on the academic achievement of young children in the monolingual context has not been explored. Thus, this research ascertained the degree of relationship between attitudes toward the mother tongue and the academic performance of the learners. It entailed correlation research design. The respondents were 20 Grade II pupils in a rural public school considered as monolingual in the southern Philippines. The data gathered were treated using frequency distribution, weighted mean, percentage rate, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. It was found out that there is a significant relationship between attitudes toward the mother tongue and the academic performance of learners. Amid the vast body of diverse researches in the area of language education, the present study weaves pieces of evidence that attitudes of learners toward mother tongue are associated with their academic performance in the context of a monolingual environment. It is suggested that such a conclusion should be further tested in other contexts.
