Investigating
the Acquisition of Affixes by a Four-Year-Old Girl
By: M.
Shabir, M.Pd
Abstract
This
paper tries to investigate the acquisition of Indonesian language affixes by a four-year-old
girl. Using an exploratory design, this research, which spent two months period of observation, reveals that object of the study
has not only acquired the simple affixes (combination of prefix and suffix) but
also started showing her potency of producing the complex ones (the combination
of prefix, infix, and suffix). However, the production of such complex affixes (the
combination of prefix, infix, and suffix) can not be automatically categorized
as the acquired ones due to their rare occurrences. It is suggested that the
next similar research to be applied to other four years old girls for
generalization purpose.
(Key words: affixes, acquisition, four-year-old girl)
1. Introduction
The study on second language acquisition (henceforth
SLA) has been widely carried out by many researchers in which their emphases differ
from one another. The large study on SLA might result from the complexity of study
area of the SLA itself which has then led to the appearance of numerous
theoretical foundations of how a language is acquired.
This paper tries to investigate the
acquisition of Indonesia language as a second language, focusing on the acquisition
of affixes by a four-year-old girl. Although there have been a number of
similar studies but mostly were not specific to four-year-old girl. In other
words, the study on the acquisition of Indonesian language affixes carried out specific
to a four-year-old girl is still rarely conducted.
One of the studies that could be best shown
here is by Raja (2003). However, his focus was to investigate early
morphological development of Indonesian children of various ages. In his study,
the acquisition of affixes by those children was highlighted.
For this reason, the writer wanted to conduct
similar study, but with different object that was a four-year-old girl. Two-month-intensive
observation was conducted in order to support the data needed for this study.
2. Aims
of the Study
This study aims to:
1.
To investigate types of affixes produced by a
four-year-old girl.
2.
To investigate whether such production of
affixes can be categorized as the acquired ones.
3. Research
Questions
In line with the objectives stated above, two
questions will be addressed:
1.
What types of affixes are produced by a
four-year-old girl?
2.
Can the production of such affixes automatically
be categorized as the acquired ones?
4. Literature
Review
4.I. Syntactic
development
The syntactic development of children
grows in line with their age. According to Yule (1986), there are several
stages of a child’s syntax development:
- Pre-language stage. This stage takes place
from three to ten months. During this period, there are a lot of ‘sound
play’ and attempted imitations.
- The one-word or holophrastic stage.
Holophrastic is a single form functioning as phrase or sentence. This stage
happens between twelve and eighteen moths. Single terms uttered are
usually related to everyday objects such as ‘milk’, ‘cookie’, ‘cat’, and
‘cup’.
- The two-word stage. Around eighteen to
twenty months, as the child’s vocabulary moves beyond fifty distinct
words, they can produce two separate words.
- Telegraphic speech. It occurs from two
years and up. A child at this stage starts producing a large number of utterances,
which could be classified as multiple world utterances. While this type is
being produced, a number of grammatical inflections begin to appear in
some of words.
In
addition, Crystal (1976) added that by the time the child is three years old
and up, he or she is going further than telegraphic speech forms and integrate
some of inflectional morphemes, which signify the grammatical function and the
nouns and verbs used. This acquisition of this form is often accompanied by a
process of generalization. Therefore, imitation is not the primary force in
child language acquisition
4.2.
Morphemes
There
are two basic types of morphemes: unbound and bound. Unbound or free-standing
morphemes are individual elements that can stand alone within a sentence, such
as <cat>, <laugh>, <look>, and <box>. They are
essentially what most of us call words. Bound morphemes are meaning-bearing
units of language or called affix, including prefixes and suffixes that are
attached to unbound morphemes. These cannot stand alone (Yule, 1986).
The
meaningful combination of morphology is called a morphological construction of
which can be built by several means like affixation and reduplication.
4.2.1.
Morphological acquisition
In
learning a language, children generally focus on the simple aspects of language
instead of the complex ones. Miller (in Raja, 2003) in his theory of
Derivational Complexity said that the extent of derivation which has to be
passed on by a child determines the sequence of the child’s sentence
production.
There
are two learning that determine the sequence of a child’s sentence production: system
learning and item learning (Ellis, 1997). System learning refers to learning
separate and discrete items of language. When a learner has learnt the
underlying rules of linguistic item but fails to use them, it can be said the learner
makes a mistake. On the contrary, deviation in usage due to lack of knowledge
of the underlying rules of linguistic item, the learner cannot be said of
making mistake but error. Usually, to distinguish whether it is a mistake or an
error can be done by asking the learner to correct his or her deviant
utterances (Ellis, 1997).
4.2.2.
Affixation
Affixation
is the morphological process whereby grammatical or lexical information is
added to a stem (Crystal, 1980). There are three types of affixation: prefix,
suffix, and infix. According to Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Indonesia (2000), the rules
of affixation in Indonesian language are given below:
Prefix
|
Rules
|
Examples
|
{meng-}
{ber-}
{ter-}
{di-}
|
1.
If
it is attached to the root word which has the first phoneme /a/, /i/, /u/,
/e/, /o/,/É™/, /k/, /g/,/h/. (meng- does not change).
2.
If
it is attached to the root word which has the first phoneme /l/, /m/, /n/, /Å‹,
/ň/, /r/, /y/, /w/. (meng- changes into me-)
3.
If
it is attached to the root word that begins with phoneme /d/, /t/. (meng- changes
into men-).
4.
If
it is attached to the root word that begins with phoneme /b/, /p/, /f/. (meng-
changes into mem-)
5.
If
it is attached to the root word that begins with /c/, /j/, /s/, /Å¡/. (meng-
changes into meny-)
6.
If
it is attached to the root word that has one syllable. (meng- changes
into menge-)
7.
Prefix
meng- in the beginning of foreign words that begins with /s/ changes
into meny-
8.
If
there is reduplication of a verb that has single root, that word is
reduplicated by maintaining the breaking of its first consonant. The root
word that has one syllable, maintains nge- in front of the
reduplicated root word. If there is a suffix, it is not reduplicated .
1.
Prefix
ber- changes into be- if it is attached into the root word that
begins with phoneme /r/.
2.
Prefix
ber- changes into be- if it is attached into the root word’s
first syllable ended with /ər/.
3.
Prefix
ber- changes into bel- if it is attached into certain
root words.
4.
Prefix
ber- does not change if it attached into another roots beside rule
above.
1.
Prefix
ter- changes into te- if it is attached into the root word that
begins with phoneme /r/.
2.
If
the first syllable of the root word ended with /ər/, phoneme /r/ is prefix ter-
sometimes will emerge and sometimes will not.
3.
Besides
the rule above, ter- does not change.
If
it is attached into any root words, it does not change its form.
|
mengambil, mengikat, mengukur, mengelak,
mengolah.
melatih, memakan, menamakan, menganga.
mendatangkan, menuduh, menduga.
membabat, mematuhi, membuat.
menyatukan , menyadari.
mengebom, mengebor
menyukseskan,
menulis-nulis, mengarang-ngarang,
mengecek-ngecek.
beranting, berunding, berantai.
bekerja, beserta.
belajar.
berlayar, bermain.
terasa.
terpercaya, tercermin, terjernih, tepercik,
tepergok.
terluka, terpilih
dibeli, diambil
|
Suffixes
|
Rules
|
Examples
|
{-i}
{-an}
|
Suffix -i does not experience any changes if
it is added to any root words. However, it is necessary to remember that any
root words that end with phoneme /i/ cannot be followed by suffix -i
Suffix -an does not experience any
changes if it is combined with any root words. If a root word’s phoneme is
/a/, it will be equated with suffix -an in writing.
|
kicauan, harapan.
bersamaan, lapangan.
|
5. Methodology
The study took
place at the writer’s home. The writer made his own daughter named Wiya as the object
for his research. Wiya was four-years old when this research was carried out. In
order to gain and collect the data needed for his research, the writer investigated
all affixes produced by the object when she was communicating with her little
brother, her mother, and her father (the writer himself). This process took
place about two months long before
then all the data were interpreted
qualitatively.
6. Findings and Discussion
Based
on the research that spent about two months long, the writer has found variety
of affixes produced by Wiya. Each type of the affixes is presented in several
tables as follow:
Table 1
Affix
|
Utterances
|
{di-}
{ter-}
|
Dijilat,
in “Rotinya dijilat dulu ya de”.
Dipencet
in “Dede, semutnya jangan dipencet dong!”
Diusir
in “Masa temen-temennya diusir”.
Dibuang
in “mainannya jangan dibuang dong de!”
Dibeli
in “Bonekanya dibeli dong, ma!”
Ditutup
in “Pintunya ditutup dong”. Dilihat in “Malu dilihat orang”.
Diinjak in
“diinjak mainannya ntar”.
Terasa,
in “Terasa banget pedasnya, ma”
|
The table above shows that Wiya has been able
to produce affixes. However, type of affixes produced was simple and so limited
in number. There were only prefix di and prefix ter that were found.
The first prefix produced was di which
was the most frequently produced by Wiya. This type of suffix was uttered as
many as eight times. She seemed to have the ability to combine such prefix with
other words. This means that Wiya has acquired that type of affix. Larsen-Freeman
and Long (1991) said that that a bound morpheme, which in this case is the prefix
di, is regarded ‘acquired’ when a child has produced it with
three different free forms. The table shows that prefix di appeared many
times or more than three times. So, it can be concluded that the production of
prefix di is categorized or regarded ‘acquired’.
In the meantime, the prefix ter appeared
one time only. Its occurrence was never heard again. Therefore, this type of
affix could not be categorized as the acquired as required by Laesen-Freeman
and Long.
Table 2
Affix
|
Utterances
|
{di-} plus {-in}
|
Dirasain,
in “Dirasain dulu ya minumannya”.
Dilemparin
in “Dilemparin aja pensilnya”.
Disorakin in “Masa temen-temennya disorakin gitu”.
Dibuangin
in “Mainannya jangan dibuangin dong de”.
Dimainin
in ‘Bonekanya jangan dimainin!”
Diciumin
in “Diciumin mulu Wiyanya”.
Dikabarin
in “Kalau dah nyampe dikabarin Wiyanya ya, nek”.
Dibasahin in “Dede nakal, baju kakak dibasahin”.
|
The affixes shown in the second table above are
another type of suffix combination produced. The table shows that Wiya has
shown her capability in producing complex affixes i.e. the combination of prefix
di- and suffix -in. This time, such complex affixes were all
stated in informal utterances. However, it can be said that she has acquired
those types of affixes. The reason is, in line with Larsen-Freeman and Long
(1991), she was able to combine the prefix di- and suffix –in three
or more different free forms.
It seemed that Wiya’s acquisition of bound
morphemes at his age starts to develop and increase. This finding is in line
with a research by Patuan Raja (2003) saying that number of child’s
vocalizations containing bound morphemes generally increase from three up to
four years, while vocabulary acquisition experiences remarkable decrease.
Table 3
Affix
|
Utterances
|
{meng-}
plus {-kan}
|
menyalakan
in ‘Soalnya mama menyalakan lampu dulu’.
memandikan
in ‘Mama mau memandikan kamu dede’.
menggambarkan in ‘Kakak mau menggambarkan ayam’.
Memasukkan in ‘Papa memasukkan motor ma’.
|
Similarly, the utterances listed in Table 3 also
contain two affixes. However, in the table, the combination of prefix meng-
and suffix –kan were produced or uttered in formal language.
The table shows that Wiya has shown her linguistic
potential development as indicated by her successful combination of such prefixes
and suffixes. What can be described about Wiya is that at her age, the capability
in lexicalizing words has developed. Mostly, the lexicalization capability happened
in the words which are categorized as having high intensity or the words which
are frequently used in daily communication.
However, word lexicalization produced is not
always correct. The table above shows Wiya’s incorrect use of “menggambarkan”.
“Menggambarkan” in that utterance should be “menggabar”. However,
Wiya was successful in combining the prefix and suffix although not constructed
correctly. This phenomenon seems to be much in line with Patuan Raja (2003)
saying that children in developing their morphology might create their
own bound forms only before a period of successful utilization. It also can be
said that she has acquired those types of affixes since Wiya has been able to produce
it more than three different free forms.
Table
4
Affix
|
Utterances
|
{meng-}
plus {-per-} plus {-i}
|
Memperbaiki in “Wiya mau memperbaiki sepeda dulu”.
|
Table
5
Affix
|
Utterances
|
{meng-}
plus {-per-} plus {-kan}
|
Memperkenalkan in “Wiya memperkenalkan teman dulu ya”.
|
The utterances
described in tables 4 and 5 above might be the most important finding in this
research. Types of affixes produced by Wiya were different as compared to
affixes presented in the previous tables.
The two
tables above show that there are three types of affixes combined by Wiya. The
first is the combination of prefix meng plus infix per plus suffix
i. The second is the combination of prefix meng plus infix per
plus suffix kan. However, the appearance of such complex combination of
affixes was quite rare to happen. There were no any similar combinations of such
affixes found during this observation. Therefore, the utterances of memperkenalkan
and memperbaiki can not be regarded ‘the acquired’.
They
are not acquired because Wiya did not produce such affixes in other forms. Larsen-Freeman
and Long (1991) said that that a bound morpheme, which in this case is combination
of prefix meng- plus infix -per- plus suffix -i and the
combination of prefix meng- plus infix -per- plus suffix –kan,
is regarded ‘acquired’ when it is produced in three different free forms.
6. Conclusion and Suggestion
Based
on the findings presented above, it could be concluded that the obvious acquisition
of affixes has already taken place by age of four years. At this age, type of
affixes produced was not only limited to the simple form but also the
production of complex combination of affixes.
However,
the production of complex combination of affixes by the object in this study can
not be automatically said as the acquired ones. This is because that the production
of such complex affixes only happened one time when this study was carried out.
As Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991) said that that a bound morpheme, which in
this case is combination of prefix plus infix plus suffix, is regarded
‘acquired’ when it is produced in three different free forms. It is assumed
that there must be a factor that has led the object to produce such non-acquired
complex combination of affixes. Despite not ‘acquired’, what it may be taken
into account is that this study at least shows that a four year old child already
has the potency to acquire complex affixes.
To
conclude this paper, the writer suggests that similar studies involving more objects
are necessary to be carried out because any child’s language development
inevitably reflects universal, language-specific, and idiosyncratic characteristics.
Secondly, it should be investigated further whether other children do have a
tendency and potential to create complex combination of affixes.
7. References
Crystal,
D. (1993). Introduction to Language Pathology. London: Whurr Publishers.
Third edition.
Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudaan RI. (1992). Tata Bahasa Baku Bahasa Indonesia. Thid ed. Jakarta: Perum Balai
Pustaka, 1992.
Ellis,
R. (1997). Second Language Acquisition. London: Oxford University Press.
Larsen-Freeman,
D., and Long, M. H. 1991. An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research.
London: Longman.
Macaulay,
Ronald. (1980). Generally speaking: How children learn
language. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Raja,
P. (2003). Early Morphological Development of Indonesian Children, retrieved
from http://sastra.um.ac.id, as current as December 27, 2014.
Yule,
G. (1986). The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.