Page 95 - Compétences plurilingues : perspectives et actions / Plurilingual competencies: perspectives and actions

Neologisms

Example 4

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1. A: moje nova kamaradka se jmenuje Simonka ((prasknul balonek, mladsı́ sestra place))
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/A: my new friend’s name is Simonka ((the balloon popped, younger sister is crying))/
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2. K: ((do pokoje vesla matka)) the balloon (…) ((nemuze si vzpomenout na anglicke slovo)) prasknul (…)
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i think she is scared
/K: ((mother came into the room)) the balloon (...) ((can not remember the English word)) popped (...) i think
she is scared/
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3. M: ((mluvı́ k mladsı́ sestre)) bou navi kamma tishu (…) zeh lo bappeh shellakh nakhon?
/M: ((talking to younger sister)) let’s bring some tissues (…) It isn’t in your mouth, is it?/
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4. K: ((mluvı́ k A)) prasknul balonek? (…) Mı́sa se asi lekla ze?/
/K: ((talking to A)) did the balloon pop? (...) Míša is probably scared, isn’t she?/
5. A: ((mluvı́ s K)) joo
/A: ((talking with H)) yes/
6. K: hm
/K: hm/
7. M: ((mluvı́ s K)) I’m so scared of this (…) because we had a story (when) the small girl who (…) and then
(…)
/M: ((talking with K)) I’m so scared of this (…) because we had a story (when) the small girl who (…) and then
(…) /
8. K: hm
/K: hm/
9. M: ((mluvı́ s K)) so (.) [balloons] (…) but there should be more pieces (.) right?
/M: ((talking with K)) so (.) [balloons] (…) but there should be more pieces (.) right?/
10. A: ((mluvı́ k matce)) (…) [popped popped]
/A: ((talking to mother)) (…) [ popped popped]/
11. A: ((mluvı́ k matce)) ani imma ani lo roa atikhot!
/A: ((talking to mother)) mom, I don’t see the pieces!/
12. M: tserikhim limtso et shear haalakim shel habbalon hazzeh
/M: We need to ind the rest of the pieces of this balloon /
13. A: osim avir veaz hu mitpotsets
/A: We do () air, and then it burst ((she probably trying to explain situation with balloon))/
Apparently, the child is able to use all three languages organically and sensitively. When
speaking to her babysitter she used Czech. When talking to her mother, who had addressed
the babysitter in English, she also uses English. Finally, when talking to her mother only, she
switches to Hebrew. She also offers an English translation for the word “prasknul” which
the babysitter could not remember in English.

Neologisms

Sometimes the outcomes of the language contact are unique items that are the result of the
child’s creativity and can be analyzed and understood in terms of intra-word code-switching
as the word “salmonova” as an answer to “What colour is the butter ly?” The child combined
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an English word “salmon” with the Czech suf ix “-ova”. The corresponding Czech expression
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would be “lososova” (salmon colour). Last but not least, the child also coined a new term
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