Purpose
This study investigates young children’s linguistic creativity and spontaneous language play. The article presents an analysis of the interaction that takes place in a group of older children in a multilingual kindergarten setting in Sweden.
Result
The analysis shows that children’s spontaneous language play is characterised by an aesthetic where what is inconsistent or unexpected, but at the same time recognisable, is adopted and appreciated. The aesthetic is based on the ongoing tension between predictability (routines based on culturally recognisable activities) and the innovative/improvisational character of performative actions in situ. Creative use of language serves as a multifaceted locus (location) for aesthetic, emotional and normative (ideological) positioning and mutual socialisation. Through performative actions, the children socialise each other into a cautiousness related to the kind of contributions that constitute valued verbal genres in the group’s own culture.
Design
The data is constructed using a video ethnographic methodology in a department for older children in a kindergarten from a multiethnic suburban area with low socioeconomic status in Sweden. They are based on 3.5 months of observations and 25 hours of video recording. The sample of children represented a large number of different native languages (Albanian, Arabic, Kurdish, Serbo-Croatian, Somali, Swedish, etc.). Swedish served as a common language in the kindergarten and was also the language used in group conversations with the children.
References
Cekaite, A. (2018). "Microgenesis of language creativity: Innovation, conformity and incongruence in children's language play". Language Sciences, 65:26-36.
Financed by
The Swedish Research Council, Sweden