Investigation of Nursery Rhymes According to the Classification of Conceptual Field and Values
Author(s):
Betül Keray Dinçel (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2015
Format:
Paper

Session Information

27 SES 09 A, Teaching and Learning Ethics, Literature and Rhymes

Paper Session

Time:
2015-09-10
11:00-12:30
Room:
201.Oktatóterem [C]
Chair:
Ilmi Willbergh

Contribution

Nursery rhymes are poetic texts full of rhymes that entertain children. They can be easily memorized due to rhymes involved, instill the sense of rhythm in children and enhance the imagination and linguistic skills of children. Nursery rhymes are a part of children’s lives: before starting a game, during the game and after the game. With the words they include, nursery rhymes enhance the conceptual world of children. Theory called linguistic field (J. Trier) or conceptual field (Clark), based on the idea that concepts are situated in a field made up of combination of various particles limiting each other, contends that concepts should be examined within a field. According to this theory, the value of each concept can be measured by means of its relation with other concepts and its content. The conceptual field is defined as “the field in which concepts close to each other or somehow related to each other, words that are synonym are considered together”. One of the studies conducted on children’s conceptual fields is conceptual field classification study by Clark (2003). In his study conducted with children who were in the process of language acquisition, Clark classified the concept of name as human, animal, tool, body part, clothes, toy, furniture, household goods, food and food-beverage can. When the research on nursery rhymes is revised, it is seen that the focus is on the appearance rather than the content. In this regard, the focus has shifted towards the investigation of nursery rhymes in relation to conceptual classification and values.

Method

In the present study, forty eight nursery rhymes sung by TRT Ankara Children’s Choir in the album “Eveleme Develeme” were investigated. As three of these nursery rhymes are the repetition of other rhymes, they were discarded from the investigation. The nursery rhymes sung were transcribed and they were enumerated and while their content analysis was being conducted, the words were written in the related conceptual field by coding according to the number of the rhyme. Within the context of the study, the nursery rhymes were examined according to Clark’s classification by two researchers. In order to test the inter-rater reliability, Miles and Huberman formula (Reliability =number of agreements/ Agreements + Number of agreements) was used and the reliability was calculated to be ninety five percent. Four nursery rhymes on which there was a disagreement were reexamined by the researchers and a consensus was achieved.

Expected Outcomes

Clark’s classification was extended based on the words obtained in the present study and elements such as kinship, proper name, description-quality, number, location, color, profession, time and musical instrument were added. In addition to this, the nursery rhymes were analyzed in terms of the values they include. And this revealed that values such as punishment-mercy, industriousness, violence, theft, loyalty, respect, breaking promise, lying are involved in the rhymes.

References

Clark, E., Clark, H. (1977). Psychology and language. Harcourt Braca Jovanovich Press. Clark, E. V. (2001). Emergent categories in first language acquisition: In M. Bowerman & S. C. Levinson (Eds.), Language Acquisition and Conceptual Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 379-405. Clark, E. V. (2003). The Lexicon in Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Droomi, E. (1987). Early Lexical Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Nelson, K. (1974). Concept, word, and sentence: interrelations in acquisition and development: Psychological Review, 81, 267-285.

Author Information

Betül Keray Dinçel (presenting / submitting)
Aksaray University
Faculty of Education
Aksaray

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