P-SAMISK-Program for samisk forskning

The overall objective of this project is to explore possible relationships between children’s language learning and their ethical reflections. The project is interdisciplinary, including fields of research such as linguistics, philosophy, education and literature. We investigate how five- to seven-year-olds whose first language is North Saami interpret and assess ethical dilemmas when speaking to adults, and how they express this in language. Further, we examine the tools they use to express different degrees of possibility, probability and certainty. We have developed a data collection method based on stories that express ethical dilemmas, which are open to different solutions and for different reasons. The stories have been used as a basis for conversations with children in kindergartens and schools. Master’s degree students have participated in the dramatization of selected stories and in the planning and implementation of the data collection. Studies of children’s ethical reasoning reveal that children aged 5-7 find it difficult to accept breaking moral rules. The children we interviewed used a similar kind of argument: it is wrong to break a window, because you are not allowed to break windows. If you steal medicine, you are a thief. However, the children we interviewed modified their moral judgements by saying for example: although the father is doing wrong by stealing medicine, we can still understand what he does as there are no other ways to obtain the vital medicine. The study of the children’s language material showed that kindergarten and school children expressed (un)certainty about equally often, but the school children had slightly more different ways of expressing uncertainty than the kindergarten children. The children used almost as many different verbs as particles and adverbs to express (un)certainty. They used the verb “diehtit” ‘know’ to express certainty, while the verbs “sáhttit” ‘could’, “jáhkkit” ‘believe, assume’ and “soaitit” ‘maybe (do something)’ were used to express uncertainty. The particle “gal” emphasizes and reinforces a statement and was thus used to express certainty. The other particles “ama” ‘maybe, isn’t it?’ and “várra” ‘maybe’ were used to express uncertainty, along with the adverb “sihkkarit” ‘certainly’ and the Norwegian adverb “kanskje” ‘maybe’. One scientific article on the linguistic results of the project has been published, while a second one on student teachers’ reflections on the use of traditional storytelling as a data collection method is currently being published. Two popular science articles have been published: one on how stories can be used as a basis for conversations with children, and one on modality in Saami child language. The project participated in the Norwegian “Research Days” with an oral presentation and a poster presentation. A film has also been produced to show how storytelling tradition can be used in kindergartens and schools. Three additional short films have been made, containing stories that can be used as a basis for conversations with children on ethics and morals. A seminar on storytelling tradition and language development has been held for teachers and other interested parties. A digital and paper publication about the project has been produced, showing how the results can be used in kindergartens and schools. Two seminars on ethical reasoning and language learning and acquisition in Saami children have been held in collaboration with UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Umeå University. Reflections on and results of the linguistic investigation in the project have been presented at three workshops in the international research project Crosslinguistic Project on Pre- and Protomorphology in Language Acquisition in Vienna. Results have also been presented at the international Saami education conference Sámi oahpahuskonferánsa and in a symposium on language and reasoning in Saami-language kindergarten and school children that we held as part of the International Research in Early Childhood Education Conference. Results were also presented at the World Indigenous Peoples’ Conference on Education. This project has provided new knowledge to benefit work on child language development and ethical reasoning in kindergarten and primary school. This is especially important in the context of learning minority and indigenous languages, since factors such as the status of a child’s first language in society will affect the acquisition of that language. The website https://manaidgiella.weebly.com provides information on the main activities in the project. There have also been three radio interviews about the project with the project leader: https://radio.nrk.no/serie/veaigesatta/sesong/201903/SANY06005619#t=1h4.52s https://radio.nrk.no/serie/buorre-idit-sapmi/sesong/202101/SANY01001421#t=15m28s https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/manaid-giella-ja-jurddaseapmi?fbclid=iwar1_c1c9ifcngy7adi566cxjj4lwf3fyogsy6q7x3meeyxn_pestdgngoow.

Prosjektet har gjennom materialinnsamling i barnehager og skoler vist muligheter i bruk av fortellertradisjon i oppdragelse av barn. I tillegg har vi laget forslag om hvordan fortellinger kan brukes som utgangspunkt i samtaler med barn om etikk og moral. Resultater fra prosjektet kan nyttiggjøres i arbeidet med å styrke og utvikle barns språkbruk og etiske resonnering i barnehagen og grunnskolen. Prosjektet har styrket prosjektgruppens kompetanse i å arbeide med tverr- og flerfaglige problemstillinger. I tillegg har prosjektet utviklet prosjektlederens kompetanse i forskningsledelse. Resultater fra prosjektet blir innarbeidet i læreplaner i lærerutdanningsprogram ved Sámi allaskuvla / Sámi University of Applied Sciences. Vi har forventninger om at barnehager og skoler i enda større grad vil nyttiggjøre seg av fortellinger og fortellertradisjon i arbeidet med språkutvikling og i samtaler om etikk med barn.

The main focus of the project will be on how children's ethical judgments are expressed in their language use, and how children's relation to moral reality is expressed verbally in regard to modality. This project will be interdisciplinary, including fields of research such as Saami linguistics, philosophy, education and literature, and its aim is to provide new knowledge about how language learning and moral development take place in Saami-speaking children aged five to seven. The overall objective of this project is to explore possible relationships between children's language learning and their ethical reflections. We wish to investigate how five- to seven-year-olds with North Saami as their first language interpret and assess ethical dilemmas when speaking to adults, and how they express this in language. We will examine the linguistic tools children use to express epistemic modality, i.e. how different degrees of possibility, probability and certainty are expressed in the children's language. Student teachers will be involved in this project to provide them with insight into these issues in research. The data will be collected from interviews and conversations between children and adults in Saami kindergartens and schools in central parts of the Saami language administrative area. The interviews and conversations will use stories that contain ethical dilemmas that offer different solutions and different reasonings. This project will provide new knowledge that will benefit work on child language and moral development in kindergarten and primary school. This is especially important in the context of learning minority and indigenous languages, as it is well known that the status of a child's first language in society will affect the acquisition of that language. Two seminars on ethical reasoning and language learning and acquisition in Saami children in general will be organized in collaboration with UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Umeå University.