Verb production in Malay-English bilingual preschoolers: a processability theory framework = Penghasilan kata kerja dalam kalangan kanak-kanak prasekolah dwibahasa Melayu–Inggeris: kerangka processability theory

Mohamed Salleh, Rabiah Tul Adawiyah and Kawaguchi, Satomi and Syed Uzir, Sharifah Fatin Athira (2026) Verb production in Malay-English bilingual preschoolers: a processability theory framework = Penghasilan kata kerja dalam kalangan kanak-kanak prasekolah dwibahasa Melayu–Inggeris: kerangka processability theory. GEMA Online® Journal of Language Studies, 26 (3). pp. 741-758. ISSN 1675-8021 E-ISSN 2550-2131

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Abstract

Malaysia is a multilingual country where many children are exposed to more than one language from an early age; yet, empirical evidence on how young Malaysian children produce verb structures across typologically different languages remains limited. This study examines verb production among 58 Malay-dominant bilingual preschoolers aged 5 to 6 in Selangor, Malaysia, whose English input was largely confined to school instruction. Using a mixedmethods descriptive cross-sectional design, picture elicitation tasks elicited targeted verbs in both languages; the data were transcribed in ELAN and analysed through Processability Theory (PT). PT was adopted because its implicational hierarchy maps verb output in both languages onto developmental stages rather than describing it through frequency alone, and the study constitutes the first group-level, verb-focused application of PT to Malay. Base forms were the preferred verb type in both languages. In Malay, fifteen (25.9%) children reached the Phrasal Procedure through productive use of the progressive marker tengah, as in tengah tidur, while the rest demonstrated Lemma Access through base forms. In English, most children produced no stageable output; seventeen (29.3%) children reached Lemma Access through bare forms such as sleep and eat, and one child reached the Category Procedure through productive V+ing use. Qualitative analysis also revealed far greater lexical variety in Malay. Given the children’s unequal exposure, these patterns are interpreted as reflecting both processing development and differences in input and instruction, rather than processability alone. The findings offer preliminary support for a Malay-based PT framework and baseline evidence for early English vocabulary instruction.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Malay-English bilingualism; verb production; preschool children; Processability Theory; language exposure
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of English Language & Literature Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences
Depositing User:	Rabiah Tul Adawiyah Mohamed Salleh
Date Deposited:	28 Aug 2026 17:11
Last Update:	28 Aug 2026 17:11
Queue Number:	2026-08-Q4950
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/131062

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