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Within the desk space that is inhabited by her, Piper is completely different from the student whose voice is almost absent within the formal domain. Throughout fieldwork, she was made to change her seating several times and what is noted is that irrespective of who her speech interlocutor is,

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most of the instances produced with Piper whilst she is addressing her classmates find her translanguaging and moving to and fro from French to Creole.

The extract below highlights this interpretation. It was taken at the end of the day towards the closure of a French class, just before classes would end and EP classes would start. That day, the teacher was correcting their classwork and she had asked the students to take a book from the book corner to read. Since I was seated far from Piper, I did not hear what Piper was saying. However, I find this instance interesting in that she mimicked the teacher’s voice to her neighbour. Hence, although part of her utterance could not be transcribed, it looked as if she was repeating the teacher’s instructions to her neighbour and telling him that their teacher had asked them to take up a book from the book corner and read. Like her teacher, Ariana, Piper interactedinteracted in French whilst interacting with Larry. Her neighbour then asked her for help in Creole and she shifted toCreole to say she did not know. But then, as I noted from my observations, she went on to help him to read. Mimicking the role of the teacher is something that Piper liked doing a lot and very often she stepped in the shoes of the teacher to help her neighbour Larry who had difficulties to read or she pretended to be the teacher with me to give me work to do.

Extract 5.7: PEP 24.02.2014 (l 20-28)

TEA: (in the background)et vous allez faire une phrase pour moi là ein?(...) (children talking in the background){and you will write one sentence for me right? (…)}

P: Miss (unintelligible)a pris un livre(…) tu as dit(…)(lots of noise in the background)montres moi ça(…) (lots of noise in the background)qui a (unintelligible)qui ont fini(…) il prend les livres(…) donnes moi un papier(…) après je t’écris(…) (noise in the background; TEA talking

in the background){miss (unintelligible)has taken a book (...)you said (…) (noise)show me this (…) (noise)who has (unintelligible)who have finished (…) he took the books (…) give me a page (…) then I will write (…) (noise)}

TEA: (in the background)vous autres emmenez papier mousline pour moi(…){you guys bring muslin paper for me (…)}

P: (mimicking TEA in a sing song voice)papier mousline(…) papier mousline(…) {muslin paper (…) muslin paper (…)}

S4: Ki ekrir ladan?{what is written in this?}

P: Mo pa kone mwa(…) (noise in the background){I don’t know me (…)}

KEY: TEA= Teacher; P=Piper; SS= Other children in classroom; S4=Classmate

The following extract was one instance that had been taken during the free slot that the children used to have before Mr Dev started teaching KM. On that day, Miss Ariana had re-appropriated that space to teach the others Catechesis. Piper, who did not do Catechesis (as she was not Catholic), another of her classmates and I were seated at the back of the classroom. Piper was writing on her slate with one of my markers. One of her classmates joined us and they started

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arguing about the marker, which was mine. In this extract, both Piper and her classmate, Shirley, got into a true-false childish argument. What one notes once again is this move to and fro from French to Creole, with Piper pausing at the end of the argument and shifting to Creole to affirm that she was not lying and that the marker had been given to her by her mother. Shirley also shifted, saying that she would take the red marker later and draw.

Extract 5.8: PKM 26.02.2014 (l 79-91)

S3: Non il a pas marker(…) {no he doesn’t have marker (…)}

P: Si(...){yes (…)}

S3: C’est faux(...) {it’s false (…)}

P: C’est vrai(...){it’s true (…)}

S3: C’est faux{it’s false}

P: C’est vrai(...){it’s true (…)}

S3: C’est faux {it’s false}

P: C’est vrai(…) E vremem, pa p koz menti mwa, mo mama ki donn mwa ha marker la… mo

perdi mo marker, mo montre mo papa(overlapping){it’s true (…) hey truly, not speaking lies me, my mum who gave me that marker (…) I lost my marker, I show my dad}

S3: (overlapping)taler mo pu pran marker rouge mo pu desine(…){wait I will take red marker I will draw (…)}

KEY: P=Piper; S3= classmate

It can be noted that Piper shifted to Creole to affirm her authority. In so doing, she wanted to show that the marker was really hers. The same kind of steering between French and Creole can be seen in the extract below, which was taken during the break time within the class when the children were eating. Much of Piper’s data had been produced during those break times. On that day, Jonathan was playing around with his mouth and Shirley gave me a piece of cake withPiper adding that it was a cake. I then thanked Shirley for sharing her cake with me. Shirley then turned to Jonathan and told him that he was being naughty. What can be noted in that instance is that Shirley did so in a mockingly patronising voice, in very much the same way as Miss Ariana would have done in class. To do so, she shifted to French. In a way, remnants of Miss Ariana’s voice could be heard within that of Shirley. It should be pointed out that Shirley was very much a teacher’s pet and often during the break times, would go sit at the teacher’s desk to have her bread and cakes and do all the tasks that Miss Ariana gave her.

Extract 5.9: PKM 26.02.2014 (l 425-438)

S1: Gnyan, gnyan, gnyan (pause)(noise) S3: (giggles)Massepin!! {cake!!} P: Massepin ha mis {this is cake miss!} RES: Merci {thank you}

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S3: Tu fais méchant? {you are naughty?}

S1: Ein je fais pas méchant moi! {what I am not naughty me!}

P: Je metssa gato la lor la(giggles){I put this cake on that}

S3: J’aimes manger(munching sound)merci!{I like eating}

KEY: RES= Researcher; P=Piper; SS= Other children in classroom; S3= Shirley; S1=Jonathan

Piper, who was eating and listening to their conversation, then joined in the frolic and told them that she would put the cake that Shirley had shared with her in her bread. Very often the children put the cakes in their sandwiches before eating themeat. What is interesting is that she again shows her ability to shift to and fro from French to Creole as a meaning-making process. She did so as she was enjoying the friendly banter going on around her to tell her how she was also playing around with her cake. She interacted in Creole to indicate the position of the cake. As said earlier, Piper was still learning French as a language, and by shifting to and fro using the resources, she makes meaning within her utterance.

This can also be seen within the instances during class time when the children were given classwork and were left to do it on their own and they started chatting amongst themselves. One topic of conversation between Piper and her classmates during those instances was that she often asked them to lend her stationery if she didn’t ask me. There are numerous instances when Piper asked her classmates for stationery when they were working on their classwork, as in the case below. She did so very often as she would either forget her own stationery items at home or would lose all of them as she once told me when I asked why she had not brought her pencil.

Extract 5.10: PEP 26.02.2014 (l 410-423)

RES: Petit et grand non?(...) (unintelligible)il est grand (…) {small and big no? (...) he is big (…)}

P: numan tu as un crayon couleur?(...) (noise in the background)moi(…) (children talking in

the background){numan you have a coloured pencil? (...) me (…)}

L: il dort dans un grotte(…)il y a deux maisons(...)(noise in the background)ils sont jumeaux(…) ton frère va avec le bonhomme massepin(…)(children talking to TEA in the

background)ey blan!(...)(noise in the background as children are talking){he sleeps in a hole (…) he has two houses (…) they are twins (…) your brother goes with the gingerbread man (…)}

S4: Pass mwa krayon kouler(…)mo gom!(...){lend me coloured crayon (…) my eraser! (...)} P: atann!(...)(children talking amongst themselves in background){wait! (...)}

L: desinn (unintelligible)so lakaz twasi(…)(unintelligible as children are talking amongst themselves)ça c’estbolom massepin (…) zot de!(...)vwazin ek so frer(…)

(unintelligible)vwazin ek so frer {draw{unintelligible)his house you also (…)this is gingerbread man (…) they are two! (...) neighbour and his brother (… )neighbor and his brother}

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P: (overlapping)passes!(...) j’ai fini(…) (noise in the background)je pourrais(unintelligible; noise in the background)passes!(...) (children talking amongst themselves) {lend! (...) i have finished (…) I can (unintelligible )lend! (...)}

L: bonhomme massepin géant!(...)(noise in the background; children talking in the

background with TEA) {giant gingerbread man! (...)}

KEY: RES= Researcher; P=Piper; L= Larry; SS= Other children in classroom; S4=Classmate

This extract was taken during an EP class when Miss Ariana told them to draw the gingerbread man on a sheet of paper. I was seated with Piper, who happened to be seated with Larry and other children around the table. As I was talking with Larry, who was describing to me the twin gingerbread men he had drawn and the differences between each, Piper was addressing one of her classmates seated at the table. Making her request in French, Piper then shifted to Creole to firmly tell her friend who was asking her eraser back to wait. She then shifted back to French to request Larry to lend her his wax crayons.

It is thus noted that Piper shifts to and fro from French to Creole within her repertoire for manifold of purposes. Furthermore, the following extract that I will look at is one that was taken towards the end of the fieldwork. I was then producing data with Stevie. I was seated by Stevie’s side as he was making a drawing for one of his neighbours. Piper strode over to look and she exclaimed in French her admiration and asked who had done the drawing before shifting to to Creole request having a look at it. What is to be noted is that she requested to have a look at the drawing by moving to French and putting for the word regardes instead of its Creole counterpart gete. Stevie reacted in Creole by saying that it was his drawing. Piper, arguing with him, shifted to French within her repertoire and retaliated that it was not his.

Extract 5.11: SEP 17.03.2014 (l 183-188)

P: wow!c’est qui qui as fait ça? {wow!who has done this?}

S7: pour moi qu’il dessine ça {for me that he is drawing this}

P: mo regardes{let me see!}

S: mwa ha(…)mwa ha {it’s me (…) it’s me}

P: pas toi qui as dessine {not you who has drawn}

S: ein? {what?}

KEY: P=Piper; S=Stevie; S7=classmate

Very often there are playful childish arguments between Piper and Stevie when they interact together. Piper did not like Stevie too much and the extract below shows that when they broke into a fight during break time within KM class. They were eating and Piper was reading a French storybook which she had taken from the book corner. Stevie suddenly snatched the book saying it

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was his. I reprimanded him and asked in Creole if it was his book. Piper and Stevie then broke into a fight in interacting in Creole with Piper finally letting Stevie have the book. However, she shifted to French, scolding him for being a bad boy and threatened that she would tell his mother how he behaved. This sentence resonated with a threat that teachers normally gave to children when they misbehaved. Hence, within that instance, Piper’s voice mimicked the voice of teachers when they scold, and having to do so in French in that instance is revealing.

Extract 5.12: PKM 06.03.2014 (l 409-425)

RES: To liv sa twa ki amene? {is this your book?have you brought this?}

P: menti(…)to pa amen ha twa miss (unintelligible) ki amene(…){false you didn’t bring this you (…) miss (unintelligible)who brought (…)}

RES: Kisanla inn amene? {who brought?}

P: Miss Syndia(...)enn miss{miss syndia (…) a miss (…)}

S: Mo liv prefere ha(…)tou lezur mo get sa{this is my favourite book (…) everyday I look at it} P: Menti to lir enn lot liv(…)(J and M are fighting over the book){lies (…) you read another

book (…)}

RES: Pa lager bann zenfan(…)aargh(…){don’t fight kids}

P: Méchant(...) mo pu dir ha to mama(…){bad boy (…) i will tell this to your mum}

S: (overlapping)mo liv prefere ha(…)(noise) {this is my favourite book (…)}

KEY: RES= Researcher; P=Piper; S=Stevie.

What comes out within the extracts above is that with her classmates within the informal domain, Piper moves to and fro from French to Creole for a number of purposes. Whereas requests are made in French, she uses Creole to affirm her authority in a conversation or when she is reacting with emotion as when she exclaimed in Creole. Moreover, when she has to argue and scold her classmates, she shifts to using within her repertoire. It is also noted that she uses her repertoire flexibly to be able to make meaning in conversations where she doesn’t have the French vocabulary at hand.

5.3.1.2 With researcher

Another main speech interlocutor with whom much data was produced within that desk space is myself. It can be noted that as is the case with her classmates, whilst addressing me, Piper also shifts to and fro from French to Creole.

The extract, which was recorded at the start of fieldwork, was taken just before she was going out in the yard to play with her sister and a classmate for recess. She had been bitten by a mosquito and came to me seeking attention and showing me her mosquito bite, and when I asked her about the mosquito bite in French, she only mouthed that she did not know. When I insisted, she shifted to using Creole within her repertoire to narrate to me what had happened.

142 Extract 5.13: P RECESS 17.02.2014 (l 7-13)

P: [responding to not going]mo pa pou kapav(…)(noise in the background)miss qu’est ce que

j’ai eu ici?{I wont be able to (…)miss what did I get here?}

RES: qu’est ce que tu as eu?(...)bouton?(...) bouton?(...) ça fait mal?{what did you get? (...)

pimple? (...) pimple? (...) does it hurt?}

S2: miss tout à l’heure(…) miss tu peux mete ça sur notre table?{miss later (…)miss can you

put that on our table?}

RES: tout à l’heure(…) qu’est ce que tu as eu Piper?(...)(noise in the background:P is just

mouthing answers and not talking)tu sais pas?(...) comment tu sais pas?{later (…)what did you get Piper?(...)you don’t know?(...) how don’t you know?}

P: moustik inn pik mwa,monn grate! {mosquito pricked me ,I scratched!}

KEY: RES= Researcher; P=Piper; S2= classmate

Furthermore, the extract below highlights that shifting to and fro within her linguistic repertoire. This extract was taken during break time when she asked me, moving from French to the Creole word kas if I had money, urging me to give her money so that she could get something to eat.

Extract 5.14: PEP 24.02.2014 (l 89-90)

RES: (overlapping)dans la pluie?(...) (noise in the background as children are talking){(overlapping)in the rain? (...)}

P: Miss tu askas(…)kas?si te plaît miss…)si te plaît miss!(...) (TEA talking in the background)ey chi te plait (bell goes again)nou ale nou ale nou ale(…)(noise in the background as children

are shouting){miss you have money(…) money?please miss (…) please miss! (...) (teach talking in the background)hey please(bell goes again)let’s go let’s go let’s go (…) (noise}

KEY: RES= Researcher; P=Piper

What is interesting to highlight is that when she saw that I did not acquiesce to her request even after she had asked me using the politeness discourse marker twice, she uttered the same thing but this time changing the sound in the first word of the mark and instead of pronouncing as [s] pronounced it as [ʃ] therefore coining a totally new word. Using [ʃ] instead of [s] is emblematic here. The sound [ʃ] does not exist in Creole. This is something that Piper is very much aware of, since it is often repeated in KM classes when the students who bring in a French word with the sound [ʃ] in their utterance are corrected. By using this sound within her utterance and therefore not only using a French word, but francizing it doubly with the sound, Piper used her repertoire for manifold purposes. She not only wanted to convince me to give her the money through this action, but by showing that she could speak French well by integrating French sounds within her repertoire, she expected that this act would make her request more viable. She then shifted to Creole to order to me to go out of the classroom authoritatively.

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This feature of francizing French words with the sound [ʃ] can be noted in another extract during break time when we were in the classroom. She ordered me in French to follow her and then after addressing one of her classmates, turned to talk to me and to explain in French the rules of the school. Hence, she reminded me that when the bell would go, they would need to queue up. After uttering the phrase quand la cloche sonne là once she moved on to repeat the sentence again this time francizing the word sonne by using the sound [ʃ] again.

Extract 5.15: PEP 24.02.2014 (l 211-215)

P: Viens! (...) (noise in the background){Come! (…)}

RES: (unintelligible)

P: komien(…)quand la cloche sonne là(…)quand la cloche chonne il faut arranger(…) {how much (…) when the bell goes now (…) when the bell goes we need to arrange}

RES: Il faut rentrer?(...) (noise in the background as children are talking)on va faire classe ici?(...)(noise in the background as children are shouting in the background){ we need to

go inside? (...) (noise)will we have the class here? (...) (noise)}

KEY: RES= Researcher; P=Piper

This utterance is shaped after she had ordered me to come with her outside. As was per the norm, when the bell would go for the start of the class they would need to go out and queue up before coming in. As I was surrounded that day with her other classmates and did not feel like going out, while she not only wanted to go out but also wanted me to accompany her, this move can again be seen as a means to get what she wanted. She aimed not only to explain that they would need to go out when the bell rang but it is also a discursive move to get me to accompany her. It is thus noted that the use of the [ʃ] sound, which for her connotes speaking French well, is a way to convince her audience to do what she wants.

Within the informal domain, Piper therefore uses her repertoire irrespective of her interlocutor. It is the purpose for which she uses her repertoire that shapes her interactional acts.