EJI (English Journal of Indragiri) : Studies in Education, Literature, and Linguistics
Vol. 10 No. 2 (2026): EJI (English Journal of Indragiri): Studies in Education, Literature, and Ling

Sentence Structures: A Case Study of Children's Spontaneous Speech

Suparwoto Sapto Wahono (UIN Kiai Achmad Siddiq Jember, East Java - Indonesia)
Maftukhatur Rofiqotul Khilmiah (UIN Kiai Achmad Siddiq Jember, East Java - Indonesia)
Khoirunnisa (UIN Kiai Achmad Siddiq Jember, East Java - Indonesia)



Article Info

Publish Date
10 Jul 2026

Abstract

Spontaneous speech offers insights into how children use and construct sentences in real communicative contexts. This study investigates sentence structures used by two Indonesian children aged 12 and 10 in natural conversations using Indonesian language. It aims to analyze syntactic patterns found in their spontaneous speech. This study was a case study used a qualitative approach. The data collection used digital document that the children were recorded during natural interactions at home, and the data were transcribed and analyzed according to syntactic complexity: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. The findings show that the 10-year-old child mostly produced simple and compound structures, while the 12-year-old child demonstrated a broader range of complex and compound-complex structures. This suggests that syntactic development in children is closely tied to age and cognitive growth. The study contributes to understand sentence structure acquisition in Indonesian language and emphasizes the importance of spontaneous data in language development research.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

eji

Publisher

Subject

Education Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

EJI (English Journal of Indragiri): Studies in Education, Literature, and Linguistics is a scientific journal issued by the English Study Program FKIP Islamic University of Indragiri Tembilahan Riau. It includes authentic studies, conceptual, and best work articles in English education, literature, ...