Language Change in Japanese-English Bilingual Returnee Children over the Course of Five Years: Evidence from Accent-Rating
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| Title: | Language Change in Japanese-English Bilingual Returnee Children over the Course of Five Years: Evidence from Accent-Rating |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Tim Joris Laméris (ORCID |
| Source: | Second Language Research. 2025 41(1):191-216. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 26 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Bilingualism, Children, Pronunciation, Dialects, Bilingual Students, Japanese, English, Longitudinal Studies, Environmental Influences, Place of Residence, Immigrants, Dialect Studies |
| Geographic Terms: | Japan |
| DOI: | 10.1177/02676583241230854 |
| ISSN: | 0267-6583 1477-0326 |
| Abstract: | Few studies have examined global foreign accent (GFA) in bilingual children, and little is known about how GFA changes over time and what factors determine change. Here, we examine GFA trajectories in Japanese-English bilingual returnees (Japanese children who returned to Japan after having lived in a majority English environment for several years). In two accent-rating tasks, first language (L1) speakers of English or Japanese rated returnee speech excerpts recorded at three time points over a five-year period. The ratings show a decrease in Japanese GFA one year after return to Japan, and an increase in English GFA, but only five years after return. These findings suggest rapid re-exposure effects of the L1 and relatively stable maintenance of the second language (L2). Changes varied by L2 English age of onset (AoO) and exposure to L2 English while abroad, suggesting a crucial role for these individual factors in transitory contexts such as returnee bilingualism. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1458809 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Few studies have examined global foreign accent (GFA) in bilingual children, and little is known about how GFA changes over time and what factors determine change. Here, we examine GFA trajectories in Japanese-English bilingual returnees (Japanese children who returned to Japan after having lived in a majority English environment for several years). In two accent-rating tasks, first language (L1) speakers of English or Japanese rated returnee speech excerpts recorded at three time points over a five-year period. The ratings show a decrease in Japanese GFA one year after return to Japan, and an increase in English GFA, but only five years after return. These findings suggest rapid re-exposure effects of the L1 and relatively stable maintenance of the second language (L2). Changes varied by L2 English age of onset (AoO) and exposure to L2 English while abroad, suggesting a crucial role for these individual factors in transitory contexts such as returnee bilingualism. |
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| ISSN: | 0267-6583 1477-0326 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/02676583241230854 |
