Japanese-English Code Switching in Bilingual Children

Page No.: 
75
Writer(s): 
Sandra S. Fotos, Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College

The results of an exploratory study of Japanese-English code switchingin
four bilingual children are presented here. Functional aspects
of code switching are examined, and the results are consistent with
findings reported in previous studies primarily involving SpanishEnglish
switches. However, the two major linguistic constraints on
code switching developed from consideration of switches between
syntactically similar languages do not appear to hold in a number
of Japanese-English switches. Furthermore, quantitative analysis
of the switches reveals additional differences from earlier reports,
these also linked to the issue of switching between syntactically
dissimilar languages. The use of code switching as an enrichment
device and an intensifying strategy to increase the dramatic effects
of natural speech narratives is also considered.

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