Childrens use of address and reference terms: Language socialization in a Japanese-English bilingual environment

Abstract

This study examines displays of understanding in two fundamentally different personal reference systems (Japanese and English) as these displays are evidenced by bilingual children in the course of naturally occurring conversational interaction. The children in this study encounter difficulties using Japanese personal reference terms in the absence of adult input specifying how the child is related to his or her interlocutor. This problem is not apparent in the same children's use of English personal reference terms, however. The data suggest that both adult input and children's creativity are necessary for finding solutions to referential dilemmas. Particularly salient in this investigation is bilingual children's insertion of English personal pronouns into Japanese speech as an ingenious solution for simplifying the Japanese reference system Ϫ code-mixing which may also serve to index the speakers' complex English-speaking and Japanese-speaking identities.

Social relationships and shifting languages in Northern Thailand1

“…Several recent researchers document the changing understandings of social relationships among second-generation Japanese-American and Korean-American children, as displayed in their hybrid practices of person reference and respectful conduct. The social stances marked by these communicative practices are shown to be commensurate with children's Americanized understandings of relationships with adults, siblings, friends, and teachers (Lo 2009;Morita 2003;Song 2009). These projects point, in varying ways, to the mediating role of social relationships in language change and language shift.…”

Bilingual development in study-abroad journal narratives: Three case studies from a short-term program in Mexico

“…For this reason, we draw on LS as a theoretical paradigm that can help explain bilingual development through participation in L2 practices (Watson-Gegeo 2004). As well as a theoretical paradigm, LS is a research methodology, generally involving long-term observation of learners in natural contexts (e.g., Morita 2003). However, in this paper we draw on LS theory to inform our analysis of bilingual journals written by SA students.…”

“…For example, Morita (2003) examined JapaneseϪEnglish bilingual children's development of personal reference terms, the appropriate use of which in Japanese varies with the relative status and intimacy of interlocutors. As researchers have begun to apply LS theory to L2 learning by adolescents and adults, this focus on how identities and relationships affect bilingual development has continued (Bayley & Schecter 2003) although recent adult studies have tended not to examine the development of specific grammatical structures in the L2.…”

“…LS theory contends that development towards communicative competence occurs through meaningful participation in linguistic practices over prolonged time periods (Bayley & Schecter 2003;Morita 2003;WatsonGegeo 2004). Moreover, communicative competence has long been posited to include grammatical competence.…”

Altering distance and defining authority

“…In some languages, like Chinese, certain personal pronouns have even been replaced by phrases consisting of degrading and enhancing nouns, and particular honorific nominal expressions have been grammaticalised for the same effect. Also, in other Asian communities, the use of deictic terms indexes certain social factors about the addressee/referent, like status and social group, sex and age (Morita 2003).…”