Phonetic Language Transfer from Japanese to English in Initial Language Development

Abstract

English and Japanese are based on two conventionally different sound systems. English is based on an alphabetic system while Japanese is based on a syllable-based system. This paper provides evidence of language transfer from Japanese to English in a young bilingual childs adjusted pronunciation of certain English words when they are first produced. Furthermore, this paper compares phonetic language transfer of the bilingual child with language productive research from a monolingual child and three other bilingual children, two live mainly in Japan and one in Denmark. The main subject of this study is a Bilingual First Language Acquisition (BFLA) child. The child simultaneously acquires two languages after birth and is exposed to Japanese and English fairly regularly because the mother uses Japanese and the father uses English to address the child almost every day. This study analyzes language production of this subject for the final 10 days in Japan (1;11.13-1;11.23) prior to going to America, approximately two months while in America (1;11.27-2;2.7), and approximately two months after returning to Japan (2;2.7-2;3.28). The subject was raised in Japan from birth until 1;11.13 with the immediate family and the Japanese maternal grandfather. The researcher did a frequency analysis and phonetic analysis of words produced by the child using the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES) Codes for the Human Analysis of Transcripts (CHAT) to transcribe language production of the child. CLAN programs were used to facilitate a variety of searches and do analyses.