ERIC Number: EJ841070
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2006
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1479-0718
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Language Switching as a Window on Trilingual Acquisition
Stavans, Anat; Swisher, Virginia
International Journal of Multilingualism, v3 n3 p193-220 2006
The present study discusses and describes codeswitches produced by two trilingual children acquiring English, Spanish and Hebrew simultaneously from birth. Data were collected regularly over a period of 20 months (from age 2;6 to 4;2 for M and from age 5;5 to 7;1 for E), in naturalistic tape-recorded sessions. Codeswitches drawn from transcriptions of 32 h of spontaneous conversation were analysed. We describe and explain trilingual switches involving morphosyntactic boundary violations, some of which have not yet been reported in the literature. We claim that these switches provide incipient evidence for a developing trilingual competence that stands at the base of trilingual performance. (Contains 8 tables.)
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Multilingualism, Code Switching (Language), Second Language Learning, Semitic Languages, Spanish, Toddlers, Young Children, Children, Speech Communication, Discourse Analysis, Morphology (Languages), Syntax, Communicative Competence (Languages), Language Research, Child Language
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A