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Grown children of foreign parents' experiences of minority language loss in Japan

Research Project

Project/Area Number 18K00698
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 02090:Japanese language education-related
Research InstitutionKanagawa University (2020)
Sagami Women's University (2018-2019)

Principal Investigator

Nakamura Janice  神奈川大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (10622136)

Project Period (FY) 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2020)
Budget Amount *help
¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥130,000 (Direct Cost: ¥100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥30,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥120,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Keywordsminority language / mixed-ethnic / regret / Japan / youths / bilingual / identity / monolingual / minority language loss / language regrets / mixed-ethnic youths / bilingual ability / Japanese monolingual / mixed-ethnic identity / mixed ethnic / haafu children / lost opportunity / monolingualism / Minority language / Foreign parents / Bicultural children / Foreign children / Family language policy
Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research investigates minority language (ML) ability and identity in mixed-ethnic youths in Japan using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Interviews with ten mixed-ethnic subjects showed that family relations, parents’ reluctance to speak the ML and the prioritization of English contributed to the non-transmission of the ML. The youths described their lost opportunity to acquire the ML as regretful, indicating its impact their social and emotional well-being. Moreover, a survey of 31 mixed-ethnic youths showed that many of them feel closest to their mixed-ethnic identity. However, non-ML-speaking youths tend to associate their mixed-ethnic identity with external factors (e.g., appearances) whereas ML-speaking youths consider intrinsic factors (e.g., ML ability) as their reasons, suggesting that their language ability affects their identity development. In sum, these results indicate the importance of speaking one's own language to the child.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

The study shows the importance of minority language transmission in the family. Non-Japanese parents tend to speak Japanese instead of their native language to their children. However, speaking the parent's native language is important for the child's social, emotional and identity development.

Report

(4 results)
  • 2020 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2019 Research-status Report
  • 2018 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (4 results)

All 2020 2019

All Journal Article (2 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 1 results,  Peer Reviewed: 2 results) Presentation (2 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 2 results,  Invited: 1 results)

  • [Journal Article] Minority language ability and perceived ethnic identity of mixed-ethnic youths in Japan2020

    • Author(s)
      Janice Nakamura & Misa Sarah Hiraoka
    • Journal Title

      Japan Journal of Multilingualism and Multiculturalism

      Volume: 26 Pages: 33-57

    • Related Report
      2020 Annual Research Report
    • Peer Reviewed
  • [Journal Article] Language regrets: mixed-ethnic children’s lost opportunity for minority language acquisition in Japan2020

    • Author(s)
      Nakamura Janice
    • Journal Title

      Multilingua

      Volume: 39 Issue: 2 Pages: 213-237

    • DOI

      10.1515/multi-2019-0040

    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Finding Universal Patterns in Family Language Policies and Their Effects on Children: Evidence from Different World Regions and Different Disciplines2020

    • Author(s)
      Janice Nakamura
    • Organizer
      Georgetown University Roundtable 2020
    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research / Invited
  • [Presentation] Language regretsMixed-ethnic children’s loss opportunity for minority language acquisition in Japan2019

    • Author(s)
      Janice Nakamura
    • Organizer
      International Language in Focus Conference
    • Related Report
      2019 Research-status Report
    • Int'l Joint Research

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Published: 2018-04-23   Modified: 2022-01-27  

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