Download or read book Studies in Japanese Bilingualism written by Mary Goebel Noguchi and published by Multilingual Matters. This book was released on 2001 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of twelve empirical studies helps fill the gap in information on bilingualism in Japan. The introduction examines the widely-held myth of "Japanese homogeneity", demonstrating how language contact has increased dramatically in the past two decades as Japan's economy has attracted new immigrants. The results of a survey on Japanese attitudes towards bilingualism suggest that only certain languages are associated with bilingualism in Japan - a trend that has serious implications for the treatment of Japan's minorities. Developments in language use by three of Japan's oldest linguistic minorities are examined. Two ground-breaking studies analyse language use by new minorities in Japan, and the problems faced by language-minority students in Japanese schools are also surveyed. Elite bilinguals are the focus of studies on factors affecting the development of active bilingualism in bicultural children and the progress of students in Japan's first English immersion programme. Two studies on codeswitching provide a Japanese perspective on this emerging field of research. The collection closes with an overview of research on language attrition in Japanese contexts. Book jacket.