The Topic-Comment Construction in Japanese-English Code-Switching
Author(s):
Nishimura, Miwa
Format:
Journal article
Citation:
World Englishes, Volume 8, Issue 3 (1989-01). pp. 365-377.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Various studies that attempt to formulate rules of intersentential code-switching using different linguistic frameworks are described. Code-switching in English & Japanese, two typologically different languages, is detailed. Japanese is a subject-object-verb (SOV) postpositional language, whereas English is SVO/prepositional. The Japanese topic-comment construction is explored (N = 6 Japanese Americans or Canadians residing in San Francisco or Toronto, respectively). Sentences containing the structure of a constituent marked by a Japanese topic marker wa & English sentences taken from the code-switching mode of Japanese-English bilinguals in North America are examined. It is shown that these sentences are topic-comment in structure & that Ss form a topic & a comment separately, ie, a topic in Japanese & a comment in English. Results are compared to the early English interlanguage of a Hmong speaker reported by Thomas Huebner (A Longitudinal Analysis of the Acquisition of English, Ann Arbor: Karoma, 1983). 3 Tables, 24 References. A. Sturrock