Phonological Transfer from Cantonese to English for Cantonese-English Bilingual Children: A Scoping Review


  •  Yunqing Xie    

Abstract

The English acquisition of Cantonese-English bilingual children has emerged as a prominent research focus within the field of bilingual studies. This study aims to explore the characteristics of Cantonese ESL (English as a Second Language) children by examining Cantonese-English bilingual children as subjects. Specifically, three main research questions are addressed: whether Cantonese influences the English learning of Cantonese-English bilingual children, how Cantonese impacts English learning, and what the resulting effects are. To conduct this investigation, a scoping review research method was employed to gather relevant studies on the topic. Five significant studies were selected and analyzed to examine the English learning characteristics of Cantonese-English bilingual children and the influence of Cantonese on their English acquisition process. Throughout the scoping review process, various comparisons were made to highlight distinctions between the studies, aiding in answering the research questions posed in this study. Key findings indicate three primary types of influence from Cantonese to English: tone transfer, delayed acquisition of English lexical stress, and difficulty in acquiring speech rhythm.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
  • ISSN(Print): 1925-4768
  • ISSN(Online): 1925-4776
  • Started: 2011
  • Frequency: quarterly

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