Abstract
The present study investigated influences of the Japanese language on young Japanese and Chinese children’s ability to repeat English nonwords orally. Young Japanese children (n=46), young Chinese children (n=63), and young Japanese children attending an international kindergarten (n=29) were asked to repeat orally English nonwords composed of 2 to 5 syllables. As the number of syllables of the nonwords increased, the young Chinese children made fewer perfect responses, but they recalled more syllables of the nonwords. In contrast, with the 3-syllable nonwords, the young Japanese children’s responses showed a ceiling or floor effect in the decrease in the number of perfect responses and the increase in recalled syllables. In addition, the Japanese children who were attending an international kindergarten made as many perfect responses on the 2- and 3-syllable nonwords as same-age English native speakers, but they had fewer perfect responses for 5-syllable nonwords than the native speakers did. The number of syllables that they recalled for the 4- and 5-syllable nonwords was approximately the same as for the 3-syllable nonwords. These results suggest that young Japanese children should engage in more demanding phonological processing for the repetition of English nonwords.
