L1 Development in an L2 Environment: The Use of Cantonese Classifiers and Quantifiers by Young British-born Chinese in Tyneside

Abstract

Cantonese data from a group of 34 British-born Chinese–English bilinguals, aged between 5 and 16 years, are examined to elucidate patterns of L1 development in an L2 environment. Based on tape-recorded conversations and narrative data, the analysis focuses on the use of two Cantonese morphosyntactic features, classifiers and quantifiers. Findings suggest that despite a slight positive correlation between age and Cantonese ability, there is evidence of delayed and stagnated L1 development. The children are shown to have difficulties with specific Cantonese classifiers and quantifiers, which may be attributed to incomplete language learning and L2 influence.