Abstract
ABSTRACT The present study explores the use of a discourse marker (DM) in dyadic talks of Korean-American bilingual schoolchildren. Using a corpus-driven analysis, this study demonstrates that the core function of the DM is to convey thinking processes, which is different from that of Korean monolingual children's data. That is, bilingual children use the DM for their own communicative needs in bilingual conversation. In-depth analysis further reveals evidence of incomplete first language acquisition that may result from an imbalance between L1 and L2 language education. Therefore, this study calls attention to how educators can best assist heritage language learners in developing pragmatic competence in the home language. Implications for heritage-language development and education are further discussed.
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