JOURNAL ARTICLE

Codeswitching Investigated in Dutch–English Bilingual Children in Australia.

  • Published In: Journal of Monolingual & Bilingual Speech (JMBS), 2026, v. 7, n. 1. P. 47 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Janabi, Marrit; Bogaardt, Hans; Duursma, Elizabeth; Knijnik, Stefani Riberio; Douwstra, Irene; Cuperus, Anouk 3 of 3

Abstract

The article investigates the frequency of intrasentential codeswitching—switching between languages within a sentence—among bilingual Dutch–English children aged 4 to 12 living in Australia, focusing on how age and conversation topic influence this behavior. Forty children attending a Dutch language school in Sydney participated in interviews and monologues on three topics: the Netherlands, Australia, and Random subjects. Results showed that codeswitching was common but did not significantly vary by age; however, the topic influenced codeswitching frequency, with less switching occurring when discussing the native Dutch environment. The study suggests that codeswitching patterns relate more to contextual factors such as topic and length of residence in Australia than to age, highlighting implications for understanding bilingual language development and maintenance.

Additional Information

  • Source:Journal of Monolingual & Bilingual Speech (JMBS). 2026/02, Vol. 7, Issue 1, p47
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Language and Linguistics
  • Publication Date:2026
  • ISSN:2631-8407
  • DOI:10.3138/jmbs-26509
  • Accession Number:192662557
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of Journal of Monolingual & Bilingual Speech (JMBS) is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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