This study reports some results from a research project on language reactivation among Korean adoptees in Sweden. The main purpose is to examine whether adoptees`` pre-existing knowledge of the first language has an impact on their relearning the lang...
This study reports some results from a research project on language reactivation among Korean adoptees in Sweden. The main purpose is to examine whether adoptees`` pre-existing knowledge of the first language has an impact on their relearning the language as adults. Twenty-one Korean adoptees and 11 native Swedish learners of Korean, all of whom had studied Korean for at least one year at Stockholm University, took part in the study. The presentation focuses on the perception test where informants listened to and differentiated between minimal pairs with word-initial Korean obstruents that are difficult for Swedish learners of Korean. Results show, among other things, that some Korean adoptees performed almost as well as native Koreans in perceiving Korean obstruents, whereas no Swedes did.