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Article published In:
Asia-Pacific Language Variation
Vol. 10:1 (2024) ► pp.40–66

Transplanted Brazilian Portuguese in Japan

Mobility, contact, and koiné formation among Latin American immigrants

ORCID logo | The University of Tokyo
| Kanda University of International Studies
| Kobe Shoin Women’s University
This paper explores an emerging Brazilian Portuguese koiné spoken among Brazilian-dominant Latin American immigrants in Japan’s Greater Tokyo Area. It examines Strong-R (onset /r/) realizations by 79 speakers in the context of dialect and language contact within the diasporic setting. The results highlight (a) levelling and focussing towards [h] as a result of koineization and (b) early stages of the adoption of [ɸ], a xenolectal feature, resulting from contact with Japanese. The external and internal motivations for change towards [h] are identified as local and supralocal levelling and drift. The transition to [ɸ], and its linguistic and social embedding, are discussed in terms of acquisition order, the structure of the Japanese kana syllabary, and speakers’ social networks. The conclusion emphasizes the importance for koiné genesis of input dialects, ongoing language change in the homeland, the social meaning of variants in both pre- and post-contact societies, and speakers’ social networks and mobilities.
Keywords: dialect contact, language contact, rhoticity, koineization, diaspora Portuguese, drift
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Latin American immigrants in Japan
  • 3.Strong-R in Brazilian Portuguese: Diachrony, synchrony, and indexical meanings
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Data and participants
    • 4.2Social and linguistic factors
    • 4.3Analytical procedures
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1Distribution of Strong-R variants in Jōsō and their origin in Brazil
    • 5.2Statistical modelling I: Predictors of advancing form in Portuguese in Japan
    • 5.3Statistical modelling II: Effects of dialect background and mobility within Japan
    • 5.4A mixed approach to the emergence of an innovative form in Japanese Portuguese
  • 6.Discussion and conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 8 August 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/aplv.21004.mat
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