| This study investigates the phenomena of second language (L2, hereafter) inner voice for three Japanese-American English bilinguals who had long-term exposure to the L2 in naturalistic contexts, that is, by living and/or working or studying in the U.S. American English learners of L2 Japanese were included in the study as well, although only one of them had naturalistic exposure, the other having traveled to Japan in addition to being married to a Japanese national. Data for the study reveals how and when L2 inner voice is utilized, how it appears to develop, how it leads to shifts in identity toward the L2 languaculture, and how and when this takes place. Moreover, the study distinguishes the functions of L2 inner voice from those of L2 inner speech, although the two were found to co-exist at times, functioning interchangeably. Furthermore, the emergence of the L2 inner voice appears to be dependent on the prior development of L2 inner speech. Overall, the main function of L2 inner voice proves to be a bridging of language and cultural gaps between the L1 and L2 languaculture. |
