Tweetalige Ontwikkeling in Context

The main objective of this study was the exploration of the structural and the temporal development of Berber and Dutch among Moroccan berberophone children of groups one, two and three of primary school in the Netherlands, and the extent to which this development can be related to the children's social context. Children of group one proved to be balanced bilinguals, while those of groups two and three were dominant in Dutch. Both their structural and temporal development was significantly better in Dutch. Dutch development showed to be positively related to the language spoken in interactions with siblings and best friends, degree of 'contact with Dutch native speakers', and school (years spent at school). Berber development appeared to be dependent only on the parents' use of Berber in interactions with their children. With other interlocutors, either at home or at school, Dutch is the dominant, if not the only language used.