In this study, we recorded conversations between first-year university students: one originally from the Kansai region and another who had recently relocated there (non-Kansai student). Recordings were conducted over a 6-month period involving six pairs of participants. We investigated whether the non-Kansai students adopted Kansai (Keihan) accent patterns in their speech, with particular focus on three-syllable nouns and adjectives. Our analysis revealed that the frequency of Kansai accent usage among the migrants varied based on their region of origin, gender, and participation in extracurricular activities. Notably, a male student who belonged to a sports club produced the Kansai accent in 60.7% of three-syllable nouns in the fifth month and in 54.5% of three-syllable adjectives in the sixth month. Non-Kansai students tended to adopt Kansai accents when immediately repeating words spoken by native Kansai speakers, especially in the initial months of the study. These findings suggest that the acquisition of the Kansai accent among migrants was initially driven by input from native speakers, followed by a gradual increase in spontaneous usage independent of direct input.
NAKAMURA et al. (Wed,) studied this question.