scholarly journals Family language policy in Russian-Estonian and Russian-Spanish multilingual settings

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1047-1070
Author(s):  
Olga Ivanova ◽  
Anastassia Zabrodskaja

This paper primarily focuses on the family language policy of bilingual Russian-Estonian and Russian-Spanish families in relation to the maintenance of Russian as a heritage language. Its main objective is to identify social factors that either help or hinder this process. In doing so, this paper searches for commonalities and specificities of the mainstream attitudes towards Russian as a heritage language in Estonia and Spain, by analysing the sociolinguistic situation of Russian in both countries and by examining the factors conditioning the maintenance of Russian as a heritage language in family settings. Our research is based on an in-depth analysis of a variety of sources, mainly quantitative statistical and demographic data on self-reported language behaviour and language ideologies in mixed families from Estonia (n = 40) and Spain (n = 40). The main results of our comparative study confirm the general positive attitude towards Russian as a heritage language, but they also highlight an important variability of these attitudes both between countries and within each community. We show that these attitudes directly determine the principles of family language policy, the parents strategies to transmit Russian as a heritage language, and the level of proficiency in Russian as a heritage language in the second generation. These results allow us to conclude that, as a heritage language, Russian relies on strong attitudinal support in even small communities, like Estonian or Spanish, but also that its confident transmission should rely on external subsidy.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipak Tamang

This paper discusses on how language policy, language ideologies, parental language planning and children’s role in the shaping of family language practices are associated in the multilingual practice context. The objective of this study was to explore the language policies focus on heritage language maintenance by negotiating and instantiating in parents-children interactions and contribution of children’s language practices to shape the family multilingualism in the process of socialization. I have used qualitative research design to collect the data in this study. Three participants from different language background were selected. The research participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview technique to collect the data. The study concluded that family members’ contribution to the shaping of family language practices and policies in daily life interactions is the most important and language ideologies play a vital role in language policy and language acquisition in the family of multilingual practice.


2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 547-566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josep Soler ◽  
Anastassia Zabrodskaja

AbstractThis article looks at Spanish-Estonian speaking families and their language ideologies in relation to language use in the family setting—how parents decide to use languages among themselves and with their children. Family members choose different languages for different purposes when they talk to one another. In our study, parents draw on their knowledge of the ‘one parent–one language’ strategy but also translanguage for different reasons, constructing new patterns of bilingual modes. In the article, we examine parents’ attitudes towards language maintenance, transmission, and use with their children. We incorporate the lens of ‘new speaker’ research to analyse the empirical data collected in Tallinn households among Spanish-Estonian speaking families so as to contribute to a better understanding of family language policy, planning, and management, highlighting how macro-level sociolinguistic expectations and norms might be elaborated on the micro level in everyday social interactions. (Family language policy, language ideology, new speakers, Estonian, Spanish)*


Author(s):  
Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen

The family is a social unit which has its norms for speaking, viewing, acting, and believing, thus providing a cornerstone for language socialisation and language development. This chapter begins with a brief introduction to the theoretical conceptualisation of family language policy (FLP) currently used by most researchers. It then provides a discussion of the major contributions to the field by focusing on three major themes: FLP and language-in-education policy; FLP and language ideology; and linguistic practices and the processes of language change. This discussion is followed by an overview of recent developments in research methodology employed in the field. Finally, future directions in research resulting from increasing transnational migration and evolving political environments are outlined.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 126-142
Author(s):  
Frederik H. Bissinger

Lithuanian language discourses and family language policies of Lithuanian families in Sweden: A case studyThis case study shares first insights of the family language policy of a Lithuanian family in Sweden. It identifies Lithuanian language discourses that might affect this policy and analyses discourse strategies applied by the family members. The aim is to shed some new light on the negotiation processes of family language policies that either support the maintenance of an ethnic language as the means of intra-family communication in immigrant contexts or, conversely, work against it. Applying a linguistic ethnographical approach, the study indicates that in this case the family language policy is mostly shaped by the mother in a protective and monolingual way in order to foster the maintenance of the Lithuanian heritage in anticipation of an external threat for Lithuanian language and identity. Litewskie dyskursy językowe a polityki językowe litewskich rodzin w Szwecji. Studium przypadkuNiniejszy artykuł przedstawia wstępne uwagi analityczne dotyczące polityki językowej litewskiej rodziny mieszkającej w Szwecji. Autor identyfikuje litewskie dyskursy językowe, które mogą mieć wpływ na jej politykę językową, i analizuje strategie dyskursu stosowane przez jej członków. Celem studium jest nowe spojrzenie na procesy negocjacji rodzinnych polityk językowych (family language policies), które mogą być pomocne w utrzymaniu ojczystego języka jako środka komunikacji w rodzinach emigrantów lub temu nie sprzyjać. Przedstawione badania opierają się na metodach etnografii lingwistycznej (linguistic ethnography) i wykazują, że w tym przypadku rodzinna polityka językowa jest kształtowana głównie przez matkę, jest jednojęzyczna i ma charakter ochronny – jest nakierowana na zachowanie litewskiego dziedzictwa kulturowego w związku z przewidywanymi zagrożeniami zewnętrznymi dla języka litewskiego i tożsamości litewskiej.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 295
Author(s):  
Rani Septi Sapriati ◽  
Soni Mirizon ◽  
Sary Silvhiany

A family has a role in supporting bilingual or multilingual children. In acquiring English for instance, family language policy is likely to shape the development of children bilingualism or multilingualism. Through a qualitative study in a case study design, the language ideologies of two bi-/multilingual families in Palembang were investigated and explored. The participants of this study were the Zahra and the Najwa families who brought up their children in more than one language including English. The data were collected through ethnographic interviews with the parents, grandmother, and children. Thematic analysis was used in analyzing the data of this study. The raw data were coded and classified into categories to derive big major themes regarding ideological factors that shaped language policy. The derived themes were then interpreted descriptively. The results indicated that there were some ideological factors found that contributed to the shaping of the language policy of those two families, such as social values, economical values, political values, cultural values, parents' knowledge toward language acquisition, and bi-/multilingualism. The findings of this study suggest that families need to provide support for their children in their bilingual or multilingual journey. Furthermore, stakeholders and professionals should play a role in the choice of language used in education as well as provide considerable support and assistance for language policy in family domain


2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orly Kayam ◽  
Tijana Hirsch

Abstract Challenges of heritage language maintenance and benefits of bilingualism have been widely acknowledged. Heritage language maintenance research most oft en focuses on heritage languages in English-dominant societies. This paper presents a case study on family language policy experiences, strategies, and outcomes led by an American-born mother in her effort to maintain and promote English, her heritage language, within the home in the Hebrew-dominant environment in Israel


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