Making a Family: Language Ideologies and Practices in a Multilingual LGBTQ+ Family with Adopted Children

Author(s):  
Kinga Kozminska ◽  
Zhu Hua
Neofilolog ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 155-169
Author(s):  
Emilia Wąsikiewicz-Firlej

The following paper analyses child language socialization in a multilingual transnational family from the perspective of the emerging concept of family language policy (FLP). The central assumption of FLP is the crucial role of parents’ language ideologies in their children’s language socialization and construction of their widely-understood identity. The participants of the undertaken case study were three members of a Polish-Japanese family residing in the UK. The inquiry was based on a series of semi-structured interviews with individual family members and cyclical observation of the whole family over the period of 13 months. The results showed certain discrepancies between the language ideologies and practices of the parents, as well as difficulties in managing the family’s language policy that was to a large extent shaped by the child’s individual preferences and educational needs, often irrespective of the parents’ plans or intentions. Generally, the study reported essential difficulties in maintaining the child’s multilingualism due to a limited use of the minority languages (Japanese and Polish) at the cost of the majority language (English). 


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


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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Maria Andritsou ◽  
Konstantinos Chatzidimou

This paper focuses on the micro-level of language policy and aims to point out the critical role of family language policy (FLP) in language maintenance/shift of minority/heritage home language(s) and childhood bilingualism. FLP could resist broader language ideologies by transforming parents’ language ideologies and attitudes into language practices and language management that support the development of active or additional childhood bilingualism. Through a research into the interdisciplinary components of FLP, this paper aims to illustrate aspects of multilevel and dynamic relationships between each of these core components. An introduction to FLP as a research field is included as well as some of the studies that spotlighted the way parental agency in regard to each of the three FLP components could shape, explicitly or implicitly, language use and planning for the minority/heritage home language(s).


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)*


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bedrettin Yazan ◽  
Ilham Ali

Addressing the paucity of research on the experiences of Arabic-speaking Muslim immigrant families, this study investigated the family language policy (FLP) of a Libyan family currently residing in the Southeast United States. More specifically, it focused on the impact of the parents’ language ideologies and ethnolinguistic aspirations on their language planning decisions about their daughter’s maintenance of Arabic. It drew upon the theoretical constructs of language ideologies (Woolard, 1998) and capital (Bourdieu, 1986). Part of a larger study, the data in this paper are gleaned from two sources: a questionnaire and two rounds of semi-structured individual interviews. The findings suggested that the Abdel-Aziz family’s FLP is driven by the parents’ vision and expectations for their children’s language use, which include (a) aspirations to develop bilingualism and maintain ethnolinguistic identity, (b) aspirations to develop biculturalism and resist cultural colonization, (c) participating in religious practices and communities, and (d) maintaining relationships with family and Libyan society. In light of the findings, this paper discusses the complex interplay between “linguistic and non-linguistic forces” (Curdt-Christiansen, 2016) in parental language ideologies that influence the emergence and enactment of FLPs. This interplay involves the intertwined nature of language and religious identity, the family’s responses to the dominant societal ideologies in the U.S., and the understanding of linguistic, cultural, and social capital (Ferguson, 2013; Gomaa, 2011; Mills, 2004).


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 455-483
Author(s):  
Rachel Showstack ◽  
Drew Colcher

Abstract This paper examines the language ideologies among parents of Mexican family origin from Garden City, Kansas, and considers the ways in which Latinxs from different sociolinguistic generations have responded to an evolving societal context when making decisions about language use within the family. The analysis is based on 24 video-recorded interviews with parents of Mexican family background who reside in Garden City, a rural town in western Kansas where the majority of the population is of Hispanic origin. Drawing from the linguistic anthropological notion of ‘language ideologies’ and the framework of family langauge policy, the study examines (a) the ideologies that the participants express about the value of Spanish and particular varieties of Spanish in Kansas and (b) how they make reference to local language policies and personal beliefs and attitudes when describing their home language policies. The analysis reveals that local language policies and the availability of resources can dramatically influence the ways in which participants’ linguistic policies and practices reflect their ideological positionings. Findings suggest that there is a need to expand resources for emergent bilinguals and multilingual families in the region.


Author(s):  
Aris Rizki ◽  
Muchamad Fajri

This study investigates how family language policies are shaped and developed in five Indonesian scholars’ families who live in England. More specifically, it analyses parents’ attitudes towards children’s bilingualism and second language development focusing on the investigation of factors that can influence parental language ideologies and the patterns of language practices within the families. Data were obtained from participant observations, fieldnotes, and semi-structured interviews. All the data were then analysed using inductive analysis approaches proposed by Cohen et al. (2011) and Thomas (2006) which include reading the transcripts several times, identifying the texts related to the purpose of the study, and deciding the categories. The findings reveal that children’s ability to acquire a new language becomes the driving force behind parental language ideologies. Additionally, parental experience, children’s education, and children’s language choice also contribute to the shaping of parental language ideologies. Based on the patterns of family language practices used by participant families, our findings show that the longer they live in England, the less Indonesian they use in their families’ interaction. This can happen as the children gradually develop their language proficiency. However, evidence from this inquiry indicates that parents’ consistency in giving their children exposure to Indonesian can be the determining factor in the success of children’s bilingualism.


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