Pride, prejudice and pragmatism: family language policies in the UK

IF 1.4 2区文学 Q2 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Language Policy Pub Date : 2023-09-10 DOI:10.1007/s10993-023-09669-0

Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, Li Wei, Zhu Hua

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract In this study, we examine how mobility and on-going changes in sociocultural contexts impact family language policy (FLP) in the UK. Using a questionnaire and involving 470 transnational families across the UK, our study provides a descriptive analysis of different family language practices in England and establishes how attitudes influence the different types of FLP in these families. Complementing the descriptive analysis, we use interview data to understand the driving forces behind the different types of language practices and language management activities, and explore how ideological constructs of ‘pride’, ‘prejudice’ and ‘pragmatism’ are directly related to negative or positive attitudes towards the development of children’s heritage language. The findings indicate that migration trajectories, social values, raciolinguistic policing in schools, and linguistic loyalty have shaped family decisions about what languages to keep and what languages to let go. Our paper responds to the linguistic and demographic changes in British society, and makes an important contribution to our knowledge about multilingual development of children in transnational families. Critically, this study shows that FLPs alone cannot save the minority languages; institutionally sanctioned language practices and ideologies have to make a move from limiting the use of these languages in educational contexts to legitimising them as what they are: linguistic resources and languages of pride.

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傲慢、偏见与实用主义:英国的家庭语言政策

在这项研究中，我们研究了社会文化背景的流动性和持续变化如何影响英国的家庭语言政策(FLP)。我们的研究使用问卷调查，涉及英国470个跨国家庭，对英国不同的家庭语言实践进行了描述性分析，并确定了态度如何影响这些家庭中不同类型的FLP。作为描述性分析的补充，我们利用访谈数据来了解不同类型的语言实践和语言管理活动背后的驱动力，并探讨“骄傲”、“偏见”和“实用主义”的意识形态结构如何与儿童遗产语言发展的消极或积极态度直接相关。研究结果表明，移民轨迹、社会价值观、学校中的种族语言监管以及语言忠诚度影响了家庭对保留和放弃哪些语言的决定。我们的论文回应了英国社会的语言和人口变化，并对我们了解跨国家庭中儿童的多语言发展做出了重要贡献。重要的是，这项研究表明，仅靠FLPs不能拯救少数民族语言;制度认可的语言实践和意识形态必须做出改变，从限制这些语言在教育背景下的使用，到使它们合法化，因为它们是语言资源和骄傲的语言。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Language Policy Multiple-

CiteScore

3.60

自引率

6.20%

发文量

期刊介绍： Language Policy is highly relevant to scholars, students, specialists and policy-makers working in the fields of applied linguistics, language policy, sociolinguistics, and language teaching and learning. The journal aims to contribute to the field by publishing high-quality studies that build a sound theoretical understanding of the field of language policy and cover a range of cases, situations and regions worldwide. A distinguishing feature of this journal is its focus on various dimensions of language educational policy. Language education policy includes decisions about which languages are to be used as a medium of instruction and/or taught in schools, as well as analysis of these policies within their social, ethnic, religious, political, cultural and economic contexts. The journal aims to continue its tradition of bringing together solid scholarship on language policy and language education policy from around the world but also to expand its direction into new areas. The editors are very interested in papers that explore language policy not only at national levels but also at the institutional levels of schools, workplaces, families, health services, media and other entities. In particular, we welcome theoretical and empirical papers with sound qualitative or quantitative bases that critically explore how language policies are developed at local and regional levels, as well as on how they are enacted, contested and negotiated by the targets of that policy themselves. We seek papers on the above topics as they are researched and informed through interdisciplinary work within related fields such as education, anthropology, politics, linguistics, economics, law, history, ecology, and geography. We particularly are interested in papers from lesser-covered parts of the world of Africa and Asia. Specifically we encourage papers in the following areas: Detailed accounts of promoting and managing language (education) policy (who, what, why, and how) in local, institutional, national and global contexts. Research papers on the development, implementation and effects of language policies, including implications for minority and majority languages, endangered languages, lingua francas and linguistic human rights; Accounts of language policy development and implementation by governments and governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations and business enterprises, with a critical perspective (not only descriptive). Accounts of attempts made by ethnic, religious and minority groups to establish, resist, or modify language policies (language policies ''from below''); Theoretically and empirically informed papers addressing the enactment of language policy in public spaces, cyberspace and the broader language ecology (e.g., linguistic landscapes, sociocultural and ethnographic perspectives on language policy); Review pieces of theory or research that contribute broadly to our understanding of language policy, including of how individual interests and practices interact with policy. We also welcome proposals for special guest-edited thematic issues on any of the topics above, and short commentaries on topical issues in language policy or reactions to papers published in the journal.