Multilingual Families Based in Poland: An Investigation into Family Language Policies

Ilona Banasiak, Magdalena Olpińska-Szkiełko

Abstract


This article explores family language policies among mixed couples in Poland, focusing on how family members perceive and manage their languages. Using Spolsky’s FLP Model, the authors analysed 79 language biographies from multilingual speakers based on in-depth narrative interviews conducted between 2014 and 2021. The findings revealed that although families expressed explicit language ideologies and strategies, these often did not align with their actual language practices. The analysis also indicated that the affective and social aspects of multilingualism, such as the language status resulting from the political, social, and historical situation, were crucial factors influencing family language policies.


Keywords


multilingual family; Family Language Policy; language ideology; language management; language practices; heritage language

Full Text:

PDF

References


Appendix. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WWgqrS1Cqh_nFUPdfxUGRnSWIsnj1wDSKCR_GuW_tWg/edit?tab=t.0

Banasiak, I., & Olpińska-Szkiełko, M. (2019). Language use of a bilingual child – an analysis of case studies. Kwartalnik Neofilologiczny, LXVI(3), 479–491. https://doi.org/10.24425/

kn.2019.129909

Banasiak, I., & Olpińska-Szkiełko, M. (2020). Sociolinguistic determinants of heritage language maintenance and second language acquisition in bilingual immigrant speakers. Glottodidactica,

(2), 49–65. https://doi.org/10.14746/gl.2020.47.2.01

Barron-Hauwaert, S. (2004). Language Strategies for Bilingual Families: The one-parent-onelanguage Approach. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853597169

Bezcioglu-Goktolga, I., & Yagmur, K. (2018). Home language policy of second-generation Turkish families in the Netherlands. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(1), 44–59.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2017.1310216

Bohnacker, U. (2022). Turkish heritage families in Sweden: language practices and family language policy. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43(9), 861–873. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2041646

Bose, P., Gao, X., Starfield, S., Shuting S., & Ramdani, J. M. (2023). Conceptualisation of family and language practice in family language policy research on migrants: a systematic review. Language Policy, 22, 343–365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-023-09661-8

Boyd, S. (1998). North Americans in the Nordic region: elite bilinguals. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 133, 31–50. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1998.133.31

Caldas, S. J. (2012). Language policy in the family. In B. Spolsky (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of language policy (pp. 351–373). Cambridge University Press.

Caldas, S., & Caron-Caldas, S. (2000). The influence of family, school, and community on bilingual preference: Results from a Louisiana/Quebec case study. Journal of Applied Psycholinguistics,

(3), 365–381.

Caldas, S. & Caron-Caldas, S. (2002). A sociolinguistic analysis of the language preferences of adolescent bilinguals: Shifting allegiances and developing identities. Applied Linguistics,

(4), 490–514.

Canac-Marquis, R., & Walker, D. C. (2016). Variation in Canada: Effects of language contact in rural francophone Alberta. In S. Detey, J. Durand, B. Laks, & Ch. Lyche (Eds.), Varieties of Spoken French (pp. 463–477). Oxford University. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:o

so/9780199573714.003.0037

Cavallaro, F., Tan, Y. K., Xie, W., & Ng, B. Ch. (2023). Language practices and policies of Singaporean-Japanese families in Singapore. Pragmatics (pp. 55–80). https://doi.org/10.1075/

prag.21021.cav

Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2014). Family language policy: Is learning Chinese at odds with learning English in Singapore? In X. L. Curdt-Christiansen, & A. Hancock (Eds.), Learning Chinese in diasporic communities: Many pathways to being Chinese (pp. 35–58). John Benjamins.

Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2016). Conflicting language ideologies and contradictory language practices in Singaporean bilingual families. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 37(7), 694–709. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2015.1127926

Curdt-Christiansen, X. L., & Huang, J. (2020). Factors influencing family language policy. In A. C. Schalley & S. A. Eisenchlas, Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and Affective Factors (pp. 174–193). De Gruyter. https://doi.

org/10.1515/9781501510175-009

Curdt-Christiansen, X. L., & Wang, W. (2018). Parents as agents of multilingual education: Family language planning in China. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 31(3), 235–254.

De Houwer, A. (2020). Harmonious Bilingualism: Well-being for families in bilingual settings. In A. C. Schalley, & S. A. Eisenchlas (Eds.), Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and Affective Factors (pp. 63–83). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-004

Dewaele, J.-M., Heredia, R., & Cieślicka, A. (2020). How childhood languages shape future language use and cultural orientation. Multicultural Education Review, 12(2), 117–135. https://doi.org/

1080/2005615x.2020.1762306

Dewaele, J.-M., & Salomidou, L. (2017). Loving a partner in a foreign language. Journal of Pragmatics, 108, 116–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.12.009

Doyle, C. (2013). To make the root stronger: Language policies and experiences of successful multilingual intermarried families with adolescent children in Tallinn. In M. Schwartz, & A. Verschik (Eds.), Successful family language policy: parents, children and educators in

interaction (pp. 145–175). Springer.

Duff, P. A. (2012). How to carry out case study research. In A. Mackey, & S. M. Gass (Eds.), Research methods in SLA. A practical guide (pp. 95–114). Blackwell Wiley.

Et-Bozkurt, T, & Yağmur, K. (2022). Family language policy among second- and thirdgeneration Turkish parents in Melbourne, Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43(9), 821–832, https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2044832

Extra, G., & Verhoeven, L. (1999). Immigrant minority groups and immigrant minority languages in Europe. In G. Extra, & L. Verhoeven (Eds.), Bilingualism and migration (pp. 3–28). De Gruyter.

Fishman, J. A. (1991). Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Assistance to Threatened Languages. Multilingual Matters.

Fishman, J. A. (2001). Can threatened languages be saved? Reversing language shift revisited: A 21st century perspective. Multilingual Matters.

Fogle, L. W. (2013). Family language policy from the children’s point of view: Bilingualism in place and time. In M. Schwartz, & A. Verschik (Eds.), Successful family language policy. Multilingual education (pp. 177–200). Springer.

Fogle, L. W., & King, K. A. (2013). Child Agency and Language Policy in Transnational Families. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 19, 1–25.

Gafaranga, J. (2010). Medium request: Talking language shift into being. Language in Society, 39(2), 241–270. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404510000047

Gharibi, K. & Seals, C. (2019). Family Language Policy towards Heritage Language Literacy Acquisition and Maintenance: Iranians in New Zealand. In S. Mirvahedi (Ed.), The Sociolinguistics of Iran’s Languages at Home and Abroad. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.

org/10.1007/978-3-030-19605-9_5

Guardado, M. (2008). Language, Identity, and Cultural Awareness in Spanish-speaking Families. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 40(3), 171–181. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/ces.2008.0000

Guardado, M. (2017). Heritage language development in interlingual families. In P. P. Trifonas, & T. Aravossitas (Eds.), Handbook of Research and Practice in Heritage Language Education (pp.

–17). Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-38893-9_17-1

Guardado, M. (2018). Discourse, Ideology and Heritage Language Socialization: Micro and Macro Perspectives. De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614513841

Harding, E., & Riley, P. (1986). The bilingual family: A handbook for parents. Cambridge University Press.

Hirsch, T., & Lee, J. S. (2018). Understanding the complexities of transnational family language policy. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 39(10), 882–894. https://doi.

org/10.1080/01434632.2018.1454454

Hollebeke, I., Struys, E., & Agirdag, O. (2020). Can Family Language Policy Predict Linguistic, Socio-Emotional and Cognitive Child and Family Outcomes? A Systematic Review. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1858302

Ivanova, O. (2019). “My Child Is a Perfect Bilingual”: Cognition, Emotions, and Affectivity in Heritage Language Transmission. Languages, 4(2), 44. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages4020044

Juvonen, P., Eisenchlas, S., Roberts, T., & Schalley, A. (2020). Researching social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development: A methodology overview.

In A. Schalley, & S. Eisenchlas (Eds.), Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and Affective Factors (pp. 38–58). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-003

Karpava, S., Ringblom, N., & Zabrodskaja, A. (2020). Family Language Policy Leading to Multilingual Home Literacy Environment: Evidence from interviews with Russian-speaking mothers in Cyprus, Estonia and Sweden. HumaNetten, 45, 11–39. https://doi.org/10.15626/hn.20204502

King, K. A., & Fogle, L. W. (2006). Bilingual parenting as good parenting: Parents’ perspectives on family language policy for additive bilingualism. The International Journal of Bilingual

Education and Bilingualism, 9(6), 695–712. https://doi.org/10.2167/beb362.0

King, K., & Fogle, L. (2013). Family language policy and bilingual parenting. Language Teaching, 46(2), 172–194. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444812000493

Knopp, E. (2022). Effects of Dominance in Exposure and Linguistic Distance in the Bilingual Proficiency Profiles of Dutch-German and Greek-German School-Age Bilinguals. Journal of Home Language Research, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.16993/jhlr.42

Kopeliovich, S. (2010). Family Language Policy: A Case Study of a Russian-Hebrew Bilingual Family: Toward a Theoretical Framework. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 4(3), 162–178, https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2010.490731

Lanza, E. (1992). Can Bilingual Two-year-olds Code-switch? Journal of Child Language, 19(3),633–658.

Lanza, E. (1997). Language Mixing in Infant Bilingualism: A Sociolinguistic Perspective. Oxford University Press.

Lanza, E. (2001). Bilingual first language acquisition: A discourse perspective on language contact in parent-child interaction. In J. Cenoz & F. Genesee (Eds.), Trends in bilingual acquisition (pp. 201–230). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/tilar.1.10lan

Lanza, E., & Lomeu Gomes, R. (2020). Family language policy: Foundations, theoretical perspectives and critical approaches. In A. Schalley, & S. Eisenchlas (Eds.), Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and Affective Factors (pp.

–173). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-008

Lüke, C., Ritterfeld, U., & Biewener, A. (2020). Impact of family input pattern on bilingual students’ language dominance and language favoritism. German as a foreign language, 1, 1–14. http://

gfl-journal.de/1-2020/Lueke.pdf

Mirvahedi, S. H., & Hosseini, M. (2023). Family language policy in retrospect: Narratives of success and failure in an Indian-Iranian transnational family. Language Policy, 22, 179–200. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-023-09649-4

Montanari, E. G., Akinci, M.-A., & Abel, R. (2019). Balance and dominance in the vocabulary of German-Turkish primary schoolchildren. European Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7(1), 113–143. https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02360804

Montrul, S. (2016). The Acquisition of Heritage Languages. Cambridge University Press.

Montrul S. (2020). How learning context shapes heritage and second language acquisition. In M. Dressman, & R. W. Sadler (Eds.), The handbook of informal language learning (pp. 57–74). Wiley-Blackwell.

Montrul, S. (2023). Heritage language development: Dominant language transfer and the sociopolitical context. In F. B. Romano (Ed.), Studies in Italian as a Heritage Language (pp. 5–32). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110759587-002

Okita, T. (2002). Invisible work: Bilingualism, language choice, and childrearing in intermarried families. John Benjamins.

Pfenninger, S., & Singleton, D. (2018). L2 proficiency as a function of cultural identity in interlingual couples. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 4(1), 7–22.

Piller, I., & Gerber, L. (2018). Family language policy between the bilingual advantage and the monolingual mindset. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24(5), 622–635. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1503227

Puig-Mayenco, E., Cunnings, I., Bayram, F., Miller, D., Tubau, S., & Rothman, J. (2018). Language dominance affects bilingual performance and processing outcomes in adulthood. Frontiers in

Psychology, 9. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01199

Romanowski, P. (2021). A deliberate language policy or a perceived lack of agency: Heritage M.language maintenance in the Polish community in Melbourne. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25(5), 1214–1234. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069211000850

Romanowski, P. (2022). Paternal agency in heritage language maintenance in Australia: Polish fathers in action. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25(9), 3320–

https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2050994

Schwartz, M. (2008). Exploring the relationship between family language policy and heritage language knowledge among second generation Russian-Jewish immigrants in Israel. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 29(5), 400–418.

Schwartz, M. (2010). Family Language Policy: Core Issues of an Emerging Field. Applied Linguistics Review, 1(1), 171–192.

Schwartz, M. (2020). Strategies and practices of home language maintenance. In A. C. Schalley, & S. A. Eisenchlas (Eds.), Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and Affective Factors (pp. 194–217). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-010

Sevinç, Y., & Mirvahedi, S. H. (2023). Emotions and multilingualism in family language policy: Introduction to the special issue. International Journal of Bilingualism, 27(2), 145–158.

https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069221131762

Smith-Christmas, C. (2014). Being socialised into language shift: the impact of extended family members on family language policy. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 35(5), 511–526. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2014.882930

Smith-Christmas, C. (2020). Child agency and home language maintenance. In A. C. Schalley, & S. A. Eisenchlas, Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development: Social and

Affective Factors (pp. 218–235). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-011

Spolsky, B. (2004). Language policy. Cambridge University Press.

Spolsky, B. (2012). Family Language Policy – the Critical Domain. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 33(1), 3–11.

Spolsky, B. (2017). Language Policy in Education: Practices, Ideology, and Management. In T. McCarty, & S. May (Eds.), Language Policy and Political Issues in Education. Encyclopedia of

Language and Education (pp. 1–14). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02344-1_1

Spolsky, B. (2019). A modified and enriched theory of language policy (and management). Language Policy, 18(3), 323–338. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-018-9489-z

Stępkowska, A. (2021a). Identity in the bilingual couple: Attitudes to language and culture. Open Linguistics, 7(1), 223–234. https://doi.org/10.1515/opli-2021-0020

Stępkowska, A. (2021b). Language experience of immigrant women in bilingual couples with Poles. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25(1), 120–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006920940422

Stępkowska, A. (2022). Acquisition of Polish among Foreigners in Bilingual Couples with Poles: Impact Factors. Białostockie Studia Prawnicze, 27(4) 217–228. https://doi.org/10.15290/bsp.2022.27.04.13

Takanishi, R., & Le Menestrel, S. (Eds.). (2017). Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English. Promising Futures. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24677

Takeuchi, M. (2006). Raising Children Bilingually Through the ‘one Parent-one Language’ Approach. A Case Study of Japanese Mothers in the Australian Context. Peter Lang Verlag.

Treffers-Daller, J. (2019). What defines language dominance in bilinguals? Annual Reviews of Linguistics, 5, 375–393. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011817-045554

Varro, G. (1998). Does bilingualism survive the second generation? Three generations of French-American families in France. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 133, 105–

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1998.133.105

Wąsikiewicz-Firlej, E. (2018). Język i tożsamość w rodzinie transnarodowej: studium przypadku. Neofilolog, 47(2), 155–169. https://doi.org/10.14746/n.2016.47.2.02

Wąsikiewicz-Firlej, E., & Lankiewicz, H. (2019). The dynamics of Family Language Policy in a trilingual family: A longitudinal case study. Applied Linguistics Papers, 26(1), 169–184.

http://dx.doi.org/10.32612/uw.25449354.2019.1.pp.169-184

Wilson, S. (2020). Family language policy through the eyes of bilingual children: the case of French heritage speakers in the UK. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(2), 121–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1595633

Yamamoto, M. (2001). Language use in interlingual families: A Japanese–English sociolinguistic study. Multilingual Matters.

Zhan, Y. (2023). Child Agency in Family Language Policy: Growing Up Multilingual and Multiliterate. De Gruyter.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/lsmll.2024.48.4.29-46
Date of publication: 2024-12-19 12:32:51
Date of submission: 2024-10-01 19:48:54


Statistics


Total abstract view - 28
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 15

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Ilona Banasiak, Magdalena Olpińska-Szkiełko

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.