Content area

Abstract

This study investigates the language ideologies and family language policies (FLPs) of eight multilingual families navigating child-rearing in transnational, plurilingual contexts. Through semi-structured interviews, it explores how parents conceptualize, plan, and enact heritage language transmission in environments shaped by both linguistic privilege and monolingual pressures. Findings reveal that while models like One Parent One Language (OPOL) remain common, families often adapt or depart from rigid structures in response to child agency, emotional dynamics, and practical realities. English emerged as a dominant lingua franca across households, even when not intentionally taught. Parents expressed a strong desire for intergenerational connection, often planning linguistic strategies before birth. While participants generally had access to resources and community support, the study underscores the emotional labor of multilingual parenting and the evolving ideologies that frame language use in the home. It contributes to ongoing discussions in sociolinguistics by centering family as a key site for language policy negotiation, identity formation, and resistance to dominant norms.

Details

1010268
Title
Multilingual Families: Family Language Policy and Its Effect on the Identities Multilingual Parents Express for Themselves and Imagine for Their Children
Number of pages
125
Publication year
2025
Degree date
2025
School code
0694
Source
MAI 87/6(E), Masters Abstracts International
ISBN
9798270211745
Committee member
Roeder, Rebecca
University/institution
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Department
English
University location
United States -- North Carolina
Degree
M.A.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
32399201
ProQuest document ID
3281915459
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/multilingual-families-family-language-policy/docview/3281915459/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Database
ProQuest One Academic