The Applicability of Spolsky’s Tripartite Model in Three Contexts

Abstract

This study evaluates the applicability of Spolsky’s tripartite model of language policy, consisting of language beliefs, practices, and management across three different minority contexts in Europe. The research respectively targets Algerians in France, Hungarians in the UK, and Turks in Hungary. The first study centres around the national and community level, while the second and third studies focus on the family domain. For the case of Algerians in France, the study investigates language management by analysing governmental top-down language policies and probes language beliefs and practices among first-generation immigrants using a questionnaire. The second study shifts to the familial domain, using a questionnaire based on Spolsky’s tripartite model to explore bilingualism efforts among Hungarian-speaking mothers in the UK. Meanwhile, the Turkish context in Hungary utilizes both semi-structured in-depth interviews as well as a short questionnaire to examine Turkish families’ language management, beliefs and practices. The studies present varying results, with Algerians strongly upholding Arabic against the weight of French monolingual policies and the societal demands for using French. Moreover, Hungarian families’ efforts to meticulously cultivate bilingualism among their children are undermined by external pressures in education, leading to a more fluid bilingual experience. By contrast, the results showcase the shift of Turkish immigrants towards Hungarian due to intermarriages and the lack of institutional support. Although the findings underscore Spolsky’s model adaptability in depicting language policy dimensions across different contexts, it falls short of accounting for layers of complexity pertaining to the impact and role of external socio-political and economic factors. Furthermore, the model partially grasps the dynamic nature of multilingual identity construction. As such, these insights call for a rigorous investigation of these complexities in order to arrive at a better understanding of the fluid and ever-evolving nature of language policy as well as producing more context-sensitive policies.