Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development

Social and Affective Factors

Andrea C. Schalley, Susana A. Eisenchlas

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781501510076
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Even a cursory look at conference programs and proceedings reveals a burgeoning interest in the field of social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development. To date, however, research on this topic has been published in piecemeal fashion, subsumed under the more general umbrella of 'bilingualism'. Within bilingualism research, there has been an extensive exploration of linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives on the one hand, and educational practices and outcomes on the other. In comparison, social and affective factors – which lead people to either maintain or shift the language – have been under-researched.

This is the first volume that brings together the different strands in research on social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development, ranging from the micro-level (family language policies and practices), to the meso-level (community initiatives) and the macro-level (mainstream educational policies and their implementation). The volume showcases a wide distribution across contexts and populations explored. Contributors from around the world represent different research paradigms and perspectives, providing a rounded overview of the state-of-the-art in this flourishing field.

1 Social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development: Setting the scene

Andrea C. Schalley

Susana A. Eisenchlas

We are delighted to have this volume included in the series Handbooks of Applied Linguistics. As a field, applied linguistics investigates language-related real-world issues – particularly those concerning language use, language acquisition and learning, and language teaching – and works towards describing and explaining these processes and suggesting ways to enhance them. It approaches these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing not only on linguistics but also on neighbouring disciplines such as education, psychology, and sociology. Each of the earlier volumes in the handbook series presents an overview of their chosen field, identifies the most important traditions, their research findings, and gaps in current research, and provides perspectives for future research directions. So too does this volume.

Couched in one of the main branches of applied linguistics research – bilingualism (which in our understanding includes notions of multilingualism and plurilingualism) – this volume focuses on social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development. Bilingualism research has extensively explored linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives, and educational practices and outcomes. Yet the social and affective perspectives that impact on home language maintenance and development have remained somewhat less researched, a gap that is addressed in this handbook.

This is the first volume that brings together the different strands of research into social and affective factors of home language maintenance and development. Contributors from around the world present a rich harvest of research paradigms and perspectives, providing a comprehensive and constructive overview of the state-of-the-art in this flourishing field.

1 Delimiting the field

First, what do we mean by “the field”? What do we mean by “social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development”? The components of this notion are themselves ambiguous or complex, and so require some clarification. This requirement applies to language – “language maintenance”, “home language(s)”, “language development” – as well as to factors – “social factors” and “affective factors”. In clarifying the meaning of these terms as used in this volume, we also delimit the field of research with which the volume is concerned. Let us begin with “language maintenance” as the first real-world issue which this handbook directs towards, before we turn to the second, “language development”.

Mesthrie and Leap (2000: 253) define “language maintenance” as “the continuing use of a language in the face of competition from a regionally and socially more powerful language”. As this definition indicates, language maintenance is about language use, illuminated here from a sociolinguistic perspective rather than a purely linguistic one, as the notion of “competition from a […] more powerful language” conveys. In the context of this volume, the more powerful language is typically the language spoken by the majority in society, while the language being “maintained” is a minority or home language. Continued use of the language being “maintained” is by such definition not a given. Rather, it is an assertion of this language, by its users, in a social fabric that relegates the language to “minority” status.

The notion “minority language”, in contrast to “majority language”, is often used to refer to the language that needs to assert itself, as the very notion itself makes the power imbalance explicit. Yet, whilst we recognise the wide-spread use of “minority language” in bilingualism discourses, as editors of this volume we have chosen to instead refer to these languages as “home languages”. Connaughton-Crean and Ó Duibhir (2017: 23) define “home languages” as “languages spoken or used in the home or community but which are not the majority language in the society”. As we discuss in the following chapter exploring terminological issues (Eisenchlas and Schalley this vol.), “home language” presents as a relatively neutral term that does not take a stance in regards to, e.g., underlying ideologies or how much societal influence the speaker community may have. While it may be seen as referring to only a restricted usage domain (the “home”), more important for this handbook is, however, that it embraces the contexts where language use is negotiated, which is what concerns the authors in their contributions here. We refer the reader to our chapter for more in-depth discussions of terms.

Secondly, this handbook investigates social and affective factors in “language development”, i.e. the development of new linguistic knowledge in all its breadth and hence of language acquisition, and/or language learning, of the home language. Language development focuses on the processes as much as the outcomes of these processes, and the conditions under which they take place. In line with this handbook’s main scope and objectives, the chapters consider these processes, conditions and outcomes particularly in terms of social and affective factors that come into play – in “informal” contexts (such as within the family), “semi-formal” contexts (such as within the community) or “formal” contexts (such as in educational institutions like the school). Whenever instructional learning comes into the picture, language teaching and approaches to teaching more generally are inevitably drawn into the discussion. The handbook thus addresses all four major areas of applied linguistics introduced at the beginning of this chapter – use, acquisition, learning, and teaching of language – in relation to home language(s) of bilingual speakers.

As the title conveys, this handbook’s lens focuses upon the social and affective factors at play in home language use. “Social factors” are socio-environmental conditions that shape home language maintenance and development as we explore here. These factors include economic, cultural, legal and political constraints and expectations, and societal norms and language ideologies guiding “what a broader community sees as appropriate and expected linguistic practice” (Albury this vol). “Affective factors” are psycho-social conditions that impact on home language maintenance and development. They include individuals’ emotions and perspectives on identity, culture and tradition, and impact beliefs and attitudes (cf. Curdt-Christiansen and Huang this vol.). They point to individuals’ dispositions and tendencies to react favourably or unfavourably towards particular entities or events (see Sarnoff 1970; Eagly and Chaiken 1993; Albury this vol.).

The overall guiding concern of this handbook is thus not language maintenance and development from a linguistic viewpoint, but the push and pull factors that influence people’s affects, behaviours and stances in relation to home language maintenance and development, and what effects these factors have.

2 Three levels of analysis: Macro, meso and micro

As we discussed in the previous section, the factors under consideration here are generally socio-environmental or psycho-social. They are closely related to the society as a whole (the macro level), or to individuals in their direct social contexts (the micro level), and in both cases uncover what impacts on speakers’ decisions and efforts when it comes to home language maintenance and development.

Research in the field can thus be roughly organised into these two levels of analysis. Studies at the macro level are often necessarily at a high level of theoretical abstraction and focus on social systems at a large scale (e.g., nationally or globally). Studies at the micro level focus on individuals as members of small social units (such as families and their language policies and practices). A third level of analysis – the meso level – sits amidst the macro and micro levels. It constitutes the grey area in between (Hult 2010), and can be seen as the level of analysis concentrating on community initiatives and efforts in relation to home language maintenance and development. As later discussion makes clear, studies at the meso level reach across a few research foci, but the field still lacks systematic study and coverage of this level (Juvonen et al. this vol.).

We use these three levels of analysis as the organising frame of this handbook. We acknowledge, however, that sociolinguistic reality is more fluid than what this frame may suggest. Although the levels may appear to be discrete, they interact and impact on one another. Neither can they be interpreted as a simple continuum, since the meso level is not a necessary transition point between the micro and the macro levels. For instance, families at the micro level may feel pressures from the macro level (e.g., through educational policies), but may not respond to these pressures by forming a meso level community and taking joint action. On the other hand, macro level policy planners may listen to micro level families’ voices directly, without being lobbied by meso level communities. We thus need to be mindful that all levels of analysis are interwoven, and that any representation of real-world complexity can be only a simplified one.

3 Handbook structure and content

The main body of this handbook is structured along the lines of the three levels of analysis explained above. An introductory section discussing terminological and methodological issues and challenges precedes the main body. The handbook is therefore divided into the following four parts: 1 – Terminologies and methodologies; 2 – Bilingual speakers and their families; 3 – Grassroot initiatives; and 4 – The role of society.

Part 1 provides readers with a foundation to the field of study. Parts 2, 3, and 4 each survey perspectives from the three levels of analysis: the micro level (the bilingual individual as part of a family) in part 2; the meso level (the bilingual individual as a member of a speech community) in part 3; and the macro level (the bilingual individual as a member of society) in part 4. Parts 2 and 4 are further subdivided into two topic areas, as outlined below. From here we explain each part and topic area and the kinds of issues discussed in each, thus providing an overview of the contributions to the handbook.

3.1 The basics: Terminologies and methodologies

Part 1, as the handbook’s foundation, gives centre stage to terminologies and methodologies. Because the terms used for maintained language(s) are contentious, in chapter 2 we review and distinguish these near-synonyms, including “minority language”, “mother tongue”, “heritage language”, and “home language”, and critically evaluate the concepts underlying these terms. We have restricted our discussion to the terms that are of most relevance to this handbook. We compare and contrast the terms on several dimensions, and – as may be expected – conclude that neither a one-size-fits-all term nor a “best” term is workable here, due to the multifaceted nature of the field (see also Wiley 2014). However, through this discussion we explain clearly the reasons for choosing “home language” as the most appropriate umbrella term for this handbook, identifying the term’s relative neutrality on social and affective factors in language maintenance and development, while still highlighting social and affective factors as important.

Chapter 3 provides an overview of methodological issues encountered in the field, and explores research aims and foci, research designs and participant populations across this field of research. Juvonen et al. (this vol.) seek to present “a birds-eye view, bringing together, critiquing, and contrasting methodological considerations” across the three levels of analysis in this handbook. The authors discuss pitfalls they have identified for research in the field, including a lack of generalisability of research results, restricted research coverage, limited reporting on the data sets obtained, and a lack of procedural information on data analysis. The authors also discuss some of the field’s challenges, including ethical considerations, data management, and the dissemination of research findings. The chapter concludes with an outlook to future developments in the field. The chapter is not intended as a step-by-step guide on how to do research, but rather as providing a snapshot of the current methodological state-of-the-art.

3.2 The micro level: Bilingual speakers and their families

Equipped with the foundational background from part 1, part 2 of the handbook moves to the first level of analysis, the micro level. Here the focus is on the bilingual individual, as member of a family or of other close social groups. The chapters in this part are subsumed under two topic areas. The first topic area illustrates the self-conceptions of bilingual speakers and their affective reactions, casting the spotlight on the affective domain. The second topic area addresses why and how families maintain and develop the home language, placing its chapters squarely within the research field of family language policy.

3.2.1 Self-conceptions and affective reactions

This topic area illuminates a number of affective domains and speakers’ reactions to their social experiences. These include the subjective well-being of bilinguals (chapter 4), anxiety as a negative emotion in home language maintenance and development (chapter 5), and the formation of identity (chapter 6). Marking the transition to family language policy research, chapter 7 turns to intergenerational relations and the intergenerational transmission of home language(s).

Chapter 4 directs our attention to the subjective well-being of children and their parents living in bilingual settings. In this chapter, De Houwer (this vol.) reviews empirical studies and shows that young children’s well-being is put at risk if their home language is disregarded in early care and they receive no support in learning the societal language. Moreover, the studies show that not speaking the home language has negative effects on family relations, and that a well-developed dual language proficiency is central to both children’s and parents’ well-being, and hence is conducive to Harmonious Bilingualism.

In ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1 Social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development: Setting the scene
• Part 1: Terminologies and methodologies
• Part 2: Bilingual speakers and their familiesTopic area 2.1: Self-conceptions and affective reactions
• Topic area 2.2: Family language policy
• Part 3: Grassroot initiatives
• Part 4: The role of societyTopic area 4.1: Social justice and inclusiveness
• Topic area 4.2: Formal education
• About the contributors
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• Language Index