Family Language Policy

Enriching the field and expanding the scope

Authors

  • Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen University of Bath Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.26345

Keywords:

Family Language Policy, immigration, parental agency, language maintenance, methodology in FLP

Abstract

This commentary outlines the key contributions of the issue. Addressing various language attitudes and ideologies held by family members, the commentary highlights the major themes of the collected articles, addressing important issues in the maintenance of home languages and development of minoritised languages as well as interactions between families and the wider society. In particular, it looks into why heritage and minoritised languages are difficult to maintain and develop in multilingual contexts. The commentary emphasises how families constantly interact with broader sociocultural, sociohistorical, and sociopolitical contexts and outlines the agentive role of family members in accommodating or resisting language change. It highlights the key topics, theoretical contributions, and methodological issues in this issue.

Author Biography

  • Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, University of Bath

    Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen is Professor of Applied Linguistics in Education at the Department of Education at the University of Bath, United Kingdom. Her research interests encompass ideological, sociocultural-cognitive, and policy perspectives on language learning with particular focus on children’s multilingual education and biliteracy development.

References

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Curdt-Christiansen, X.L. and LaMorgia, F. (2018) Managing heritage language development: Opportunities and challenges for Chinese, Italian and Urdu speaking families in the UK. Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication 37(2): 177–210. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2017-0019.

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Published

2024-04-29

How to Cite

Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2024). Family Language Policy: Enriching the field and expanding the scope. Sociolinguistic Studies, 18(1-2), 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1558/sols.26345