Dr. A. Braun Sponsored by the Centre for Lifespan and Chronic Illness Research 1.

Seventh International Conference onThird Language Acquisition and Multilingualism

15 - 17 September 2011Uniwersytet Warszawski

Trilingual families of the global village – and what about the

grandparents?

Presented by Dr. Andreas Braun

University of Hertfordshire (UK)Centre for Lifespan and Chronic Illness Research

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Native Language (NL) One, two or three of the parents’ languages acquired natively at a young age.

• Community Language (CL)The language spoken in the wider community and neighbourhood where the trilingual families lived.

Home Languages (HLs)The native languages (NLs) spoken by the parents.It can also include the community language (CL).

• Education Language (EL) The main language used in school/nursery inside and outside the classroom.

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Terminology

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To investigate the impact of the extended family, particularly grandparents, on trilingual families’ language practices with their children.

Research Aim

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Researchers (Lambert, 1977; Cummins, 2000; Braun, 2010) have referred to the distinctive sociolinguistic context in which bilingual experience occurs when the home languages in a family are in a competitive or complementary relationship with the society in which they live.

Cahiers (2009) compared language shift from Quechua to Spanish among Andean migrants to Lima. It was found that “most in-migrant parents did not use their mother tongue with their children despite a number of frequently cited factors” presumed to favour maintenance: both parents being L1 speakers, speaking grandparents; frequent trips to the home area.

Skutnabb-Kangas and Dunbar (2010) A Global View Journal of Indigenous Peoples Rights No. 1/2010. Inuktitut an Inuit languages spoken in Northern Canada is dying. The researchers note that ‘teenagers cannot converse fluently with their grandparents’

Literature

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Literature (cont.)

Baumgartner (2010) in her guide book „Gelebte Zweisprachigkeit. Wie erziehe ich mein Kind zweisprachlich?”: “Kinder die im Ausland aufwachsen, müssen die Muttersprache der Eltern sprechen wegen den Grosseltern und Cousinen die im Heimatland der Eltern leben“. Sie spielen die wichtigste Rolle im zweiprachigen/zweikulturellen Leben von Kindern die im Ausland aufwachsen. (translated by A.Braun)

Baker (2003) argues that Disapproval of bilingualism may be found among monolingual grandparents and monolingual extended family members.

Pilot Study: 5 Participants - Development of interview schedule + Method

Main Study: Semi structured 70 Interviews, 35 in England and 35 in Germany

Online Study: 416 Forum/Email messages from parents from 32 countries: www.Trilingualism.org

Data Analysis using qualitative Software Atlas/ti v.6.2Language background of parents/grandparentsLanguage preferences of children/parents/grandparentsParents’ perception of the influence of the school languageParents’ account of the influence of EnglishCultural Practices and Identity

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Methodology

In Semi-structured Interviews both Parents were interviewed together when available (some children)

Parents spoke at least two NLs in addition to the CL.

Children were aged no older than 15 years.

In Forum/Email usually one parents explained their language practices

32 countries with about 28 different languages.

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Participants

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Typology Interview Survey

Type Description ENG GER Total

I The parents each speak one different NL.

(NL CL)

13 11 24

II One or both parents speak two NLs.

(NL can be CL)

13 18 31

III One or both parents speak three NLs.

(NL can be CL) + “Others”

9 6 15

Total 35 35 70

Abbr CL – Community Language / NL – Native Language (Tab.1)

Published Typology by Braun, A. & Cline T. (2010) International Journal of Multilingualism

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2nd Version Factor Model - Language Use (Braun, 2006)

Parental

Background

Cultural

Linguistic

Language Competence /

Preference

Grandparents

Parents

Parental

Strategies

Schooling

Status of English/NL

Parents’ use of NLs + CL with their Children

OPOL

Contextual

Factors Future Plans

Time spent in Host Country

Other Relatives Sequence of

Siblings

Social

Children

Children’s Age

TV/Radio/ Internet

Home land visits

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Parents’ language practices with their children

Type I ENGType I GER

Type II ENG Type II GER

0123456789

1077%

82%

77%56%

Only CL

1 NL dropped

All NLs regu-larly

Tril. with dif-ficulties

Number: Type 1: Eng: 13 / Ger:11 - Type 2: Eng:13 / Ger: 18

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Type I Parents’ account of the influence of the CL on their HL use

CL re-placed 1 HL

CL re-placed 2

HLs

CL didn't replace HLs

Increasing use of CL

0

20

40

60

80

100

England

Germany

% o

f F

amili

es

Simple %, No Confidential Interval (CI), Standard Deviation or P-Value

Number: Eng: 13 / Ger: 11

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The influence of grandparents and other relatives on HL use (Type 1 parents)

Very Influntial Influential Not Influential0

2

4

6

862%

23%

15%

36% 36%

28%

ENGGER

Total: ENG: 13 - GER: 11Source: Interview Data

Nu

mb

er

of

Fam

ilie

s

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Sample Quotations Type I Parents (England)

Mother: “We both of us, my husband and me, wanted that our children can discuss with their other relatives as well. When we go to visit my parents or my husband's parents, grandparents...”[Fin mother 35y, Ger father 37y, 2 Kids 3 & 1y].

Father: “Yes he (son) speaks Italian with my parents…Well, I don’t know if they (grandparents) would have complained but it would have been difficult for them so it’s not just an issue for us. Mother: Yes, for my grandparents” [Iranian mother 37y, Italian father 46y, 1 Kid 10y].

Mother: “They (grandparents) were trying to convince us to speak to her (daughter) in Italian, so she (daughter) would learn it. So, they (grandparents) can speak to her (daughter) as well” [Italia mother 34y, Algerian father 42y, 1 Kid 3y]

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Sample Quotations Type I Parents (Germany)

Father: “For both of us the same reason. None of our parents speak a foreign language and we want our children to be able to communicate with their grandparents [G3:101-104]. Mother: Our parents like it (trilingualism) as they want to communicate with them (grandchildren)” [Portuguese mother 31y, Irish father 34y, 2 kids 3 & 1y].

Mother: “When you learn the language and the culture and your learn to respect the culture of the grandparents of the husband and the rest of the extended family” [Finnish mother 40y, Dutch father 40y, 2 kids 13 & 15y].

Mother: “First the grandparents are there whereas our place of living can change. We don’t know if we live in 5 years in Romania, Belgian, Spain or Finland, so it’s best to use our mother tongues. And our parents can look after her (child) as my mother speaks only Finnish and so J (child) can stay there without us” [Finnish mother 35y, Rumanian father 33y, 1 kid 2y].

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Type II Parents’ account of the influence of the CL on their HL use

EL replaced 2 NLs

EL replaced 1 NL

EL didn't replace HLs

Increasing use of EL

Engl. Incl. EFL

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

England

Germany

% o

f F

amil

ies

Simple %, No Confidential Interval (CI), Standard Deviation or P-Value

Number: Eng:13 / Ger: 18

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The influence of grandparents and other relatives on HL use (Type 2 parents)

Unclear Influential Not Influential0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

8%15%

77%

6%

17%

77%

ENGGER

Total: ENG: 13 - GER: 18Source: Interview Data

Nu

mb

er

of

Fam

ilie

s

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The influence of grandparents and other relatives on HL use (Type 2 parents) Eng

Mother: “When they (children) were born we thought that three languages is too much…and I wanted them to have a strong English…We decided that he (father) was going to speak Greek initially and I was going to speak English to please his (Greek/British) parents mainly and his parents obviously weren’t supposed (to speak) English to my children because they should speak Greek to my children… But it turns out they speak English to them (children) mainly…So this is really annoying and it annoys my husband as well because he really did it for his parents you know initially and they (grandparents) don’t even speak Greek” [Finnish mother 34y, Greek/British father 37y, 2 kids 10 & 7y].

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The influence of grandparents and other relatives on HL use (Type 2 parents) Ger

Vater: „Meine Mutter spricht ah sie kann sich nicht entscheiden. Ich glaube Kroatisch aber she spricht auch Deutsch...Ah ich würde es bevorzugen wenn meine Mutter mehr Kroatisch sprechen würde and garkein Deutsch. Ich habe einige Ideen, dass meine Mutter Kroatisch mit ihr (Enkelkind) spricht und ich kontentriere mich auf Deutsch aber ich weiss noch nicht – ich muss es testen“ (Bulgarische Mutter 27J, Kroatisch-Deutscher Vater 30J, 1 Kind 1J) TranslationFather: “My mother speaks now – yes she can’t decide I feel Croatian but she also uses German. ..Ah, I would prefer if my mother spoke more Croatian and not German at all. I have some ideas that my mother can speak with her Croatian and I concentrate on German but I don’t know yet - I need to test it.”

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Grandparents’ proficiency in the CL of the country where their grandchildren lived

Description Type I Type IIENG GER ENG GER

In each set of GPs at least one GP spoke the CL fluently

2 2 10 14

There was no fluent speaker of the CL in either set of GPs

10 9 2 3

Unclear 1 0 1 1

Total 13 11 13 18

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Grandparents’ language profile & residency (Type 2)

Grandparents are bilingual Grandparents live in Eng./Ger.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

ENG

GER

Total: Eng: 13 – Ger:18Source: Interview Data

Nu

mb

er

of

Fa

mili

es

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Parents’ mentioning grandparents and other relatives re language use

Email Messages* Forum Messages

Grandparents 18 Not yet analysed

Other relatives

47 Not yet analysed

Total 65 (out of 269) 24% (*Preliminary

results)

147 messages

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Limitations to Study

Sampling method incl. internet forum, university colleagues, snowballing, which attracted participants with a similar high socio-economic background.

Content of forum and email was sometimes vague and ambiguous.

The description on NL is becoming more difficult because many participants in this study described English as one of their “OWN LANGUAGES”.

The influence of grandparents on trilingual families’ language practices is only one factor.

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Conclusions • Most Type 1 families in England and Germany raised their children trilingually, which was partly related to the grandparents, who were mostly monolingual.

• In England, 11 out of 13 Type I families and in Germany 9 out of 11 referred to their grandparents and other relatives when explaining their NL use with their children.

• The parents partly used their NLs with their children to provide a means of communication between the children and their relatives, particularly their grandparents, who generally did not speak the current CL of the parents, English or German.

• In contrast, most Type 2 families raised their children bilingually partly because one set of grandparents was bilingual as well and/or they spoke the CL Eng/Ger or even lived close by (Immigration background / Gastarbeiterfamilien).

• In England, 11 out of 13 grandparent couples and in Germany 16 out of 18 could communicate with their grandchildren in one of the NLs that the parents used. Therefore, there was no need to use both of the parents’ NLs. This seems to be a major factor for parents to drop one language.

• Follow up study planned to lead up on these findings

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References

Baumgartner, B. (2010) „Gelebte Zweisprachigkeit. Wie erziehe ich mein Kind zweisprachlich?", Rabenstück Verlag 2010

Baker, C. (2003) A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism by Colin Baker (Second Edition, 2003), pp 11-13.

Braun, A. & Cline, T. (2010). Trilingual families in monolingual societies: working towards a typology. International Journal of Multilingualism, 7 (2) p.110-127.

Braun, A. (2006). The effect of sociocultural and linguistic factors on the language use of parents in trilingual families in England and Germany. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Bedfordshire, UK.

Cahiers 15.2 2009 [paru en 2011] Towards a shifters’ view of language shift. A comparative study of Lima and Lille http://www.afls.net/cahiers/15.2/PooleyMarr.pdf

Tove Skutnabb-Kangas and Robert Dunbar (2010) A 1998 report (Kitikmeot struggles to prevent death of Inuktitut) notes that ‘teenagers cannot converse fluently with theirgrandparents’ (quoted in I. Martin 2000a: 31). http://www.cepn-fnec.com/file/publication/docetudelegaux/En/Journal%20of%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20Rights%20no.%201-2010.pdf

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Contact Address: Dr. Andreas Braun

Research Fellow

University of Hertfordshire

Centre for Lifespan and Chronic Illness Research

Health Research Building

College Lane

Hatfield, Herts.

AL10 9AB

UK

Webpage: www.Trilingualism.org

Email: [email protected]