Ruth Kircher
Biographic Data
| ID | 752779 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ruth Kircher |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ruth |
| FAMILY NAME | Kircher |
| SIGNATURE | KIRCHER R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Fryske Akademy |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8437-7371 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 37 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
A corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing
Many parents have concerns about raising their children with multiple languages. However, there is a paucity of previous research regarding parental concerns about multilingual child-rearing, particularly in multilingual societies. We address this gap with a corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing in Quebec, Canada. We created two corpora comprising 641 parents' responses to an open-ended survey q…
Evaluative reactions to minority languages and their varieties: Evidence from new speakers of West Frisian
Little is known about the connection between individuals' evaluative reactions to (i) minority languages as such, and (ii) specific varieties of these minority languages. This study investigates such evaluative reactions amongst new speakers of Frisian in the Netherlands (n = 264). A questionnaire was used to elicit participants' attitudes towards the Frisian language and their evaluations of the specific variety of Frisian they were taught. The …
Promoting Minority Language Use to Foster Revitalisation: Insights From New Speakers of West Frisian
Language planners are increasingly aware of the importance of new speakers (individuals acquiring a language outside the home, typically later-on in life) for the revitalisation of minority languages. Yet, little is known about new speakers’ activation (the process by which they become active and habitual minority language users). This article presents a questionnaire-based investigation of new speakers’ (n = 264) use of West Frisian in Fryslân, …
Transmitting Minority Languages: Complementary Reversing Language Shift Strategies, Michael Hornsby and Wilson McLeod (eds) (2022)
Transmitting Minority Languages: Complementary Reversing Language Shift StrategiesMichael Hornsby and Wilson McLeod (eds) (2022)Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Pp. 376ISBN: 978-3-030-87909-9 (hbk)ISBN: 978-3-030-87912-9 (pbk)ISBN: 978-3-030-87910-5 (eBook)
Family language policy among Québec-based parents raising multilingual infants and toddlers: A study of resources as a form of language management
This is the first large-scale study of resources as a form of language management - that is, a way of influencing children's language practices. We introduce the distinction between child-directed resources (i.e., those providing parents with opportunities to engage with their children in the languages they are transmitting) and parent-directed resources (i.e., those providing parents with information about multilingual child-rearing). This study…
Multilingual Realities, Monolingual Ideologies: Social Media Representations of Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States
Little is known about how monolingual ideologies and their effects manifest in online contexts as compared to offline contexts. We conducted a corpus-assisted discourse study to investigate this, with a focus on Twitter representations of Spanish as a heritage language in the USA. We analysed two corpora (one English and one Spanish—over 30 million words), examining frequencies, collocations, concordance lines, and larger text segments. The resul…
Quebec-based parents’ concerns regarding their children’s multilingual development
Many parents express concerns for their children's multilingual development, yet little is known about the nature and strength of these concerns - especially among parents in multilingual societies. This pre-registered, questionnaire-based study addresses this gap by examining the concerns of 821 Quebec-based parents raising infants and toddlers aged 0-4 years with multiple languages in the home. Factor analysis of parents' Likert-scale responses…
Bilingual Language Development in Infancy: What Can We Do to Support Bilingual Families
Many infants and children around the world grow up exposed to two or more languages. Their success in learning each of their languages is a direct consequence of the quantity and quality of their everyday language experience, including at home, in daycare and preschools, and in the broader community context. Here, we discuss how research on early language learning can inform policies that promote successful bilingual development across the varied…
Intergenerational language transmission in Quebec: Patterns and predictors in the light of provincial language planning
The study presented here is the first empirical investigation of the patterns and predictors of the intergenerational transmission of French in Quebec. An online questionnaire was used to gather data from 274 parents from different mother tongue (L1) groups: L1 French, L1 English, L1 French and English, and L1 Other. The results show that L1 French-and-English-speaking parents and L1 Other parents displayed particularly low rates of French transm…
Quebec-based Parents’ Attitudes Towards Childhood Multilingualism: Evaluative Dimensions and Potential Predictors
This is the first large-scale, quantitative study of the evaluative dimensions and potential predictors of Quebec-based parents’ attitudes towards childhood multilingualism. Such attitudes are assumed to constitute a determinant of parental language choices, and thereby influence children's multilingual development. The newly-developed Attitudes towards Childhood Multilingualism Questionnaire was used to gather data from 825 participants raising …
Minority language rights to education in international, regional, and domestic regulations and practices: The case of Frisian in the Netherlands
This paper examines minority language education in the Dutch province of Fryslân from a rights-based approach. To conduct the analysis, we employed a qualitative (legal) content analysis. We explored minority language rights at different levels to answer the following question: To what extent are international and regional standards on minority-language education applied domestically to education in Frisian and through the medium of the Frisian l…
Intersections of official and family language policy in Quebec
The current paper describes a study that sought to determine the beliefs, practices, and needs of parents living in Montreal, Quebec, who were raising their children bi/multilingually. The parents (N = 27) participated in a total of nine focus group and individual interviews in which they discussed their family language policies (language ideologies, practices, and actions taken to maintain a language). Through rounds of deductive and inductive c…
Multicultural London English and its speakers: A corpus-informed discourse study of standard language ideology and social stereotypes
The research presented here constitutes the first investigation of the standard language ideology (SLI) in Great Britain that takes account of a multiethnolect – namely Multicultural London English (MLE). A corpus-informed discourse study was conducted to explore representations of MLE and its speakers in two corpora: one containing data from non-MLE-speaking Londoners and one consisting of data from MLE speakers themselves. The data included in …
A Corpus-Assisted Discourse Study of Attitudes toward Spanish as a Heritage Language in Florida
Spanish speakers constitute the largest heritage language community in the US. The state of Florida is unusual in that, on one hand, it has one of the highest foreign-born resident rates in the country, most of whom originate from Latin America-but on the other hand, Florida has a comparatively low Spanish language vitality. In this exploratory study of attitudes toward Spanish as a heritage language in Florida, we analyzed two corpora (one Engli…
Attitudes towards Multicultural London English: Implications for attitude theory and language planning
The study presented here is the first empirical investigation of attitudes towards Multicultural London English (MLE), the multiethnolect spoken in England’s main metropolis. An online questionnaire was used to gather data from 800 participants, including MLE speakers as well as non-MLE speakers from a wide variety of different backgrounds. The results indicate that the traditional dichotomy of status and solidarity as distinct evaluative dimensi…
Intersections of official and family language policy in Quebec
The current paper describes a study that sought to determine the beliefs, practices, and needs of parents living in Montreal, Quebec, who were raising their children bi/multilingually. The parents (N = 27) participated in a total of nine focus group and individual interviews in which they discussed their family language policies (language ideologies, practices, and actions taken to maintain a language). Through rounds of deductive and inductive c…
A Corpus-Assisted Discourse Study of Attitudes toward Spanish as a Heritage Language in Florida
Spanish speakers constitute the largest heritage language community in the US. The state of Florida is unusual in that, on one hand, it has one of the highest foreign-born resident rates in the country, most of whom originate from Latin America-but on the other hand, Florida has a comparatively low Spanish language vitality. In this exploratory study of attitudes toward Spanish as a heritage language in Florida, we analyzed two corpora (one Engli…
Attitudes towards Multicultural London English: Implications for attitude theory and language planning
The study presented here is the first empirical investigation of attitudes towards Multicultural London English (MLE), the multiethnolect spoken in England’s main metropolis. An online questionnaire was used to gather data from 800 participants, including MLE speakers as well as non-MLE speakers from a wide variety of different backgrounds. The results indicate that the traditional dichotomy of status and solidarity as distinct evaluative dimensi…
Minority language rights to education in international, regional, and domestic regulations and practices: The case of Frisian in the Netherlands
This paper examines minority language education in the Dutch province of Fryslân from a rights-based approach. To conduct the analysis, we employed a qualitative (legal) content analysis. We explored minority language rights at different levels to answer the following question: To what extent are international and regional standards on minority-language education applied domestically to education in Frisian and through the medium of the Frisian l…
Multicultural London English and its speakers: A corpus-informed discourse study of standard language ideology and social stereotypes
The research presented here constitutes the first investigation of the standard language ideology (SLI) in Great Britain that takes account of a multiethnolect – namely Multicultural London English (MLE). A corpus-informed discourse study was conducted to explore representations of MLE and its speakers in two corpora: one containing data from non-MLE-speaking Londoners and one consisting of data from MLE speakers themselves. The data included in …
Quebec-based parents’ concerns regarding their children’s multilingual development
Many parents express concerns for their children's multilingual development, yet little is known about the nature and strength of these concerns - especially among parents in multilingual societies. This pre-registered, questionnaire-based study addresses this gap by examining the concerns of 821 Quebec-based parents raising infants and toddlers aged 0-4 years with multiple languages in the home. Factor analysis of parents' Likert-scale responses…
A corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing
Many parents have concerns about raising their children with multiple languages. However, there is a paucity of previous research regarding parental concerns about multilingual child-rearing, particularly in multilingual societies. We address this gap with a corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing in Quebec, Canada. We created two corpora comprising 641 parents' responses to an open-ended survey q…
Evaluative reactions to minority languages and their varieties: Evidence from new speakers of West Frisian
Little is known about the connection between individuals' evaluative reactions to (i) minority languages as such, and (ii) specific varieties of these minority languages. This study investigates such evaluative reactions amongst new speakers of Frisian in the Netherlands (n = 264). A questionnaire was used to elicit participants' attitudes towards the Frisian language and their evaluations of the specific variety of Frisian they were taught. The …
Family language policy among Québec-based parents raising multilingual infants and toddlers: A study of resources as a form of language management
This is the first large-scale study of resources as a form of language management - that is, a way of influencing children's language practices. We introduce the distinction between child-directed resources (i.e., those providing parents with opportunities to engage with their children in the languages they are transmitting) and parent-directed resources (i.e., those providing parents with information about multilingual child-rearing). This study…
Attitudes towards Multicultural London English: Implications for attitude theory and language planning
The study presented here is the first empirical investigation of attitudes towards Multicultural London English (MLE), the multiethnolect spoken in England’s main metropolis. An online questionnaire was used to gather data from 800 participants, including MLE speakers as well as non-MLE speakers from a wide variety of different backgrounds. The results indicate that the traditional dichotomy of status and solidarity as distinct evaluative dimensi…
Multicultural London English and its speakers: A corpus-informed discourse study of standard language ideology and social stereotypes
The research presented here constitutes the first investigation of the standard language ideology (SLI) in Great Britain that takes account of a multiethnolect – namely Multicultural London English (MLE). A corpus-informed discourse study was conducted to explore representations of MLE and its speakers in two corpora: one containing data from non-MLE-speaking Londoners and one consisting of data from MLE speakers themselves. The data included in …
A Corpus-Assisted Discourse Study of Attitudes toward Spanish as a Heritage Language in Florida
Spanish speakers constitute the largest heritage language community in the US. The state of Florida is unusual in that, on one hand, it has one of the highest foreign-born resident rates in the country, most of whom originate from Latin America-but on the other hand, Florida has a comparatively low Spanish language vitality. In this exploratory study of attitudes toward Spanish as a heritage language in Florida, we analyzed two corpora (one Engli…
Bilingual Language Development in Infancy: What Can We Do to Support Bilingual Families
Many infants and children around the world grow up exposed to two or more languages. Their success in learning each of their languages is a direct consequence of the quantity and quality of their everyday language experience, including at home, in daycare and preschools, and in the broader community context. Here, we discuss how research on early language learning can inform policies that promote successful bilingual development across the varied…
Intergenerational language transmission in Quebec: Patterns and predictors in the light of provincial language planning
The study presented here is the first empirical investigation of the patterns and predictors of the intergenerational transmission of French in Quebec. An online questionnaire was used to gather data from 274 parents from different mother tongue (L1) groups: L1 French, L1 English, L1 French and English, and L1 Other. The results show that L1 French-and-English-speaking parents and L1 Other parents displayed particularly low rates of French transm…
Quebec-based Parents’ Attitudes Towards Childhood Multilingualism: Evaluative Dimensions and Potential Predictors
This is the first large-scale, quantitative study of the evaluative dimensions and potential predictors of Quebec-based parents’ attitudes towards childhood multilingualism. Such attitudes are assumed to constitute a determinant of parental language choices, and thereby influence children's multilingual development. The newly-developed Attitudes towards Childhood Multilingualism Questionnaire was used to gather data from 825 participants raising …
Minority language rights to education in international, regional, and domestic regulations and practices: The case of Frisian in the Netherlands
This paper examines minority language education in the Dutch province of Fryslân from a rights-based approach. To conduct the analysis, we employed a qualitative (legal) content analysis. We explored minority language rights at different levels to answer the following question: To what extent are international and regional standards on minority-language education applied domestically to education in Frisian and through the medium of the Frisian l…
Intersections of official and family language policy in Quebec
The current paper describes a study that sought to determine the beliefs, practices, and needs of parents living in Montreal, Quebec, who were raising their children bi/multilingually. The parents (N = 27) participated in a total of nine focus group and individual interviews in which they discussed their family language policies (language ideologies, practices, and actions taken to maintain a language). Through rounds of deductive and inductive c…
Multilingual Realities, Monolingual Ideologies: Social Media Representations of Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States
Little is known about how monolingual ideologies and their effects manifest in online contexts as compared to offline contexts. We conducted a corpus-assisted discourse study to investigate this, with a focus on Twitter representations of Spanish as a heritage language in the USA. We analysed two corpora (one English and one Spanish—over 30 million words), examining frequencies, collocations, concordance lines, and larger text segments. The resul…
Quebec-based parents’ concerns regarding their children’s multilingual development
Many parents express concerns for their children's multilingual development, yet little is known about the nature and strength of these concerns - especially among parents in multilingual societies. This pre-registered, questionnaire-based study addresses this gap by examining the concerns of 821 Quebec-based parents raising infants and toddlers aged 0-4 years with multiple languages in the home. Factor analysis of parents' Likert-scale responses…
Promoting Minority Language Use to Foster Revitalisation: Insights From New Speakers of West Frisian
Language planners are increasingly aware of the importance of new speakers (individuals acquiring a language outside the home, typically later-on in life) for the revitalisation of minority languages. Yet, little is known about new speakers’ activation (the process by which they become active and habitual minority language users). This article presents a questionnaire-based investigation of new speakers’ (n = 264) use of West Frisian in Fryslân, …
Transmitting Minority Languages: Complementary Reversing Language Shift Strategies, Michael Hornsby and Wilson McLeod (eds) (2022)
Transmitting Minority Languages: Complementary Reversing Language Shift StrategiesMichael Hornsby and Wilson McLeod (eds) (2022)Cham, Switzerland: Springer. Pp. 376ISBN: 978-3-030-87909-9 (hbk)ISBN: 978-3-030-87912-9 (pbk)ISBN: 978-3-030-87910-5 (eBook)
Family language policy among Québec-based parents raising multilingual infants and toddlers: A study of resources as a form of language management
This is the first large-scale study of resources as a form of language management - that is, a way of influencing children's language practices. We introduce the distinction between child-directed resources (i.e., those providing parents with opportunities to engage with their children in the languages they are transmitting) and parent-directed resources (i.e., those providing parents with information about multilingual child-rearing). This study…
Evaluative reactions to minority languages and their varieties: Evidence from new speakers of West Frisian
Little is known about the connection between individuals' evaluative reactions to (i) minority languages as such, and (ii) specific varieties of these minority languages. This study investigates such evaluative reactions amongst new speakers of Frisian in the Netherlands (n = 264). A questionnaire was used to elicit participants' attitudes towards the Frisian language and their evaluations of the specific variety of Frisian they were taught. The …
A corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing
Many parents have concerns about raising their children with multiple languages. However, there is a paucity of previous research regarding parental concerns about multilingual child-rearing, particularly in multilingual societies. We address this gap with a corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing in Quebec, Canada. We created two corpora comprising 641 parents' responses to an open-ended survey q…
Linguistics (14 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (14 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Pedagogy (9 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · First language (4 works) · Multilingualism (4 works) · Solidarity (4 works)