Sweden's multilingual language policy through the lens of Turkish-heritage family language practices and beliefs

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4178099
AutoresUte Bohnacker (0000-0002-6715-7470, Uppsala University, autor correspondente)
Ano2023
Volume2023
Fascículo283
Páginas77-111
Data de publicação2023-09-26
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal of the Sociology of Language (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0165-2516 • E-ISSN: 1613-3668
EditoraWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/ijsl-2022-0059
OpenAlexW4386546713
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas38

This study explores the language maintenance efforts of Turkish heritage-speaker families in Sweden and their relation to state-level language policy from three angles. First, Swedish mainstream language ideology is described as it manifests in legislation, language policy and mother-tongue tuition. Then, the language practices of the families of 105 Turkish/Swedish children (age four to seven) are characterised via a questionnaire survey. This is complemented by findings from a follow-up study two years later, where ten of the families participated in interviews and home observations. Parents preferred to speak Turkish and wanted their child to learn and speak Turkish alongside Swedish. Another common denominator was the children's early, extensive preschool attendance. Parent-child interaction was predominantly Turkish, although second-generation parents raised in Sweden reported higher uses of the majority language Swedish. Exposure to Swedish increased over time due to schooling, sibling interaction and media use, but third-generation children still spoke Turkish to a considerable degree. In their heritage-language maintenance efforts, many parents enlisted the support of grandparents, mother-tongue tuition, and literacy activities. Parents generally considered Turkish and Swedish equally important and showed low levels of anxiety regarding their children's bilingualism, unlike what has been reported in studies of the same ethnolinguistic group in other national settings. The interviews revealed that parents who consulted Swedish health professionals and teachers were advised to speak and support the heritage language (Turkish) and maximise exposure to it in the home. Whilst unusual from an international perspective, this is in line with the official multilingual language ideology in Sweden

First language · Heritage language · Language policy · Linguistics · Mainstream · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Turkish · Language Development and Disorders · Medicine · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching