A study of multilingual families in Helsinki and Cardiff: Parental language ideologies, family language policy, intergenerational language transmission experiences, and children's perspectives

Pankakoski, Kaisa 2023. A study of multilingual families in Helsinki and Cardiff: Parental language ideologies, family language policy, intergenerational language transmission experiences, and children's perspectives. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This study examines multilingual language transmission in contexts of official societal bilingualism. Specifically, the research focuses on the experiences of families in two superdiverse contexts, Cardiff (Wales) and Helsinki (Finland), whereby the family (heritage) languages of migrants are acquired alongside both national minority and majority languages. The thesis will contribute to relatively recent studies of language transmission in the Family Language Policy (FLP) paradigm insofar as the focus is on multilingual rather than bilingual transmission. In addition, both parent and child data are analysed to gain a more holistic view of experiences of multilingual language transmission. A cross-cultural, multiple-case study design was used to examine parental language ideologies, strategies, and experiences as well as children’s perceptions. Primary data were collected during semi-structured interviews in family homes with parents and children separately, supported by data from in situ observations and online questionnaires. Altogether 60 people (27 parents, 31 children, and two external family members) were interviewed within seven Helsinki and seven Cardiff families. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyse the qualitative data. The findings reveal that, as in bilingual families, parents were driven by specific language ideologies to raise children with multiple languages, such as the wish to transmit heritage and identity, increased cognitive abilities, and viewing multilingualism as a gift. The investigation of minority and heritage language transmission indicates that a local language community is critical: transmission of a language that is not an official language of the country was considered especially challenging. The analysis of the parent and child data highlighted that children felt pride in their heritage and multilingual identities, but there were challenges around the management of languages and the impact of social factors such as Brexit. The results suggest that these impacted the families’ wellbeing negatively, potentially leading to them dropping a language altogether.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Welsh
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages > PB1001 Celtic languages and literature
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	25 September 2023
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 12:04
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/162675

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