Heritage Language Development in Interlingual Families

Abstract

Heritage language research across contexts and areas of focus has intensified in the last two decades. Despite such an increase, families of mixed linguistic background are minimally represented in the literature. This is incompatible with the current global increase and social reality of this family type. The ethnolinguistic diversification of family composition worldwide calls for more targeted research with a growing demographic that grapples with an amplified complexity of issues. Therefore, the chapter provides a succinct overview of a selection of topics of fundamental importance, such as family language policy, an emerging area traditionally discussed only tangentially in related scholarship. It then describes the deployment of various family language policies and the relative effectiveness of implementing these communication arrangements. Moreover, the chapter highlights some of the ways in which the social, linguistic, and political circumstances of interlingual families may pose challenges related to policies and practices where various power relations – particularly gender – are implicated. It is shown that heritage language research with the children of parents who do not share a mother tongue has begun to establish key foundational knowledge regarding the factors that impact their linguistic lives but also reaffirms the recent call made by scholars about the need for further research around interlingual family language policy, socialization, and related issues. Finally, the chapter puts forward possible directions for future research and knowledge dissemination among key stakeholders.