Family Language Policy in the Polish Diaspora A Focus on Australia

Introduction  1. Polish Immigration to Australia  2. Intersections of Bilingual Development, Language Socialisation and Heritage Languages  3. Family Language Policy  4. Research Methodological Background  5. Online Questionnaire  6. Case Study Report One: Flexible Code-Switching Practices  7. Case Study Report Two: A Restrictive One Parent - One Language Strategy  8. Case Study Report Three: Accommodating Dual-Lingual Interactions  9. Cross-Case Analysis and Discussion  10. Further Implications and the Way Forward

Biography

Piotr Romanowski, PhD, is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Applied Linguistics of the University of Warsaw, Poland.

This volume is a welcome contribution to the growing literature on family language policies and heritage language maintenance. Through the lens of the Polish diaspora in Australia, it presents a　comprehensive and captivating account of the dynamics of family language policies, illustrating how they are constantly negotiated, contested and formed by both parents and children.

Elizabeth Lanza, University of Oslo, Norway

　

　

This is the first comprehensive study of the Polish community, one of the well-established yet understudied groups that make up multicultural Australia. The book explores the community’s attitudes, beliefs and practices to maintain the heritage language against the backdrop of limited institutional support. Piotr Romanowski has produced a rigorous yet highly engaging contribution to the flourishing field of Family Language Policy, as well as a model to study other ethnolinguistic communities. 　

Susana Eisenchlas, Griffith University, Australia

　

This research is a valuable interdisciplinary examination of heritage language transmission ecology within a group of Polish immigrant families in Australia. Piotr Romanowski traces current tendencies in transnational families’ Family Language Policy, such as minority-language parents' legitimising of flexible happylingual practices as well as minority language support by majority-language parents. Importantly, the book demonstrates an essential shift in emphasis from traditional Family Language Policy research "on" or "about" children to research "with" children. This significant work of scholarship will become essential reading not only for researchers in multilingualism but also for scholars of family and ethnic studies, as well as child development.　

Mila Schwartz, Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel

　

This book makes a solid and important contribution to not only the burgeoning literature about Family Language Policy but also our general understanding of linguistic, sociocultural and educational practices in an increasingly multilingual world.

Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, University of Bath, UK

 

[This book] is an exceptionally well-written and coherent book that can be recommended to both students and researchers interested in multilingualism, family language policy, and heritage language maintenance. It is an excellent addition to the growing literature on family language policy, heritage language maintenance, and bilingualism in transnational families in general and could provide a model for similar research in other language communities.

Karolina Rosiak, Bilingual Research Journal

This book is ideal for students of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, language acquisition and education, in addition to practitioners, teachers, parents, experts and researchers wishing to update their knowledge regarding the use of FLP for promotion and maintenance of immigrant home languages.

Sviatlana Karpava, Language Policy