1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The focus of this article is to locate language policy as a field of inquiry within the study of multilingual literacy practices and language maintenance in private domains and home contexts. This paper explores how family language policies are explicitly (Shohamy 2006) and overtly (Schiffman 1996, 2006), but also implicitly and covertly, planned in ten Chinese immigrant families in Montreal with regard to their children’s language and literacy education in three languages: Chinese, English, and French. » (p. 351)

Questions/Hypothèses:
The author ask these two questions : « What are the contexts that shape parental beliefs, choices and aspirations for their children’s multilingual development and their education in general? [...] How do parents describe the beliefs and contexts which shape their family language policy? » (p. 357)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
« The participants in this inquiry are the parents in ten Chinese immigrant families, all recruited from the Chinese community in Montreal through the heritage language school that their children attend. [...] Among the interviewees, nine fathers were competent English language speakers; seven of the mothers were able to communicate in English; the remaining three had only rudimentary English. In terms of French proficiency, with the exception of two fathers, none of the Chinese parents were able to converse in French, although a few of the parents could read a little French. » (p. 358)

Instruments:
Guide d’entretien semi-dirigé

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse de contenu

3. Résumé

« This ethnographic inquiry examines how family languages policies are planned and developed in ten Chinese immigrant families in Quebec, Canada, with regard to their children’s language and literacy education in three languages, Chinese, English, and French. The focus is on how multilingualism is perceived and valued, and how these three languages are linked to particular linguistic markets. The parental ideology that underpins the family language policy, the invisible language planning, is the central focus of analysis. The results suggest that family language policies are strongly influenced by socio-political and economical factors. In addition, the study confirms that the parents’ educational background, their immigration experiences and their cultural disposition, in this case pervaded by Confucian thinking, contribute significantly to parental expectations and aspirations and thus to the family language policies. » (p. 351)