Catching English: Constructing language choice between Tagalog–English bilingual siblings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18192/olbiwp.v8i0.2116Keywords:
heritage languages, siblings, bilingual first language acquisition, language choice, code-switchingAbstract
In multicultural Canada, preserving heritage languages (HLs) is an issue for many immigrant families. Many parents want to maintain their HL with their children, but do not necessarily speak it consistently at
home. In addition, older siblings may start speaking the HL less once they start school. This study examined the language choice among Tagalog–English bilingual siblings in an English-majority setting. We expected to see greater use of English when at least one of the siblings was in school and when pretending to interact in public settings (like schools or restaurants) rather than private. The results showed that the children spoke mostly English regardless of whether they (or their sibling) were in school and regardless of context (public vs. private). We discuss possible reasons for these children’s high use of English.
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Obied, V. (2009). How do siblings shape the language environment of bilingual families?
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 12, 705–720.
Parada,M. (2013). Sibling variation and family language policy: The role of birth order in the Spanish proficiency and first names of second-generation Latinos. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 12, 299–320.
Paradis, J.,& Nicoladis, E. (2007). The influence of dominance and sociolinguistic context on bilingual preschoolers’ language choice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10, 277–297.
Quay, S., & Montanari, S. (2016). Early bilingualism: From differentiation to the impact of family language practices. In E. Nicoladis & S. Montanari (Eds.), Bilingualism across the lifespan (pp. 23–42). Washington, DC: De Gruyter Mouton and the American Psychological Association.
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Vihman, M. (1998). A developmental perspective on codeswitching: Conversations between a pair of bilingual siblings. International Journal of Bilingualism, 2, 45–84.
Yan, S., & Nicoladis, E. (2009). Finding le mot juste: Differences between bilingual and monolingual children’s lexical access in comprehension and production. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12, 323–335.
A comparison of siblings and peers. Child Development, 64, 430–444.
Barron-Hauwaert, S. (2011). Bilingual siblings: Language use in families. Bristol: Multilingual
Matters.
Barton, M.E., & Tomasello, M. (1994). The rest of the family: The role of fathers and siblings in early language development. In C.C. Gallaway & B.C. Richard (Eds.), Input and interaction in language acquisition (pp. 107–134). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Beck, D., & Lam, Y. (2009). Language loss and linguistic suicide: A case study from the Sierra Norte de Puebla, Mexico. Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics, 27, 5–16. Thematic issue: All the things you are: A festschrift for Jack Chambers, S. Cummins, B. Janoski, & P.A. Shaw (Eds.).
Berko-Gleason, J. (1975). Fathers and other strangers: Their speech to young children. In D. Dato (Ed.), Developmental psycholinguistics: Theory and application, Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics (pp. 289–297). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Bernal, M.E., Knight, G.P., Garza, C.A., Ocampo, K.A., & Cota, M. K. (1990). The development of ethnic identity in Mexican American children. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 12, 3–24.
Bridges, K., & Hoff, E. (2014). Older sibling influences on the language environment and language development of toddlers in bilingual homes. Applied Psycholinguistics, 35, 225–241.
Caldas, S.J., & Caron-Caldas, S. (2002). A sociolinguistic analysis of the language preferences of adolescent bilinguals: Shifting allegiances and developing identities. Applied Linguistics, 23, 490–514.
Chan, W.H., & Nicoladis, E. (2010). Predicting two Mandarin–English bilingual children’s first 50 words: Effects of frequency and relative exposure in the input. International Journal of Bilingualism, 14, 1–34.
Chevalier, S. (2015). Trilingual language acquisition: Contextual factors influencing active trilingualism in early childhood. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Daming, X., & Wei, L. (2002). Managing multilingualism in Singapore. In L. Wei, M. Dewaele, & A. Housen (Eds), Opportunities and Challenges of Bilingualism (pp. 275–296). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Deuchar, M., & Quay, S. (2001). Bilingual acquisition: Theoretical implications of a case study. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dunn, J. (1983). Sibling relationships in early childhood. Child Development, 54, 787–811.
Eriksen, T.H. (2001). Ethnic identity, national identity and intergroup conflict: The significance
of personal experiences. In R.D. Ashmore, L. Jussim, & D.Wilder (Eds.), Social identity, intergroup conflict and conflict reduction (pp. 42–70). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fantini, A. (1985). Language acquisition of a bilingual child: A sociolinguistic perspective. San Diego: College Hill Press.
Genesee, F., Boivin, I., & Nicoladis, E. (1996). Talking with strangers: A study of bilingual communicative competence. Applied Psycholinguistics, 17, 427–442.
Genesee, F., Nicoladis, E., & Paradis, J. (1995). Language differentiation in early bilingual
development. Journal of Child Language, 22, 611–631.
Gregory, E. (2001). Sisters and brothers as language and literacy teachers: Synergy between
siblings playing and working together. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 1, 301–322.
Grosjean, F. (2016). The Complementarity Principle and its impact on processing, acquisition,
and dominance. In C. Silva-Corvalán & J. Treffers-Daller (Eds.), Language dominance in bilinguals: Issues of measurement and operationalization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental
Review, 26, 55–88.
Hoff, E. (2003). The specificity of environmental influence: Socioeconomic status affects
early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development, 74, 1368–1378.
Hughes, C., & Dunn, J. (2007). Children’s relationships with other children. In C.A. Brownell & C.B. Kopp (Eds.), Socioemotional development in the toddler years: Transitions & transformations (pp. 177–200). New York: Guilford Press.
Huttenlocher, J., Vasilyeva, M., Waterfall, H.R., Vevea, J.L., & Hedges, L.V. (2007). The varieties of speech to young children. Developmental Psychology, 43, 1062–1083.
Jia, G., Chen, J., Kim, H.Y., Chan, P.-S., & Jeung, C. (2014). Bilingual lexical skills of school-age children with Chinese and Korean heritage languages in the United States. International Journal of Behavioral Developmen, 38, 350–358.
King, K.A., Fogle, L., & Logan-Terry, A. (2008). Family language policy. Language and Linguistics Compass, 2, 907–922.
Kopeliovich, S. (2013). Happylingual: A family project for enhancing and balancing multilingual development. In M. Schwartz & A. Verschik (Eds.), Successful family language policy: Parents, children and educators in interaction (pp. 249–275). Dordrecht: Springer.
Marks, A.K., Szalacha, L.S., Lamarre, M., Boyd, M.J., & Coll, C. (2007). Emerging ethnic identity and its relation to social group preferences in middle childhood: Findings from the Children of Immigrants Development in Context (CIDC) study. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31, 501–513.
Mannle, S., & Tomasello, M. (1987). Fathers, siblings and the bridge hypotheses. In K.E. Nelson & A. van Kleeck (Eds.), Children’s language (Vol. VI, pp. 23–41). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
McHale, S.,Updegraff, K.,&Whiteman, S. (2012). Sibling relationships and influences in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74, 913–930. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01011.
Montanari, S., & Nicoladis, E. (2016). Concluding remarks and future directions. In E. Nicoladis & S. Montanari (Eds.), Bilingualism across the lifespan (pp. 325–330). Washington, DC: De Gruyter Mouton and the American Psychological Association.
Nagpal, J., & Nicoladis, E. (2010). Positive attitudes are not enough: Minority language survival in the Canadian Prairies. Journal of Intercultural Communication, 24. Available at: immi.se/intercultural/nr24/nagpal.htm
Noels, K.A., & Clément, R. (2015). Situational variations in ethnic identity across immigration generations: Implications for acculturative change and cross-cultural adaptation. International Journal of Psychology, 50, 451–462.
Obied, V. (2009). How do siblings shape the language environment of bilingual families?
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 12, 705–720.
Parada,M. (2013). Sibling variation and family language policy: The role of birth order in the Spanish proficiency and first names of second-generation Latinos. Journal of Language, Identity & Education, 12, 299–320.
Paradis, J.,& Nicoladis, E. (2007). The influence of dominance and sociolinguistic context on bilingual preschoolers’ language choice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10, 277–297.
Quay, S., & Montanari, S. (2016). Early bilingualism: From differentiation to the impact of family language practices. In E. Nicoladis & S. Montanari (Eds.), Bilingualism across the lifespan (pp. 23–42). Washington, DC: De Gruyter Mouton and the American Psychological Association.
Statistics Canada (2013). Alberta: Immigrant and ethnocultural diversity. (Catalogue no. 99-010-XWE2011005). Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada. 2011 Census, NHS [National Household Survey] Focus on Geography series. Retrieved from: www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/fogs-spg/Pages/FOG.cfm?lang=E&level=2&GeoCode=48#tabs1_7.
Vihman, M. (1998). A developmental perspective on codeswitching: Conversations between a pair of bilingual siblings. International Journal of Bilingualism, 2, 45–84.
Yan, S., & Nicoladis, E. (2009). Finding le mot juste: Differences between bilingual and monolingual children’s lexical access in comprehension and production. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12, 323–335.
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