12 Future prospects and visions for family language policy research

Abstract

This chapter takes the current state of the research field of family language policy (FLP) as its point of departure and discusses topics that need further attention in future FLP research in order to give the necessary attention to multilingual family constellations and the conditions that form them as we enter the 2020s. The first part of the chapter starts out with a discussion of the concept of FLP-making as a dynamic enterprise across time and space and then outlines three major themes that need further recognition: taking the perspective of the child, including (non-linguistic) emotions, and including the contemporary mobile digital context in the study of FLP. The second part of the chapter puts forward some practical suggestions as to how these perspectives can be implemented in research: how to define the family as an object of study, what research questions may be asked, and what methodologies can be used.It is concluded that in order to find its future identity, the FLP research field needs to grow, develop and adapt in step with the changing times, and that this can be achieved through cross-disciplinary initiatives and the courage to think outside the box both theoretically and methodologically.

Exploring family language policy in action: Child agency and the lived experiences of multilingual Ethiopian and Eritrean families in Sweden

“…Against the backdrop outlined above, there is a growing call for shifting the focus of FLP research from adultoriented empirical data to studies that represent children's perspectives and views on their multilingual experiences and home language practices as equal co-participants in the process of FLP making (Smith-Christmas 2017, Schwartz 2020, Smith-Christmas 2020, Palviainen 2020. A similar shift is sought from Western middle-class bilingual families to increasing emphasis on migrant communities from the Global South to diversify the family types, languages, and contexts under investigation (King 2016, Smith-Christmas 2017.…”

“…Whenever there is a change in family constellation triggered by a divorce, members living apart, or the arrival of a new family member (sibling or other), the family language ecology changes and affects the power dynamics in the process of FLP making (Caldas 2012, Palviainen 2020). To date, few studies have explored the effect of changes in family structure on FLP (Palviainen 2020).…”

“…Whenever there is a change in family constellation triggered by a divorce, members living apart, or the arrival of a new family member (sibling or other), the family language ecology changes and affects the power dynamics in the process of FLP making (Caldas 2012, Palviainen 2020). To date, few studies have explored the effect of changes in family structure on FLP (Palviainen 2020). In the case of one of the families under investigation here, a theme that emerged through a closer reading of the parental interviews is that a single-parent family (family 1 in this case) seems to have and run a uniform and consistent FLP and practice.…”

“…As Lomeu Gomes (2018) points out in a critical overview, FLP research has concentrated primarily on bilingual parenting and language socialisation processes among Western middle-class bilingual couples, their implicit and explicit home language policies, and the underlying ideologies that inform their policy decisions and practices (King and Fogle 2013, Smith-Christmas 2017, King 2016. Moreover, in such research, adult caregivers have been taken as the main source of FLP research data, whereas children's views and perspectives on their multilingual experiences have remained largely overlooked (Palviainen 2020).…”

Families in flux: at the nexus of fluid family configurations and language practices

“…The current study conceptualizes family as a fluid network, in which new members become significant while others grow apart. The study thus examines families' trajectories in flux (see Palviainen 2020b). This focus on fluctuation in the family configuration (when parents divorce, remarry, form voluntary kinships or build relationships with non-residential members) brings a new perspective to the field of FLP.…”