Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Issues of gender, language values and power relations in the minority language socialization of young children in Wales Kathryn Jones & Delyth Morris Cwmni Iaith & University of Wales, Bangor

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Project Aims n Long term investigation of minority language socialization within the family n Identify why some Welsh-speaking parents raise their children to speak Welsh while others do not

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Project Aims n Informing WAG policy of promoting ‘family language transfer’ as a key component to maintaining Welsh as a family and community language

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Sample n 12 mixed language families  8 Welsh-speaking mothers  4 Welsh-speaking fathers n All 12 mothers had some knowledge of Welsh n 9 fathers had some knowledge of Welsh

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Method n Interviews n Diaries n Photographs

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Theoretical frameworks n Ethnographic approach to language shift (Gal 1979) n Language socialization research (Schieffelin & Ochs 1986) n Communities of practice (Wenger 1999)

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Is Gender important? n Fathers influence the language of the home, mothers influence the language of the child (Lyon 1996:205)

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July The importance of gender n Parenting roles of mothers and fathers n Who is the Welsh-speaking parent? n Language values & confidence n Power relations & who makes the language-related decisions?

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Parental roles n accessibility n engagement n responsibility (Lamb, 1997 cited in Tudge et al. 2000)

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Accessibility n Mother as the principal carer in 11 of 12 families was almost always accessible to child n Fathers’ accessibility was restricted to evenings and weekends

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Engagement n direct caregiving n assistance n playing n talking

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Mothers’ Engagement n Morning routine Getting up dressing having breakfast cleaning teeth watching MTV & Cbeebies

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Mothers’ Engagement n Daily play Playing with toys playing games playing outside dancing painting crafts baking reading books watching TV videos DVD’s

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Mothers’ engagement n Activities outside the home shopping eating out swimming walking visiting friends & family going to children’s parties

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Fathers’ engagement Playing reading stories bathing putting child to bed

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Mothers’ & fathers’ engagement Mother Getting up dressing having breakfast cleaning teeth watching MTV & Cbeebies Playing with toys playing games playing outside dancing painting crafts baking reading books watching TV videos DVD’s shopping eating out swimming walking visiting friends & family going to children’s parties Father Playing reading stories bathing putting child to bed

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Responsibility n Knowing what the child needs and making decisions on behalf of the child n physical, emotional, educational and social needs n language & culture

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Mothers take main responsibility for: n Health related visits n Leisure activities n Social visits (family & friends) n Parent & toddler groups n Deciding on child and nursery care n Deciding on child’s social contacts

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Mothers’ responsibilities n Establishing the social networks that form a child’s early friendship patterns  Welsh-speaking mothers tend to establish Welsh-speaking social networks  English-speaking mothers tend to establish English-speaking social networks

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Key factors in child’s Welsh language socialization within the family

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Parental roles and responsibilities n Child’s interaction with their Welsh speaking parent  time  activities

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Parental language values & confidence Children’s Welsh socialization depends on: n High language values of W parent & n High / medium values of other parent

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Language & Power Relations n Who is the language decision-maker in the family?  9 mothers  1 father  2 joint

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Families socializing their child in Welsh

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Families possibly socializing their child in Welsh

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Families not socializing their child in Welsh

Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July Issues of gender, language values and power relations in the minority language socialization of young children in Wales Kathryn Jones & Delyth Morris Cwmni Iaith & University of Wales, Bangor