1. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

2. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

3. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Project Aims n Informing WAG policy of promoting ‘family language transfer’ as a key component to maintaining Welsh as a family and community language

4. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

5. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Method n Interviews n Diaries n Photographs

6. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Theoretical frameworks n Ethnographic approach to language shift (Gal 1979) n Language socialization research (Schieffelin & Ochs 1986) n Communities of practice (Wenger 1999)

7. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Is Gender important? n Fathers influence the language of the home, mothers influence the language of the child (Lyon 1996:205)

8. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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?

9. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Parental roles n accessibility n engagement n responsibility (Lamb, 1997 cited in Tudge et al. 2000)

10. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

11. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Engagement n direct caregiving n assistance n playing n talking

12. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Mothers’ Engagement n Morning routine Getting up dressing having breakfast cleaning teeth watching MTV & Cbeebies

13. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Mothers’ Engagement n Daily play Playing with toys playing games playing outside dancing painting crafts baking reading books watching TV videos DVD’s

14. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Mothers’ engagement n Activities outside the home shopping eating out swimming walking visiting friends & family going to children’s parties

15. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Fathers’ engagement Playing reading stories bathing putting child to bed

16. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

17. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

18. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

19. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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

20. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Key factors in child’s Welsh language socialization within the family

21. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Parental roles and responsibilities n Child’s interaction with their Welsh speaking parent  time  activities

22. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Parental language values & confidence Children’s Welsh socialization depends on: n High language values of W parent & n High / medium values of other parent

23. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Language & Power Relations n Who is the language decision-maker in the family?  9 mothers  1 father  2 joint

24. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Families socializing their child in Welsh

25. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Families possibly socializing their child in Welsh

26. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 Families not socializing their child in Welsh

27. Sociolinguistics Symposium 16, Limerick July 6-8 2006 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