Language in the Bilingual Family

Among immigrant communities in the United States,the shift from heritage language dominance tobilingualism to English monolingualism is a wellestablished phenomenon. While a number of influencesoutside the home are known to play an important rolein this process, factors inside the home areinarguably influential but largely mysterious. Thisbook sheds light on this area through an examinationof language policy, ideology, and shift amongfifteen Iranian families in the Washington, DC area.A series of personal interviews explores a range oftopics, including parents desired languageoutcomes, motivations, decision-making processes,management tactics, language ideologies, andlanguage shifts. The findings of this studyillustrate how, just as the language policies oflarge institutions are shaped by languageideologies, so too are the language policies offamilies, and smooth implementation in neitherdomain is guaranteed. Furthermore, the datapresented in this work offer a view of languageshift from the bottom up, an inside perspective thathas been widely called for in the field but seldomprovided. Among immigrant communities in the United States, §the shift from heritage language dominance to §bilingualism to English monolingualism is a well §established phenomenon. While a number of influences §outside the home are known to play an important role §in this process, factors inside the home are §inarguably influential but largely mysterious. This §book sheds light on this area through an examination §of language policy, ideology, and shift among §fifteen Iranian families in the Washington, DC area. §A series of personal interviews explores a range of §topics, including parents desired language §outcomes, motivations, decision-making processes, §management tactics, language ideologies, and §language shifts. The findings of this study §illustrate how, just as the language policies of §large institutions are shaped by language §ideologies, so too are the language policies of §families, and smooth implementation in neither §domain is guaranteed. Furthermore, the data §presented in this work offer a view of language §shift from the bottom up, an inside perspective that §has been widely called for in the field but seldom §provided.