Bilingual parents' language use in child-directed speech: four case studies of English-Finnish bilingual parents

Mia Morris (mia.morris@helsinki.fi)

Anna-Maija Korpijaakko-Huuhka (anna-maija.korpijaakko-huuhka@helsinki.fi)

University of Helsinki

Helsinki, Finland

Introduction: An increasing number of children in Europe are born into bilingual families. The linguistic context created by parents is a child's primary context of language development, and parents' use of language/s affects the child's language acquisition. Until recently little attention has been paid to the issues of language use that parents encounter as they raise their child bilingually. This study investigates parental models of bilingual language acquisition.

Method: Two types of data were collected from four bilingual parents. Interviews were aimed at collecting detailed information about the model of bilingual language acquisition employed. Videotape data from the parent-child dyad and the family triad was aimed at unveiling how the model is exercised in practice.

Preliminary results: Each bilingual parent had a main language of use. However, two parents adhered quite strictly to using only that language, while two switched more freely between languages. Parental language switching occurred in reaction to child initiated language switches or as a use of "personal loans", consistently employed borrowed words with equivalents in the other language. Parents were able to describe their use of languages in a detailed interview. The methods and results of this study can set the scene for more accurate evaluation and comprehension of the language contexts of a bilingual child and, if need be, for more precise guidance of bilingual parents.

Key words: bilingualism, language choice, language use, parent-child interaction, code switching