Indian parents’ perspective of maintaining heritage language in the metropolitan Jakarta
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v15i1.1414Keywords:
heritage language, Indian parents' language attitudes, language maintenanceAbstract
The present study examines the role of Indian parents residing in Indonesia in maintaining heritage languages at home. The report presents parents' attitudes towards languages and the strategies used by these parents to promote heritage-language maintenance (HLM) while residing in Indonesia. Two research instruments were used: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. 23 Indian respondents (22 mothers and 1 father) residing in Jakarta participated in an online survey. Four participants volunteered for a follow-up interview to explore their language beliefs and attitudes. The majority of these parents regard Hindi or other Indian regional languages to be their heritage language, yet they use English to communicate with their children because of the ease—and lack of time to teach their children their heritage language. They also valorize English and the learning of other languages because of the benefits they entail, such as a better future and economic stability. Most of these parents agree that preserving and maintaining their heritage language is vital; however, they have only been somewhat successful in maintaining it.
References
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Clyne, M., & Kipp, S. (1999). Pluricentric languages in an immigrant context. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
DeCapua, A., & Wintergerst, A.C. (2009). Second-generation language maintenance and identity: A case study. Bilingual Research Journal, 32(1), 5-24.
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Holmes, J. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (1st ed.). New York: Longman.
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Kondo, K. (1998). Social-psychological factors affecting language maintenance: Interviews with Shin Nisei University students. Linguistics and Education, 9(4), 369-408.
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Li, G. (2006). Biliteracy and trilingual practices in the home context: Case studies of Chinese-Canadian children. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 355-381.
Liao, I. J., & Larke, P. J. (2008). The voices of thirteen Chinese and Taiwanese parents sharing views about their children attending Chinese heritage schools in Texas. Journal of US-China Education Review, 12, 1-8.
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Mishina, S. (1999). The role of parental input and discourse strategies in the early language mixing of a bilingual child. Multilingual, 18(4), 317–342.
Olmedo, I. (2005). Language strategies for bilingual families: The one-parent–one-language approach. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(04). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263105250283
Pandit, P.B. ( 1972). India as a sociolinguistic area. Pune: University of Poona.
Park, S. M. (2013). Immigrant students’ heritage language and cultural identity maintenance in multilingual and multicultural societies. Concordia University Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 30-53.
Park, S. M., & Sarkar, M. (2007). Parents’ attitudes toward heritage language maintenance for their children and their efforts to help their children maintain the heritage language: A case study of Korean-Canadian immigrants. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 20(3), 223-235.
Sandhu, S. & Mani, A. (Eds.). (2006). Indian Communities in Southeast Asia (First Reprinted.). Retrieved August 10, 2015.
Shibata, S. (2000). Opening a Japanese Saturday school in a small town in the United States: Community collaboration to teach Japanese as a heritage language. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(4), 465-474.
Tannenbaum, M., & Howie, P. (2002). The association between language maintenance and family relations: Chinese immigrant children in Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(5), 408-424.
Tannenbaum, M. (2003). The multifaceted aspects of language maintenance: A new measure for its assessment in immigrant families. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 6, 374–393.
Tse, L. (2000). The effects of ethnic identity formation on bilingual maintenance and development: An analysis of Asian American narratives. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 3(3), 185-200.
Tse, L. (2001). Resisting and reversing language shift: Heritage-language resilience among US native biliterates. Harvard Educational Review, 71(4), 676-709.
Yan, R. L. (2013). Parental perceptions on maintaining heritage languages of CLD students. Maintaining Heritage Languages, 27, 99-113.
Yearwood, E. (2008). Psychosocial implications for heritage language maintenance. JCAPN, 21, (1), 62-63.
Yu, B. (2013). Issues in bilingualism and heritage language maintenance: Perspectives of minority-language mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(1), 10-24.
Baker, C., & Jones, S.P. (1998). Encyclopedia of bilingual education and bilingualism. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Bansal, M. (2019, July 29). Parents should give equal importance to Hindi and English language learning for cognitive development. Retrieved November, 2019, from https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/parents-should-give-equal-importance-to-hindi-and-english-language-learning-for-cognitive-development-1574689-2019-07-29.
Ben-Rafael, E. (1994). Language, identity and social division: The case of Israel. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Brown, C.L. (2011). Maintaining heritage language: Perspectives of Korean parents. Multicultural Education, 19(1), 31-37.
Clyne, M., & Kipp, S. (1999). Pluricentric languages in an immigrant context. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
DeCapua, A., & Wintergerst, A.C. (2009). Second-generation language maintenance and identity: A case study. Bilingual Research Journal, 32(1), 5-24.
Deuchar, M., & Muntz, R. (2003). Factors accounting for code-mixing in an early developing bilingual. In N. Müller (Ed), (In)vulnerable domains in multilingualism (pp. 161-190). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Fishman, J. A. (1970). Sociolinguistics: A brief introduction. Rowley, MA: Newbury House Publishers.
Fishman, J. A. (1991). Reversing language shift: Theoretical and empirical foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Fishman, J. A. (2001). If threatened languages can be saved, then can dead languages be revived? Current Issues in Language Planning, 2(2&3), 222-230.
Gibbons, J., & Ramirez, E. (2004). Maintaining a minority language: A case study of Hispanic teenagers. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Hashimoto, K., & Lee, J.S. (2011). Heritage-language literacy practices: A case study of three Japanese American families. Bilingual Research Journal, 34(2), 161-184.
Hinton, L. (1999). Involuntary language loss among immigrants: Asian-American linguistic autobiographies. Eric Digest. https://eric.ed.gov /?id=ED436982.
Holmes, J. (1992). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (1st ed.). New York: Longman.
Juan-Garau, M., & Pérez-Vidal, C. (2001). Mixing and pragmatic parental strategies in early bilingual acquisition. Journal of Child Language, 28, 59–86.
Kelleher, A. (2010). What is a heritage language?. Cal.org. http://www.cal.org/heritage/pdfs/briefs/What-is-a-Heritage-Language.pdf.
Kondo, K. (1998). Social-psychological factors affecting language maintenance: Interviews with Shin Nisei University students. Linguistics and Education, 9(4), 369-408.
Krashen, S. (1998). Heritage language development: Some practical arguments. In S. Krashen, L. Tse & J. McQuillan (Eds.), Heritage language development (pp. 3-13). Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates.
Kung, F. W. (2013). Bilingualism and the second generation: Investigating the effects and methods of heritage language maintenance and second language acquisition. English Teaching & Learning, 37(3), 107-145.
Leung, G., & Uchikoshi, Y. (2012). Relationships among language ideologies, family language policies, and children's language achievement: A look at Cantonese-English bilinguals in the US. Bilingual Research Journal, 35(3), 294-313.
Li, G. (2006). Biliteracy and trilingual practices in the home context: Case studies of Chinese-Canadian children. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(3), 355-381.
Liao, I. J., & Larke, P. J. (2008). The voices of thirteen Chinese and Taiwanese parents sharing views about their children attending Chinese heritage schools in Texas. Journal of US-China Education Review, 12, 1-8.
Luo, S. H., & Wiseman, R. L. (2000). Ethnic language maintenance among Chinese immigrant children in the United States. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 307-324.
Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mea.gov.in/.
Mishina-Mori, S. (2011). A longitudinal analysis of language choice in bilingual children: The role of parental input and interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 43(13), 3122-3138. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.pragma.2011.03.016
Mishina, S. (1999). The role of parental input and discourse strategies in the early language mixing of a bilingual child. Multilingual, 18(4), 317–342.
Olmedo, I. (2005). Language strategies for bilingual families: The one-parent–one-language approach. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27(04). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263105250283
Pandit, P.B. ( 1972). India as a sociolinguistic area. Pune: University of Poona.
Park, S. M. (2013). Immigrant students’ heritage language and cultural identity maintenance in multilingual and multicultural societies. Concordia University Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 30-53.
Park, S. M., & Sarkar, M. (2007). Parents’ attitudes toward heritage language maintenance for their children and their efforts to help their children maintain the heritage language: A case study of Korean-Canadian immigrants. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 20(3), 223-235.
Sandhu, S. & Mani, A. (Eds.). (2006). Indian Communities in Southeast Asia (First Reprinted.). Retrieved August 10, 2015.
Shibata, S. (2000). Opening a Japanese Saturday school in a small town in the United States: Community collaboration to teach Japanese as a heritage language. Bilingual Research Journal, 24(4), 465-474.
Tannenbaum, M., & Howie, P. (2002). The association between language maintenance and family relations: Chinese immigrant children in Australia. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 23(5), 408-424.
Tannenbaum, M. (2003). The multifaceted aspects of language maintenance: A new measure for its assessment in immigrant families. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 6, 374–393.
Tse, L. (2000). The effects of ethnic identity formation on bilingual maintenance and development: An analysis of Asian American narratives. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 3(3), 185-200.
Tse, L. (2001). Resisting and reversing language shift: Heritage-language resilience among US native biliterates. Harvard Educational Review, 71(4), 676-709.
Yan, R. L. (2013). Parental perceptions on maintaining heritage languages of CLD students. Maintaining Heritage Languages, 27, 99-113.
Yearwood, E. (2008). Psychosocial implications for heritage language maintenance. JCAPN, 21, (1), 62-63.
Yu, B. (2013). Issues in bilingualism and heritage language maintenance: Perspectives of minority-language mothers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(1), 10-24.
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2020-05-30
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