Family Language Policy

Based on an eight-year study of a family on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, this book explores why the children in the family do not often speak Gaelic, despite the adults' best efforts to use the language with them, as well as the children's attendance at a Gaelic immersion school.

The study is oriented to scholars interested in understanding FLP from a language-shift perspective and provides a comprehensive overview of the field, likely useful to researchers and graduate students. The volume highlights the importance of studying autochthonous minority language contexts (such as Scottish Gaelic) and the role of interaction among extended family members. (Muhammad Ahmad Alasmari, Language Policy, Vol. 18, 2019)

The volume is a pioneer in the study of FLP and its relation to language shift. as the first book-length treatment of FLP, this work will be a great resource for both undergraduate and graduate students in language education, sociolinguistics and bilingualism, as well as for researchers interested in minority-language development and maintenance, language socialisation and linguistic ideologies. (Juyoung Song, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Vol. 38 (1), March, 2017)

Autorentext

Cassie Smith-Christmas is a research fellow for Soillse, the inter-university Gaelic language research network. After completing her PhD at the University of Glasgow, Cassie took up her fellowship with the University of Highlands and Islands and has also held a fellowship at the Institute for the Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh, UK.

Inhalt

1. What is Family Language Policy? 2. Methodology 3. A Diachronic View of FLP 4. Building and Dismantling an FLP at the Micro-Level 5. Authority, Solidarity, and Language 6. Conclusion