Synopses & Reviews
Multilingual Livingpresents speakers' own accounts of the challenges and advantages of living in several languages at individual, family and societal levels. Individuals note profound differences in their sense of themselves, their relationships and their parenting, depending on which language they use - their experience highlights the interlinking of language, subjectivity and identity construction. The author further considers effects of the hierarchy of languages and power relationships. The book provides rich interview material of considerable interest to sociolinguists, psychologists, sociologists and lay readers interested in language and identity and in the dynamics of bilingual and multilingual living.
Synopsis
Multilingual Living presents speakers' own accounts of the challenges and advantages of living in several languages at individual, family and societal levels. Individuals note profound differences in their sense of themselves, their relationships and their parenting, depending on which language they use--their experience highlights the interlinking of language, subjectivity and identity construction. The author further considers effects of the hierarchy of languages and power relationships. The book provides rich interview material of considerable interest to sociolinguists, psychologists, sociologists and lay readers interested in language and identity and in the dynamics of bilingual and multilingual living.
About the Author
CHARLOTTE BURCK is a Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist, Trainer and Researchers in the Child and Family Department of the Tavistock Clinic, London, UK. Her other books include Gender and Family Therapy (with Gwyn Daniel) and Gender, Power and Relationships (with Bebe Speed).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements * Introduction * Researching Multilingualism and Multilingual Identities * The Research Framework * Childhoods in Several Languages * Adulthoods in Several Languages: Constructions of Self and of Language * Language Identities and Power Relationships: Strategies of Hybridization * Language Use and Family Relationships * Positioning the Researcher * Concluding Discussion * Appendixes * Protocol for Research Interview * Transcription Notations * References * Index