92 research outputs found
All is quiet on the Eastern Front? Language Contact along the French-German Language Border in Belgium.
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Multilinguisme dans l'enseignement néerlandophone à Bruxelles:résultats d'une étude pilote
No full textA longitudinal survey of reading and listening skills in French and Dutch of Francophone and Dutch-speaking pupils in Brussels.
No full textMultilingual families in a multilingual society:The language practices of three multilingual families in Brussels, Belgium.
Get PDFIn Brussels, the officially bilingual (Dutch-French) yet effectively multilingual capital of Belgium, transnational and multilingual families are becoming less and less exceptional. After a brief introduction to the linguistic situation in Brussels and Bel- gium, this paper discusses the language practices of three multilingual families from different (linguistic) backgrounds, living in and around Brussels. The findings illustrate how these families, regardless of their linguistic background, develop ways of interacting with each other that are far more dynamic and flexible than what they themselves claim to be doing. As a result, the linguistic make- up of these families is more complex and multifaceted than how it is presently being categorized by society
Being a Francophone Parent with Children in Dutch-medium Education in Brussels : A Tale of Tensions and Competing Discourses
No full textIn the officially bilingual (French–Dutch) Brussels Capital Region (Belgium), education is largely organized in two parallel but separate systems: French-medium education and Dutch-medium education. Parents must choose to send their children to either a Dutch- or a French-medium school. The choice of one education system over another may generate identity-related issues, such as the idea—rooted in nationalism—that “being a French speaker” and “sending your children to Dutch-medium education” are identity options that are by definition conflicting. In this article, I present a case study of a Francophone couple who decided to enroll their children in a Dutch-medium school in Brussels. Even if this decision brought the parents closer to Dutch-speaking social networks, it also highlighted the tensions and contradictions between the various identity options available. The study shows how these parents, in trying to deal with these tensions, appeal to quite different and sometimes contradictory discourse on language and belonging.Dans la région officiellement bilingue (français–néerlandais) de Bruxelles Capitale (Belgique), l’éducation est organisée en deux systèmes parallèles mais distincts (francophone-néerlandophone). Les parents doivent choisir d’inscrire leurs enfants dans l’un ou l’autre de ces systèmes d’éducation. Ce choix peut générer des questions liées à l’identité, comme l’idée – enracinée dans le nationalisme – qu’« être un locuteur français » et « d’inscrire ses enfants à un enseignement dispensé en néerlandais » sont des options d’identité qui sont par définition incompatibles. Dans cet article, je présente le cas d’un couple francophone qui a décidé d’inscrire ses enfants dans une école néerlandophone. Même si cette décision a rapproché les parents des réseaux sociaux néerlandophones, elle a également mis en relief les tensions entre les diverses options d’identité linguistique disponibles. L’étude montre comment ces parents, en tentant de faire face à ces tensions, font appel à des discours assez différents et parfois contradictoires sur la langue et l’appartenance
Nederlandse taalvaardigheid van Franstalige leerlingen in het Nederlandstalig onderwijs in Brussel: een longitudinaal onderzoek.
No full text‘Quiere koffie?’:The multilingual familylect of transcultural families
No full textScholars working on multilingualism within the family have often highlighted the dynamic nature of any single family's language policy, as well as the active role that both parents and children can play in the evolution of their family language policy and language practices. In this article, my aim is to revise the usefulness of two concepts, familylect and language repertoire, for examining multilingual families’ everyday interactions. I argue that if we consider family language policy as emerging in the interactions between children and caretakers, and we wish to investigate how such a language policy takes shape in a family's everyday interactions, the notions of a multilingual family language repertoire and a multilingual familylect may be useful lenses through which to observe these interactions, and I will tentatively illustrate their application, providing examples from two multilingual families from different (linguistic) backgrounds in Belgium
Family Language Policy:maintaining an endangered language in the home, by Cassie Smith-Christmas
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