What are the discursive features
that influence how multilingual family members negotiate language?
Introduction:
Within academia, there is much talk
about multiligualism with domestic contexts.
More and more, students
are encouraged to learn more than one language. As a result, multilingual homes
will become more of a norm. Around the world, there are families who speak
multiple languages. Educators need to be aware of this fact in order to
effectively communicate to their students. Discourse analysis not only involves
speaking two forms of the same language but also two completely different
languages. There are several cases where a student may have knowledge of a
language when heard but is unable to respond or vice versa. Or can understand
the language on paper. Aside of the various forms fluency and proficiency can
take, my paper focuses on the features for language negotiation within multilingual
families. Many studies have focused on multilingual businesses but not multilingual
homes. I will add to the discussion by publishing my research. Add to the
already ongoing discussion.
There is writing out
there from multilingual authors that incorporate all of the languages they know
to whatever level of proficiency they know it. Understanding the features of
language negotiation may aide in understanding why the author chose to do that.
Or better yet, should a writer consider to do so in an effective, true to life
manner, understanding these features may aide in that realistic quality.
This is a case study. I
used focused a recording in which the participants were relaxed in their own
home. Therefore, there was no worry about an interviewer interfering with the
data. This is why the transcript has raw data in which the participants were
aware that they were being recorded but certainly were not being interviewed.
Given the difference in context, previous features defined may not be
appropriate.
Through this research,
it was found that the categories given my researchers studying features for
language negotiation in a business context did not satisfactorily encompass the
all of the language features in the multilingual home context. This is because
the data collected was based on interviews, the people within the business are
all highly proficiency in the languages they speak, and the context allows for
a specific discourse to be the norm, hence new categories were made. The topics
of a business setting are much more structured than those of a domestic
setting. Domestic settings allow for a less rigid use of language, due to the
context and intimacy of those present in conversations.
Literature Review:
The article used for
this study was "Multilingual Organizations as
'linguascapes': Negotiating the position of English through discursive
practices" by Chris Steyaert, Anja Ostendorp, Claudine Gaibrois. The
purpose of this study was to utilize discursive analysis to identify six
different features that dictate language negotiation in a two multilingual
organizations. The researchers also wanted to further understand why English
was chosen as the dominant language in those organizations and how that choice
effected language negotiation.
The six categories were as follows:
1. Adaptation to the viable
language of a certain location
·
the local, national or even global space
indicates which language should be spoken
2. Adaptation to the language of the
other
·
what informs one's language use is not the
language, which is provided as almost a baseline by one's living or working
location, but the more temporary notion of aligning oneself with the language
spoken by the person one is interacting with
3. Collective negotiation
of a common language
·
depending on the even and person's involved,
there is an active moment of negotiating about the question of which common
language to use
4. Languages can be used simultaneously
·
everyone replies in his or her language; a
situation occurs where several languages are mixed.
5. Finding
a compromise through a third language
·
adopt a new language other than the mother
tongue of both interlocutors involved in the communication.
6. Improvisation
·
cannot possibly find a common language and they
will need to improvise and actively mix several languages.
The article mentioned above assumes that the speakers want to
communicate to one another directly, that language is being use to facilitate
the exchange of ideas so that all participants in a conversation can understand
those ideas. However, sometimes language is used to marginalize or isolate
certain participants, whether it is the speaker or others. This limitation will
be addressed through my research. Also, the speaker can have their own agenda,
such as to make a joke in a particular language. Finally, this article assumes
that all the participants who speaking a certain language are fluent in the
language. However, in the context of the family used for this research project,
there are varying degrees of fluency/proficiency. To conclude, although these
features can apply to the multilingual domestic contexts, it fails to account
for many of the characteristics, and hence possibilities, that can influence
language negotiation.
Methods:
This research is a case
study of a Portuguese-American family living in New Jersey. The five participants
were chosen because they are all multilingual (to varying degrees), actively
use multiple languages when speaking to one another, and live with one another,
which facilitates intimate
familiarity with one another’s linguistic abilities. Upon being given consent,
a video recording of a recent family gathering was used as data collection. The
transcription for this recording is mostly in English and Portuguese with the
Portuguese sections translated into English for the purposes of this paper. In
order to maintain confidentiality, each participant was given a pseudo name that
does not resemble their actual name.
CONTEXT
GIGAS' birthday party. Celebrated
in their own home in the evening. Every member of this family is aware of the
other's linguistic knowledge.
• RELATIONSHIPS
• ZE
is the mother in the family [50s]
• SECA
is the father [60s]
• CLEO
is the older sister, not SECA’s daughter, ZE’s daughter [20s]
• GIGAS
is the middle child, brother, ZE’s and SECA’s son [teens]
• AL
is the little sister, ZE’s and SECA’s daughter. [teens]
• LANGUAGES
[in order according to proficiency languages]
• CLEO
– High Proficiency in English and Portuguese, Proficient in Spanish and French,
low proficiency in Japanese
• ZE
– High Proficiency in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, medium proficiency in
French
• AL
– High Proficiency in English and Portuguese, medium proficiency in Spanish
• GIGAS
– High Proficiency in English, medium proficiency in Portuguese and Spanish
• SECA
– High Proficiency in Portuguese, medium proficiency in Spanish, low
proficiency in English
My definition for Proficiency:
High proficiency - able to
communicate clearly and functionally in any setting. Fully understands language
when being spoken to.
Medium proficiency - able to
communicate clearly and functionally in some settings. Mostly understands
language when being spoken to.
Low proficiency - able to
communicate in very few settings or simply knows a few words or phrases. Has a
lot of trouble understanding the language when being spoken to.
Data Analysis:
New Categories for Analysis:
POWER: Manipulation vs.
consideration [about audience and purpose]
Exclude certain listeners:
[Add example]
Branch off/standout/ diverge
The English version of the birthday song has been sung. SECA is repeatedly encouraging everyone to sing in English now. However, only seconds after the switch is made, he decided to sing in Portuguese again!
[Add example]
Branch off/standout/ diverge
The English version of the birthday song has been sung. SECA is repeatedly encouraging everyone to sing in English now. However, only seconds after the switch is made, he decided to sing in Portuguese again!
SECA: Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles. [In
English. Now in English.]
ZE: Hahaha! Happy
Birthday
SECA: Em Ingles. [In
English.]
ZE, SECA: To you.
ZE: In tune.
ZE, SECA: Happy Birthday
to you.
ZE: Canta, CLEO! [Sing,
CLEO!]
SECA: Neste dia de festa. [On this day of festivity]
ZE, AL: Happy Birthday
to you.
SECA: Para o menino GIGAS-inhos [To our
little boy GIGA-inhos]
ZE: Hahaha!
AL: Happy Birthday to
you.
SECA: Uma salva de palmas [A round of
applause.]
ZE: How old are you now?
Also, the speaker can have their own agenda,
such as to make a joke in a particular language. therefore I will also add:
SOUND: phonological
At this
point, the family is still singing the birthday song in Portuguese.
ZE: Muitos anos de vida. [Many
years of life.]
SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha. [Many years of chaos.]
SECA decides to
make a pun with the words de vida [of life] by instead
saying de degrenha [of chaos]. As can be seen through the
translation, such a pun would never work in English because life and chaos are
very different in sounds. Furthermore, desgrenha is a slang
term meaning chaos, thus heightening the need to use Portuguese for this joke
rather than English.
SECA: Para o rato chato [To the annoying rat]
SECA: Para o rato chato [To the annoying rat]
Here,
SECA is rhyming to make a joke about GIGAS. The rhyming doesn't work in
English.
INTIMACY: formal/informal
ZE: Para nosso GIGAS-inhos [variation of GIGAS; term of
endearment] [To our GIGA-inhos]
Here, ZE is using the ending -inhos in order to show endearment to GIGAS. -inhos and -inhas are added to the end of people's names in order to make it cute, like saying little before someone's name [e.g. little Mary; little Tara]. These endings are also added to the end of other nouns to make them seem smaller [e.g. I have a little time to talk. Eu tenho um tempinho para falar.] This is very informal.
Here, ZE is using the ending -inhos in order to show endearment to GIGAS. -inhos and -inhas are added to the end of people's names in order to make it cute, like saying little before someone's name [e.g. little Mary; little Tara]. These endings are also added to the end of other nouns to make them seem smaller [e.g. I have a little time to talk. Eu tenho um tempinho para falar.] This is very informal.
PROFICIENCY: Status, fluency,
comprehension
Whenever any of the other speakers talk to SECA, they speak in
Portuguese. Whenever the speakers speak to GIGAS, they tend to speak in
English.
SECA: Happy beert- [suppose to be birth]
Language Proficiency of the listener
SECA and GIGAS are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but GIGAS has more English than SECA has Portuguese.
SECA: [singing] Esta quietinho, o levas no focinho. Sabes o que e focinho? [Stay still, or you'll get hit in the snout. You know what snout is?]
SECA: Happy beert- [suppose to be birth]
Language Proficiency of the listener
SECA and GIGAS are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but GIGAS has more English than SECA has Portuguese.
SECA: [singing] Esta quietinho, o levas no focinho. Sabes o que e focinho? [Stay still, or you'll get hit in the snout. You know what snout is?]
Here, SECA prefers Portuguese, but because he is aware that GIGAS
is not as fluent in the language, he asks GIGAS if he know what focinho [snout]
is in Portuguese.
GIGAS: Alright, mom this
part is for you
AL: As long as you don’t
blow the cake anymore.
ZE: [giggles]
CLEO:
Ainda ‘tas a cantar? [Are ya still singing?]
The
conversation was in English. CLEO changes it to Portuguese. CLEO is addressing
SECA so she used Portuguese to address him.
ZE is
more comfortable with Portuguese than English. For most of the transcript, she
is speaking in Portuguese.
AL prefers English so she speaks English for most of the transcript.
CLEO jumps between both according to need.
AL prefers English so she speaks English for most of the transcript.
CLEO jumps between both according to need.
CONTEXT: who is there, occasion
[overall nature of the event]
The context was a birthday party. Very
informal. This means that the environment is lighthearted and laid back. Furthermore,
in this case, the parents, who are the heads of the family, both speak
Portuguese more fluently than English. Therefore, the lingua franca of this
household is Portuguese. Nonetheless, in being in the United States and having
high-proficiency English-speaking children, English is the other main language
of the household. Therefore, when the birthday song is sung, both languages are
used.
GIGAS,
ZE: Parabens [Happy Birthday]
AL: Happy bir-
[01:30] GIGAS, ZE: A você. Esta data querida. [To you. On this special date.]
SECA: Pom
pom pom pom.
[gibberish][musical]
[giggles]
GIGAS, ZE, SECA, AL: Muitas Felicidades. [Much
happiness.]
ZE: Muitos anos de vida. [Many years of
life.]
SECA: Muitos anos de desgrenha. [Many years of chaos.]
GIGAS:
You forgot your flat
ZE: Hoje
a dia [Today is the day]
SECA: Agora em inglês [Now in English]
ZE: De festa. [Of festivities]
SECA:
Happy beert- [suppose to be birth]
ZE, SECA: Cantao as nossas almas. [Our souls are singing]
SECA:
Para o rato chato [To the annoying rat]
ZE: Para
nosso GIGAS-inhos [variation of GIGAS; term of endearment] [To our
GIGA-inhos]
[02:00] ZE, SECA: Uma salva de palmas
ZE: Hahaha!
SECA: Em Ingles. Ahora em Ingles. [In
English. Now in English.]
ZE:
Hahaha! Happy Birthday
SECA: Em
Ingles. [In English.]
ZE, SECA:
To you.
ZE: In
tune.
ZE, SECA:
Happy Birthday to you.
ZE: Canta, CLEO![Sing, CLEO!]
SECA:
Neste dia de festa [On this day of festivity]
ZE, AL: Happy
Birthday to you.
SECA: Para o menino GIGAS-inhos [To our
little boy GIGA-inhos]
ZE:
Hahaha!
AL: Happy
Birthday to you.
SECA: Uma salva de palmas [A round of
applause.]
ZE: How
old are you now?
[02:30] GIGAS: E isse. [That’s it.] Ha ha.
ZE, AL:
How old are you now?
SECA: Na na naaaa na na na naaa!
ZE, AL:
How old are you now? How old are you now?
ZE: How
old are you now?
Furthermore, through the
event, the main languages used will be Portuguese and English because of the
context created in this multilingual home. Furthermore, since all members had
at least some knowledge of both languages, and the participants were aware of
the proficiency of each of the other participants, they were comfortable to
speak whatever language they chose. Sometimes, because of the context, certain
members even quickly switch between or mix the languages together:
ZE: Apaga a luz GIGAS. Não. [Turn
off the light. No.] It’s your
birthday. You don’t do anything.
ZE: Já tiraste a picture do cake? [Did you take a picture of the cake?]
ZE: Já tiraste a picture do cake? [Did you take a picture of the cake?]
·
English and Portuguese are being fused together.
Only happens when speaking to either CLEO, GIGAS, or AL.
The multilingual informal domestic context
allows for this meshing to occur.
Conclusion/Limitations:
To conclude, further
research needs to investigate the domestic context with regards to multilingual
family members negotiating language within those contexts. This research did
not investigate the factors that affect language proficiency, such as attitudes
towards certain languages, willingness to learn another language, reasons
behind language proficiency, years together as a family, etc. in other words,
not enough information was provided about the contextual factors surrounding
this family, which is why the data was analyzed using an ontological approach
to discourse analysis. Also, to better support the claim that birthday-party
context was responsible for the language moves made by the participants, data
would need to be collected in another context so that a proper comparison can
be made. Nonetheless, insofar as comparing a domestic context to a business
context, this data successfully distinguishes the features that were not
extrapolated from previous studies. With the categories from previous research
and the new research presented here as a foundation, future research can apply
this data to better understand the domestic and multilingual contexts
