Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships

The paper focuses on the language choices among a sample of bilingual heterosexual couples in the less studied Polish context. Drawing on 24 in-depth interviews I examine the reasons for language choices in the couple, with the most engaging arguments being when the minority language is chosen. I...

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Main Author: Stępkowska, Agnieszka
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18525/1/48731-172401-2-PB.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18525/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1440
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spelling my-ukm.journal.185252022-04-26T08:14:04Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18525/ Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships Stępkowska, Agnieszka The paper focuses on the language choices among a sample of bilingual heterosexual couples in the less studied Polish context. Drawing on 24 in-depth interviews I examine the reasons for language choices in the couple, with the most engaging arguments being when the minority language is chosen. In the results section, I give the voice to the couples by inserting extracts from the interviews, illustrating the dyadic communication between the partners. The analysis is grounded in the sociolinguistic perspective bringing together linguistic and cultural aspects. Through these themes, I come to a more detailed account of communication scenarios conditioned by the L2 command of either of the partners. I report on the couples’ language repertoires and the languages of their first contact that result from the individual trajectories of their L2 acquisition and impinge on the agreed language choices. My data suggest that bilingual couples do not, as it might otherwise be expected, always end up using the language of the surrounding society. The findings reveal a relative stability of linguistic choices, but also some deviations from once adopted communication patterns. The paper shows that language choice and proficiency are closely connected, but also that other factors come into play. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2021-11 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18525/1/48731-172401-2-PB.pdf Stępkowska, Agnieszka (2021) Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships. GEMA ; Online Journal of Language Studies, 21 (4). pp. 110-124. ISSN 1675-8021 https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1440
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description The paper focuses on the language choices among a sample of bilingual heterosexual couples in the less studied Polish context. Drawing on 24 in-depth interviews I examine the reasons for language choices in the couple, with the most engaging arguments being when the minority language is chosen. In the results section, I give the voice to the couples by inserting extracts from the interviews, illustrating the dyadic communication between the partners. The analysis is grounded in the sociolinguistic perspective bringing together linguistic and cultural aspects. Through these themes, I come to a more detailed account of communication scenarios conditioned by the L2 command of either of the partners. I report on the couples’ language repertoires and the languages of their first contact that result from the individual trajectories of their L2 acquisition and impinge on the agreed language choices. My data suggest that bilingual couples do not, as it might otherwise be expected, always end up using the language of the surrounding society. The findings reveal a relative stability of linguistic choices, but also some deviations from once adopted communication patterns. The paper shows that language choice and proficiency are closely connected, but also that other factors come into play.
format Article
author Stępkowska, Agnieszka
spellingShingle Stępkowska, Agnieszka
Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
author_facet Stępkowska, Agnieszka
author_sort Stępkowska, Agnieszka
title Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
title_short Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
title_full Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
title_fullStr Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
title_full_unstemmed Language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
title_sort language choices between partners in bilingual relationships
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2021
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18525/1/48731-172401-2-PB.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/18525/
https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1440
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score 13.211869