FamilylanguagepolicytensionsinNdebele-Shonaintermarriages /

Abstract

Linguisticintermarriagesarenowacommonfeatureofcontemporarysocietiesasaconsequenceofmigration and globalisation. In some contexts, intermarriages contribute to the creation of bilingual families because of children’sexposuretothedifferentlanguagesoftheirparents.Inthesefamilies,tensionsaroundbilingualchildrearing and language socialisation often arise from mismatched parents’ ideologies about what languages representandtheirsubjectivedispositionstowardseachother’slanguage,particularlyinthecontextofhistorical conflicts. This study presents part findings of a larger study investigating the emotional dimensions of family languagepolicyinapost-conflictcontext.Itreportsonhowparents’languagepracticesandnegotiationswithin selectedNdebele-Shonaintermarriedfamiliesrevealunderlyingtensionswhichreproducetheprevailingsociopolitical order. The study deploys in-depth interviews with parents from each family to understand their language socialisation preferences for their children in the context of family bilingualism. Using the concept of family language policy, we argue that parents’ language practices and negotiations in each of the families are productsofhistoricalNdebele-Shonatensions,andthefamilybecomesasiteofconflictualbilingualism,resulting in there-negotiation of family linguistic identities.