Parent-child language differences and ethnolinguistic minority children’s evaluations of family life

Abstract

ABSTRACT Within ethnolinguistic minority families, parents and children often differ in language usage and proficiencies. In this study, we investigate the role of intergenerational language differences in cultivating and/or complicating family relations and how aspects of gender may moderate these relationships. Guided by the Family Language Policy framework, we expand the concept of intergenerational language differences beyond language use and proficiencies to incorporate language attitudes and language management indicators. Binomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the likelihood of children (N = 823; aged 10–12) reporting high levels of family friction and cohesion. Our results show that parent-child differences in language use and proficiencies are associated with family friction but not with cohesion, whereas differences in language attitudes impact family cohesion. Brokering has a significant negative impact on perceptions of family relations while language rules are not related to conflict or cohesion. Our interaction analyses suggest that the influence of parent-child language differences on family relations is more pronounced for the father-daughter dyad.