International Journal of Bilingual
Education and Bilingualism
Editor: Colin Baker, University of Wales, Bangor
Review Editor: Aneta Pavlenko, Temple University, Philadelpia
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Volume: 6 Number: 5 Page: 374–393
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The Multifaceted Aspects of Language Maintenance: A New Measure for its Assessment in Immigrant Families
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Michal Tannenbaum
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Patterns of language maintenance among immigrants have been researched widely, and lie at the core of daily life for immigrant families. The present study reports on a questionnaire developed to assess
various aspects of language maintenance, focusing on parent–child communication. Parents and children of 307 immigrant families living in Sydney, Australia, were asked about their use of and preference
for language in a range of contexts involving communication between parents and children. Factor analyses of the questionnaires revealed distinct dimensions for parents and children. The parent sample showed
evidence of domain separation, with a greater tendency toward use of and preference for the mother tongue in intimate interactions, as opposed to the public domain, where the tendency to use English was
higher. No distinction emerged across domains between use of and preference for language. In contrast, use of and preference for language in the children's sample emerged as distinct facets of language
maintenance, with no indication of domain separation. Children reported using their parents' mother tongue more than they would prefer to in general, and more with their mother than with their father in
particular.
Keywords: LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE, DOMAIN SEPARATION, QUESTIONNAIRE, IMMIGRANTS
© Multilingual Matters 2003
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