Conference Presentations by Hanna Torsh
Linguistic intermarriage is of significant interest in understanding language practices in the co... more Linguistic intermarriage is of significant interest in understanding language practices in the context of global migration (Clyne & Kipp, 1997; Goncalves, 2013; Okita, 2002; Piller, 2001, 2002). However, the focus is almost always on the partner from the migrant and/or minority-language background. In contrast, this research focuses on those of English speaking background (ESB) who are married to migrant partners who speak a language other than English (LOTE). Using a questionnaire and interviews with 14 couples and 16 individuals which were collected over a period of eighteen months in Sydney, Australia, the role of language in the family was explored. Using discourse and content analysis, two key areas where language is implicated were identified: bilingual childrearing and communication with LOTE-speaking in-laws. It was found that expectations around bilingual childrearing and in-law communication intersected with gendered parenting roles. The research further found LOTEs were at times constructed as problematic in communication with in-laws overseas. This research has implications for the way that gendered ideologies play out in cross-linguistic intimate relationships and their intersection with dominant language ideologies such as the territorial principle.
Clyne, M., & Kipp, S. ( 1997). Language maintenance and language shift: Community languages in Australia,. People and Place, 5(4), 8.
Goncalves, K. (2013). Conversations with Intercultural Couples. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
Okita, T. (2002). Invisible work bilingualism, language choice, and childrearing in intermarried families. In (pp. vi, 274 p.). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utslibrary/Doc?id=10022323
Piller, I. (2001). Linguistic Intermarriage: Language choice and negotiation of identity. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), Multilingualism, Second Language Learning and Gender. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Piller, I. (2002). Bilingual couples talk : the discursive construction of hybridity. Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: J. Benjamins.
As a focus for understanding language practices in the context of global migration linguistic int... more As a focus for understanding language practices in the context of global migration linguistic intermarriage is of great interest (Clyne, 1996. (1997); De Houwer, 2007; Okita, 2002; Pauwels, 1984, 2005; Pavlenko, 2004; Piller, 2001, 2002; Takahashi, 2010). However, the focus is almost always only on language maintenance. This research focuses on the language beliefs and feelings of monolingually raised English speakers who are married to migrant partners and seeks to contribute to the debate about language learning and use in the family in multilingual and multiethnic Sydney. I interviewed thirty participants over a period of eighteen months in Sydney, Australia, designed and collected a questionnaire and compiled a media corpus of articles on couples and bilingualism from Australian media sources. One of the early findings is that very few of the English-speaking background (ESB) participants had any consistent opportunities to study foreign languages (FL) in their schooling in Australia, which is typical for Anglophone countries where FL learning is weaker. This talk was presented at the Australian Linguistics Society Annual Conference at Western Sydney University in 2016, at a workshop on Language and Migration.
Book Reviews by Hanna Torsh
Discourse and Society, 2013
The successful understanding of language at both a macro and a micro level – both climate and wea... more The successful understanding of language at both a macro and a micro level – both climate and weather, to paraphrase Michael Halliday – remains a challenge for linguists, applied linguists and indeed anyone working in contexts where language is a salient issue. It is therefore extremely valuable to have an overview of an issue as complex as multilingualism which addresses not only the phenomenon itself, but also the foundational concepts, that is, what language is, what counts as language and why it matters. As academics who work in Luxembourg and the UK, the authors of Introducing Multilingualism are interested in contexts where multilingualism intersects with issues of citizenship, education, migration, employment and identity, and where questions of what language is, who has it and who does not are central to social inclusion and justice.
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Conference Presentations by Hanna Torsh
Clyne, M., & Kipp, S. ( 1997). Language maintenance and language shift: Community languages in Australia,. People and Place, 5(4), 8.
Goncalves, K. (2013). Conversations with Intercultural Couples. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
Okita, T. (2002). Invisible work bilingualism, language choice, and childrearing in intermarried families. In (pp. vi, 274 p.). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utslibrary/Doc?id=10022323
Piller, I. (2001). Linguistic Intermarriage: Language choice and negotiation of identity. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), Multilingualism, Second Language Learning and Gender. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Piller, I. (2002). Bilingual couples talk : the discursive construction of hybridity. Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: J. Benjamins.
Book Reviews by Hanna Torsh
Clyne, M., & Kipp, S. ( 1997). Language maintenance and language shift: Community languages in Australia,. People and Place, 5(4), 8.
Goncalves, K. (2013). Conversations with Intercultural Couples. Berlin: Akademie Verlag.
Okita, T. (2002). Invisible work bilingualism, language choice, and childrearing in intermarried families. In (pp. vi, 274 p.). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utslibrary/Doc?id=10022323
Piller, I. (2001). Linguistic Intermarriage: Language choice and negotiation of identity. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, I. Piller, & M. Teutsch-Dwyer (Eds.), Multilingualism, Second Language Learning and Gender. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter.
Piller, I. (2002). Bilingual couples talk : the discursive construction of hybridity. Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: J. Benjamins.