Last update:
9 February 2010
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Invisible WorkBilingualism, language choice and childrearing in intermarried families
2002. x, 275 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Hardbound
– In stock
978 90 272 1847 6 / EUR 110.00 978 1 58811 106 7 / USD 165.00
e-Book
– Available from e-book platforms
There is growing recognition that ‘context’ is important for bilingual language development, but understanding of that context remains underdeveloped. This innovative study, spanning the fields of bilingualism, ethnicity and family studies, shows how language use in intermarried families is deeply intertwined with the experience of everyday childrearing, in specific socio-historical contexts. This is why, despite good intentions, expert advice and effort, bilingual-child rearing often encounters difficulties. Conversely, drawing on in-depth interviews of twenty eight Japanese mother — British father families in the UK, the study uses a focus on language issues to portray actual childrearing dynamics and ‘situated ethnicity’ in intermarried families. Presenting a vivid picture of the ‘invisible work’ of mothers in these families, and how they attempt to resolve conflicting pressures and demands over childrearing, language and education, the author shows the importance of ‘recognition’ and shared responsibility. This book will interest researchers, practitioners and parents interested in bilingualism, ethnically diverse families and multicultural education.
Table of contents
“This book testifies to the merits of interdisciplinary work. With its bases in family studies and ethnic studies, along with the sociolinguistic literature on childhood bilingualism, it is able to elucidate the context in which language choices are made in a depth that has, to the best of my knowledge, never before been achieved in the literature on childhood bilingualism. It is a must-read for anyone involved in childhood bilingualism as a researcher or practitioner. It is also an important contribution to the emergent field of gender and bilingualism research.”
Ingrid Piller, University of Sydney in International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism Vol.6(2), 2003
“Okita's study is significant in several respects. First, the rich qualitative data including the participants' vivid life story accounts, occasional observations, reflections on mistakes and failures, bring important insight into the inner world of parents involved into bilingual child-rearing practices. Second, the study is an important step towards the creation of a cohesive cross-disciplinary theoretical framework for sociolinguistic analysis of parents' efforts to manage complicated bilingual practices and to transmit a minority language to the next generation. Finally, Okita's Invisible Work makes the time-consuming and emotionally demanding work of bilingual child-rearing more visible by illuminating pressures and dilemmas that often escape researchers' attention.”
“In this highly original study, Okita combines insights from studies of families, ethnicity, and bilingualism to examine the factors that promote or inhibit Japanese maintenance by the children of British fathers and Japanese mothers living in Britain. The result is a finely nuanced study that illustrates the difficulties of maintaining a minority language in a setting that provides few sources of institutional support. This volume is a valuable interdisciplinary examination of an understudied community and an important contribution to the study of childhood bilingualism and minority language maintenance and shift. This fine work of scholarship will be useful reading not only for researchers in first and second language acquisition and bilingualism but also for scholars in family studies, ethnic studies, and child development.”
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Linguistics