Growing Up with Two Languages ‘A book like this is decades overdue. Parents hoping to raise their children as bilingual need sound advice that lays out options without preaching, illustrates rather than overwhelms. Growing Up with Two Languages is an excellent guide for working through day-to-day issues of bilingual parenting and long-term strategies for dealing with such fundamental issues as children’s cultural identity and social comfort.’ Naomi S. Baron, American University, Washington, DC and author of Growing Up with Language ‘. . . stimulating reading for all those unacquainted with issues surrounding bilingualism in the family. This book records and discusses a wealth of experience from all over the world and a good many language combinations, backgrounds and circumstances . . . it offers a great deal of sensible advice and practical help.’ Charlotte Hoffman, University of Salford and author of An Introduction to Bilingualism The lives of many families involve contact with more than one language and culture on a daily basis. Growing Up with Two Languages is aimed at the many parents and professionals who feel uncertain about the best way to go about helping children to gain maximum benefit from the situation. Every family’s situation is different, but there is a good deal that parents can do to make life with two languages easier for their children. Growing Up with Two Languages is illustrated by glimpses of life from interviews with fifty families from all around the world. The trials and rewards of life with two languages and cultures are discussed in detail, and followed by practical advice on how to support the child’s linguistic development. Una Cunningham-Andersson is a lecturer in English Phonetics at the University of Stockholm. Staffan Andersson is a teacher of computing and electronics. They are raising their four children to speak English and Swedish in Sweden. Growing Up with Two Languages A practical guide Una Cunningham-Andersson and Staffan Andersson London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. © 1999 Una Cunningham-Andersson and Staffan Andersson All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloging in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Cunningham-Andersson, Una, 1960– Growing up with two languages: a practical guide/Una Cunningham-Andersson and Staffan Andersson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. 1. Bilingualism in children. 2. Parenting. I.Andersson,Staffan, 1948– . II.Title. P115.2.C86 1999 404′.2′ 083—dc21 99-14500 CIP ISBN 0 415 21256 1 (hbk) ISBN 0 415 21257 X (pbk) ISBN 0-203-19643-0 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-19646-5 (Glassbook Format) For Leif, Anders, Patrik and Elisabeth, who taught us what we know about children Contents Preface x Acknowledgements xii 1 Families with two languages 1 Background 1 Mixed language families and intercultural marriage 2 Minority language families 7 2 Expecting a child in a bilingual home 12 What do you want for your child? 12 Making plans 18 Be prepared! 21 3 The family language system 26 Developing a system 26 One person–one language 30 One language–one location (minority language at home) 37 ‘Artificial’ bilingualism 40 4 Language development 44 Active and passive languages 46 Interference and mixing 49 The critical period hypothesis 54 viii Contents 5 The child with two languages 57 Advantages and disadvantages of two languages for the child 57 Being different 59 Day-care and school 63 6 Practical parenting in a bilingual home 69 Help your child to make the most of the situation 69 Things to do at home 76 7 Competence in two cultures 84 Access to two cultures 84 Religion 88 Achieving cultural competence 89 8 Problems you may encounter 101 Quality of input 101 Semilingualism 105 Changed circumstances 107 Children with special needs 113 9 The way ahead 116 Motivation 116 Teenagers 118 Grown-up children 121 Advice from other parents 122 Conclusion 124 Appendix A: Organising a workshop on raising children with two languages 126 Appendix B: Ways to support a child’s development in two languages 130 Parent and children group 130 Minority language play-school 132 Saturday school 133 Contents ix Appendix C: Documenting a child’s linguistic development 135 Vocabulary 135 Length of utterance 136 Language mixing 136 Pronunciation 137 Appendix D: Internet resources 145 Web sites 145 Meeting places 145 Locating material 147 Notes 148 Glossary 150 Bibliography 152 Index 154