'Don't speak like that to her!': Linguistic minority children's socialization into an ideology of monolingualism

• Published in: Journal of sociolinguistics 2013-06, Vol.17 (3), p.355-375
• Main Author: KARREBAEK, Martha Sif
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Children; classroom interaction; Denmark; Ethnography; Hegemony; Ideologies; language ideology; language socialization; Languages in contact; linguistic ethnography; Linguistic hegemony; Linguistics; Monolingualism; Multilingualism; peer interaction; Schools; Socialization; Sociolinguistics and ethnolinguistics
• ISSN: 1360-6441; 1467-9841
• DOI: 10.1111/josl.12035

It is of general interest to the study of language in society how ideologies motivating linguistic hegemony get formulated in the context of increasing diversity. This includes if and how linguistic diversity surfaces under conditions that are clearly disfavouring it, and why or why not it happens. Also, we need to know how ideologies of language surface at the micro‐level, and how they are continuously passed on, shared, negotiated or contested. These are central issues in this study of socialization into a condition and an ideology of linguistic hegemony in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is illustrated how school‐authorities, parents and children co‐create Danish dominance and a linguistic ideology of monolingualism during the first school year. The primary focus is on two school‐beginners with minority language background in a linguistically diverse classroom, and the linguistic registers of particular interest are Danish, the majority language, and Turkish, an immigrant language. The article builds on field‐notes, ethnographic interviews, video‐ and audio‐recordings. Linguistic Ethnography and Language Socialization constitute the methodological frameworks, and Silverstein's ‘total linguistic fact’ forms an analytic principle. Europa karakteriseres af stigende befolkningsmæssig diversitet. Ikke mindst skolerne er dog stadig domineret af ideologier, der motiverer etsproget sproglig hegemoni. Det er af stor betydning for studiet af sprog i samfundet, hvordan sproglig mangfoldighed kommer til udtryk under betingelser, der defavoriserer den, samt hvorfor eller hvorfor ikke det sker. Dette omfatter også, hvordan sproglige ideologier løbende deles, forhandles eller anfægtes af deltagere. I denne artikel undersøges socialisering til en tilstand af og ideologi om dansksproget sproglig hegemoni i København, Danmark. Det demonstreres, hvordan skoleledelse, forældre og børn samkonstruerer den gældende ideologi over det første skoleår. Fokus er på to skolestartende børn med minoritetsbaggrund i et sprogligt mangfoldigt klasseværelse og på relationen mellem dansk, flertalssproget, og tyrkisk, et mindretalssprog. Feltnoter, etnografiske interviews, video‐ og lydoptagelser inddrages. Sproglig etnografi og sproglig socialisering udgør de metodiske rammer, og Silversteins ‘total linguistic fact’ det teoretiske grundlag. [Danish]