Enjeux de la transmission des langues pour des parents plurilingues

Abstract

This study concerns language transmission between multilingual parents and their children. The goal of this study is to determine what linguistic challenges are faced by multilingual parents while raising their children. This has been done using qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews. The notions of diglossia, multilingualism, multilingual and multicultural identity, mother tongue, choice of languages and of relations between languages and emotions are examined in this study. For this thesis’ theoretical anchoring, the multidisciplinary concepts used include authors from fields such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, cultural anthropology, philosophy, and psychoanalysis. The conclusion shows that the language transmission between multilingual parents and their children is a dynamic and complex process. A choice of language is often down to the parents – however it is not always simple and numerous factors come into play in the process of making a choice. On the one hand these factors come from the multilingual parents, are connected with the parents’ personal experiences, and come from their own representations of their languages. On the other hand, they also come from the geographical, linguistic and cultural environment in which this transmission takes place; as well as the multilingual parents’ circle of acquaintances. Finally this study shows that the language choices made are not emotionally harmless to the parents’ linguistic identities. The minorisation of one of their languages can provoke feelings of sadness or disappointment in the parents. However despite their disappointment, the parents continue to harbour desires that their children will eventually discover the minorised languages and cultures.