Navigating language maintenance challenges with health professionals: Reflections from Spanish speaking families in Australia

Figures & data

Table 1 Parental discourse strategies towards child mixing (adapted from Lanza, 1997)

Discourse strategy	Description
Minimal grasp	Adult indicates no comprehension of the child’s language choice
Repetition	Adult repetition of the child’s utterance, using the HL
Expressed guess	Adult asks a yes/no question using the HL
Move on	Adult continues the conversation in HL
Code switch	Adult code switches

Table 2 Themes

Ideology	Family	Responses to LMS	HL management
Decision to use HL	Partner	Embarrassment	Strategies
Identity	Extended family	Encouragement	Challenges
HL benefits	–	Regrets	Future plans

Table 3 Participant profile

Participant	Country of origin	Years in Australia	FLP	Partner ethnicity	Language used between partners	No. of children	Age of children
Viviana	Chile	4	Mixed languages	Colombian	Spanish	1	3
Teresa	Chile	3	Mixed languages	Chilean	Spanish	1	3
Diana	Chile	6	Mixed languages	Australian	English	2	5 & 1.5
Alicia	Chile	6	Mixed languages	Australian	English	2	5 & 1.5
Claudia	Chile	7	MLAH	Chilean	Spanish	2	10 & 2
Eliana	Chile	2	MLAH	Chilean	Spanish	2	5 & 1.5
Carolina	Chile	2	MLAH	Chilean	Spanish	1	1.5
Maria Laura	Chile	3	OPOL: Spanish as lingua franca	German	Spanish	1	2.2
Mirta	Colombia	5	OPOL: English as lingua franca	Bosnian	English	1	1.6
Juliana	Colombia	6	OPOL: English as lingua franca	Australian	English	1	1.7
Elena	Colombia	8	MLAH	Colombian	Spanish	2	5 & 3
Angelica	Colombia	9	OPOL: English as lingua franca	Israeli	English	1	1.6
Liliana	Colombia	10	MLAH	Colombian	Spanish	1	2.6

Lanza, E. (1997). Language mixing in infant bilingualism: A sociolinguistic perspective. Oxford University Press.

 Google Scholar

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, SG, upon reasonable request.