From Dili to Dungannon: an ethnographic study of two multilingual migrant families from Timor-Leste

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes to the growing field of family language policy by considering the life trajectories, language ideologies and linguistic investment of two transnational and multilingual families who have moved from Timor-Leste to the UK - to Dungannon, Northern Ireland. The paper draws on an ethnographic study conducted in Dungannon [da Costa Cabral, 2010. From Dili to Dungannon: A case study of two bilingual migrant families from East-Timor (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Birmingham]. The research included participant observation, field notes, language diaries, diary-based interviews and semi-structured interviews. It took as its starting point the view that migrant families are not static, self-contained units. Such families are situated within different social and historical contexts, and the language ideologies, repertoires and practices of family members are shaped by their lived experiences, over time, within these different contexts. The key insights gleaned in this study were as follows: The parents’ beliefs and values regarding the languages in their communicative repertoires – Tetum, Portuguese and Indonesian – reflected their lived experiences in education and work, at different moments in the recent history of Timor-Leste. After moving to Northern Ireland, their language ideologies became closely bound up with their aspirations for their children. They encouraged their children's learning and use of English and did not show a strong commitment to the use of Tetum at home.

KEYWORDS:

• Family language policy
• trajectories
• language ideologies
• investment
• identity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The names of all the participants are pseudonyms, so as to preserve confidentiality.

2. Transcription conventions (These were my own conventions)Ilde – ITeresa – TAntónio – AS – SofiaE – EdgarPause – . (= c. 1 s)Overlapping speech – [italics]Words in Indonesian – underliningWords in Portuguese - / yyy /Researcher's words – [xxx]

3. António, Sofia and I are not relatives. My use of the terms ‘uncle’ and ‘cousin’ followed the Timorese cultural practice as a way of indexing respect for an older person (e.g. António) or indexing simila age and social status (e.g. Sofia). They are ‘fictive kinship terms’ (Braun, 1988).