Mothers say, Children say: Two views on language use of the younger generation of the Sso community (Cameroon) (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Rahel Beyer (SIL Cameroon)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Societal multilingualism typically involves the use of different languages in different domains and with varying levels of vitality. Several approaches aim to assess language vitality within a continuum or scale. In almost all of these frameworks, intergenerational transmission is considered crucial for a language’s prospects of maintenance. Intergenerational language transmission refers to the passing on of a language from one generation to the next (Fishman, 1991). While the focus is obviously placed on parental behavior, children’s agency should not be neglected (Luykx, 2005). Children’s language use cannot simply be deduced from parental input; rather, there is considerable dynamic interaction between the two generations. Consequently, a vitality study conducted among the Sso community by SIL Cameroon surveyed both generations. The language community comprises about 10,000 people in the Centre region of Cameroon (Eberhard, Simons and Fennig, 2023). Other languages present in the community include the neighbouring languages Beti (also the language of wider communication), Makaa and Koonzime as well as French, one of Cameroon’s two official languages. The primary instrument used in the study was an individual sociolinguistic questionnaire, administered in several variants – one for each group of subjects. Regarding the parental generation, attention was given to mothers specifically. Although the scientific debate on gender roles in transmission continues (cf. De Houwer, 2007), research suggests a tendency toward greater maternal influence (e.g., Velázquez, 2018). Rather than distinguishing only two unrelated social groups (mothers and children), mothers and children were systematically paired: for each mother, two of her children were surveyed. This design allows the mother’s information to contextualize those of the children and the children’s answers to cross-check the mothers’ reports. This contribution examines the congruence between mothers’ and their children’s responses. The questionnaires administered to both groups included some identical or similar questions, targeting the same aspects, such as language choices with each other, languages choices with siblings, and the children’s language proficiency. It will be shown that the views effectively diverge. It will be discussed on what aspects divergence is greater or smaller, what kinds of divergence can be observed (number of languages, languages, etc.) and how the divergence can be explained.

Multilingualism in Filipino families in Italy: Family Language Policy and Language Portraits (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Francesca Moro (University of Naples L'Orientale)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal This paper investigates multilingual repertoires and heritage language (HL) transmission among 60 Filipino speakers in Italy (32 first-generation and 28 second-generation). It draws on two complementary data sources: semi-structured sociolinguistic interviews and the Language Portrait task (Moro & Di Salvo 2026; Busch 2012). The Filipino community in Italy, one of the largest in the European Union, has existed since the 1970s. Despite their long-standing presence in Italian society, rates of intermarriage remain relatively low (ANPAL 2022). Children are typically exposed at home to Tagalog/Filipino, English, and one or more Philippine regional languages (e.g., Ilocano, Cebuano) before entering school (by age six at the latest). After school entry, exposure to and use of Italian increase sharply, often making Italian dominant in everyday interaction. Four patterns emerge from the interview data: (1) regional Philippine languages are rarely transmitted to children and elicit mixed evaluations; when parents prioritize a HL, they tend to choose Tagalog rather than a regional language; (2) parent–child interaction is typically characterized by Tagalog–Italian mixing, indicating that Italian becomes salient while Tagalog is nonetheless maintained and generally positively valued; (3) English is not selected as the sole language of family communication, but appears mainly in combination with Italian and/or Tagalog; and (4) in the second generation, exclusive Italian use is most common with peers and younger interlocutors (e.g., siblings, children). Overall, these patterns point to limited intergenerational transmission, consistent with findings from other Filipino diaspora contexts (e.g., Canada, see Nagy 2021; the United States see Axel 2011; Australia see Lising 2022). Triangulating interview results with Language Portraits reveals clear generational differences in embodied language representations. First-generation participants typically locate Tagalog in the upper body (head, chest), suggesting strong emotional attachment and identity affiliation; however, this embodied centrality does not necessarily align with active HL transmission in the family. For instance, participant FI1F16 (first generation; born in Batangas; resident in Italy for 33 years) places the Filipino flag on her chest and Italian flags on her hands (Figure on the side). She explains that Tagalog belongs “in the heart” because she deeply cares about it, while Italian is on the hands because living in Italy has “given her two hands”. Yet, despite this affective positioning of Tagalog, she reports using Italian with her children, illustrating the gap between emotional attachment and everyday transmission practices. Among second-generation speakers, the pattern is partially reversed. While many still place Tagalog in central positions, most locate Italian in the head or chest, identifying it as the most meaningful language in their repertoire. Interestingly, local Philippine languages are rarely included in the portraits. This may be partly due to uncertainty among speakers about how to represent them, but it may also point to an ongoing shift, as documented in sociolinguistic interviews. Filipino families in Italy navigate competing pressures in language transmission: Italian as the majority language, English for socioeconomic mobility, and home languages for emotional attachment. Understanding these family language policies is crucial for helping migrants and second generations develop healthy multilingual identities.

Dynamics in multilingual patterns and language attitudes among Kalmyk speakers (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Vlada Baranova (University of Hamburg)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Kalmyk language (Oirat, Mongolic) is a minoritised language spoken in the Republic of Kalmykia. Over several generations, the linguistic situation has changed drastically due to shifting language and ethnic policies. In the twentieth century, there were periods of state support for Kalmyk and Kalmyk-medium education, as well as periods of repression, including the forced deportation of the Kalmyk population to Siberia in 1943–1956 (Guchinova 2005). These events led to disruptions in intergenerational language transmission within many families. These socio-political changes significantly affected the multilingual repertoires of Kalmyk speakers, including the widespread acquisition of Russian, processes of language shift, and, in recent decades, partial revitalisation of Kalmyk. This has resulted in new configurations of L1 and L2, varying levels of proficiency in both languages, and diverse multilingual practices in public and private communication across generations. The data consist of individual biographical narratives documenting language change across the lifespan of bilingual speakers in Kalmykia. The corpus was collected in both Kalmyk and Russian; for some speakers, narratives are available in both languages, while others chose to speak either Kalmyk or Russian. (The Kalmyk-language part was published within the INEL language documentation project in 2025.) This corpus makes it possible to analyse linguistic biographies, language choices, and language use among Kalmyks. The paper addresses two main research questions: (1) What types of multilingual patterns have existed and continue to exist across different generations of Kalmyks? (2) How do language prestige and language attitudes influence language practices? Drawing on the concept of the multilingual speaker’s repertoire (Busch 2017) and a dynamic understanding of language use, the linguistic biography approach reveals individual transition points in speakers’ trajectories. In ‘new speakers’ studies, these biographical junctures are referred to as mudes, which influence language acquisition and language practices (Pujolar 2019). The results identify key linguistic transition points (mudes) across generations of Kalmyk speakers. One major finding is the strong individual agency of the younger generation in maintaining Kalmyk and expanding its domains of use. The linguistic analysis demonstrates generational changes in language use in both Kalmyk and Russian. The revitalising language community should therefore be understood as a continuum of speakers with varying levels of competence and diverse sources of language exposure. References Busch, B. (2017). Expanding the Notion of the Linguistic Repertoire: On the Concept of Spracherleben – T he Lived Experience of Language. Applied Linguistics 38/3: 340–358. Guchinova, E.-B. (2005). “Pomnit' nel'zja zabyt'”: Antropologija deportacionnoj travmy kalmykov. [‘Remember or Forget’. An anthropology of the trauma of deportation among Kalmyks], Munich, Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag. INEL 2025 - Baranova, V. (2025). INEL Kalmyk Corpus. Archived at Universität Hamburg. Version 1.0. Publication date 2025-07-17. https://hdl.handle.net/11022/0000-0007-FFB1-2. Archived at Universität Hamburg. In: The INEL Corpora of Indigenous Northern Eurasian. Pujolar, J. (2019). Linguistic mudes: An exploration over the linguistic constitution of subjects. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 257, 165-189.

Between Assimilation and Resistance: Mosaic Hybridity and the Intergenerational Language Shift of Bengali(s) in Assam (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Anindita Choudhury (IIT Kharagput)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Bengali, an official language of West Bengal and Tripura, has a significant presence in the north-eastern states of India. However, Bengali speakers constitute a linguistic minority in these states. To lay out a demographic context and language policy of the Union, English is recognized as the Associate Official language of India, and each state (29) recognizes its official language(s). This study focuses on the north-eastern state of Assam, a mini linguistic area and home to languages from several groups, including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Karbi, Hajong, Dimasa, Nepali, etc. Situated at the periphery of the Indo-Aryan belt, the region represents a microcosm of linguistic diversity. While English (constituting ~8%), Assamese (constituting 48.4% of the population), and Bodo (constituting 4.51%) are the three official languages of the state, Meitei (0.54%) and Bengali (28.9%) are the two additional languages officially recognized in the Barak Valley and Hojai districts, respectively. This paper examines the dynamic multilingual ecology of the Bengali minority in Assam, examining how politically marginalized communities restructure their linguistic repertoires under the pressure of modern citizenship regimes (Baruah, 2020). Language shift, from “varieties” such as Sylheti, Comilla and Mymensinghia to Standard Colloquial Bengali (SCB) and Assamese in this case, is not a simple linear loss, but a process beginning with strategic biopolitical negotiation leading to hybrid forms due to a shift in inter-generational transmission. These hybrid forms represent complex mosaic forms (Piplai, 2025), especially in the younger generations. Adopting sociolinguistic approaches (Simard et al., 2020), this study explores the psychosocial motivations which result in parents altering children's multilingual development by engineering the home-based transmission of native tongues. through. Following a Mixed-Methods Sociolinguistic Design, integrating Ethnographic Qualitative Research with Descriptive Linguistic Analysis, this study examines data collected from 74 participants across 3 generations in two zones: Brahmaputra and Barak Valley. Barak Valley's (constituting 78% of the total Bengali population) maintenance of Sylheti as a lingua franca has been seen as an active resistance against the “internal colonization” by both Assamese linguistic nationalism and Kolkata-centric SCB hegemony; the findings of this study reveal the presence of hybrid language forms which vary across generations in urban areas. Community learning of the native language in these cases reveals lexical, morpho-syntactic and phonological mixing of features from Sylheti, SCB, Hindi, English, etc. These hybrid mosaic forms represent a type of multilingualism that is not always additive in nature, but a defensive strategy in conflict zones that acts as a requirement for the minorities. This study, through the two contact zones, highlights the importance of population dynamics in the maintenance and intergenerational transmission of all languages independently in the multilingual ecosystem. Keywords: Bengali, language shift, hybrid mosaic, intergenerational transmission, multilingualism.

Tohar maa/ baap ke galti ha! – ‘it’s your parents’ fault!’ A Multigenerational Approach to the Transmission and Maintenance of Mauritian Bhojpuri. (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Tejshree Auckle (University of Mauritius)
• Hannah Davidson (Newnham College, University of Cambridge)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal This paper explores the social dynamics of language maintenance and shift within the private sphere, focusing specifically on the endangered language of Mauritian Bhojpuri. Family Language Policy (FLP) has established the family as playing a crucial role in the transmission of multilingual practices, more so in contexts of language endangerment and language shift where, as Noori (2009: 13) argues “the language must be returned to the children and the home.” However, the field has also been criticised for its Western-centric reliance on the nuclear family model (Lomeu Gomes & Lanza, 2022). Drawing on the above perspectives, this ongoing study adopts an approach to FLP rooted in multigenerational Mauritian families to investigate how they negotiate ideologies, manage practices, and influence the linguistic trajectory of future generations. Data from successive censuses indicate a gradual decline in the number of speakers using Mauritian Bhojpuri in the home domain, falling from 19.1% in 1990 to 5.1% in 2022 (Central Statistical Office, 1990; Statistics Mauritius, 2022). Despite Mauritian Bhojpuri folk songs being inscribed as Intangible Cultural Heritage (UNESCO) and a small number of local publications focusing on the traditions and customs of the Bhojpuri-speaking community (cf. Boodhoo, 1999), minimal attention has been paid to the language itself and documentation remains limited. This project addresses the above-mentioned gap by shifting the methodological focus toward ethnographic observations and naturalistic conversations of family units, complemented by semi-structured interviews. We argue that to truly understand family linguistic practices in endangered language contexts, research must look beyond the nuclear unit to focus on both parents and grandparents, whose role as custodians is pivotal in the transmission of heritage languages (Said, 2024). In our pilot study of two multigenerational Mauritian families, we focus on the close connection between positive language ideology and successful transmission of the Bhojpuri language to the next generation. We pay specific attention to how participants consistently frame Bhojpuri as a “dharohar [legacy]”, and how this informs their choice to invest in the intergenerational transmission of the language. In addition, we observe the maintenance of culture-specific practices, notably the use of kinship terms instead of or together with personal names when addressing elders, reflecting broader norms of respect and family hierarchy. Among the grandparents’ generation, this practice often involves combining the husband’s or eldest child’s name with a kinship term, as in the use of “Nirmal bhauji [Nirmal sister-in-law]”, where an older relative is addressed using the name of her first-born child. We also note the complex "multilingual bricolage" of daily life (Eckert, 2019), with our informants fluidly drawing upon linguistic resources in Creole, Bhojpuri, English and French to differing degrees and for varying reasons. With Bhojpuri confined mainly to the home domain, the responsibility for the successful transmission of the language and its associated culturally-specific practices falls to family. While declining speaker numbers paint a bleak picture about the long-term survival of Bhojpuri, we argue that positive language ideology, particularly in multigenerational families, can still contribute to its maintenance by promoting its use across different generations.

Phonetic Variation in Singapore English in a Changing Multilingual Ecology (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Ying Ying Tan (NTU2025)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal It has been suggested in evolutionary models of World Englishes that one of the key features that mark Singapore English as one of the most developed of Englishes in the world is the presence of ethnic variation. Ethnic variation in language, in turn, is also a hallmark of multilingual ecologies. When it comes to ethnic subvarieties in Singapore English, phonetic variation is the one area that has received the most attention, given that it is not only the most salient feature, it is also tied most closely to the construction of identities. One of the first observations on ethnic variation in the sound system of Singapore English dated as early as 1968, and thus far, there have been differing perspectives offered on the topic – be it in terms of its segmental or suprasegmental properties, or in terms of phonetic production and perception. Does ethnicity matter? Is there ethnic variation in the sound system of Singapore English? Research on this topic have pointed in opposite directions when it comes to these questions. In this talk, I aim to provide an overview of the research of the topic, tracing the differing (and contesting) perspectives on the question of ethnic variation in the sound system of Singapore English as Singapore’s multilingual ecology changes across the past few decades. The goal is to be able to offer an explanation for the differing accounts by looking carefully at the nature of Singapore’s multilingual ecology and also the theoretical frameworks scholars have believed in when drawing their conclusions. This talk therefore aims to offer a perspective that may provide some clarity to some of the existing questions on ethnic variation in Singapore English, and at the same time, challenge some assumptions that have been made in the various fields in Linguistics.

Language Attitudes Towards Multilingualism on the Divided Island of Cyprus – An inter-/ intragenerational overview (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Manuela Vida-Mannl (TU Dortmund)
• Erna Selmanovic (TU-Dortmund)
• Sarah Buschfeld (TU Dortmund)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Cyprus is an inherently multilingual island. Its multilingualism includes two official languages, Greek and Turkish, their local varieties, Cypriot Greek and Cypriot Turkish, English, which was introduced under British rule, and many other migrant languages. Despite this multitude of used languages, research has so far predominantly focused on speaker attitudes towards both varieties of Greek and Turkish as well as English (see Evripidou & Cavusoglu 2015; McEntee-Atalianis & Pouloukas 2001). For the local languages, Greek and Turkish, it has been found that the standard variety is of higher prestige than the local one, although the difference is decreasing (see Cavusoglu & Evripidou 2018). Attitudes towards the Cypriot Turkish variety even changed from negative into positive while the high value of Cypriot Greek remained constant (Buschfeld 2013: 40-41; Vida-Mannl 2021: 74). For English, a shift from negative to positive attitudes has been reported. While, during the British rule, English used to be perceived as a threat to the use of Greek by Greek Cypriots, the biggest ethnic group of the island, nowadays, especially younger generations demonstrate more positive attitudes towards English in the southern part of the separated island. In the North, Turkish Cypriots, the other main ethnic group, have continued their positive attitudes, while descendants from Turkish settlers exhibit negative attitudes towards English and the general no-use of Turkish especially among older generations (Vida-Mannl, Buschfeld & Grohmann 2025: 179-180). Attitudes towards other languages or multilingualism in general have not yet been investigated. This paper investigates attitudes towards multilingualism among residents of Cyprus, more particularly in the cities of Paphos, Kyrenia, and Nicosia. Specifically, it focuses on inter- and intragenerational differences to find out to what extent different generations and generations among themselves might have and express different attitudes towards multilingualism. Furthermore, we analyse how the influence of other variables such as city of residence, level of education, and composition of language repertoire influence attitudes towards multilingualism to go beyond the factor of age alone. We analyse the language use and attitudes section of 106 extensive, audio-recorded assisted questionnaires using a mixed-methods approach. An intergenerational comparison of attitudes will indicate that older age groups express more negative attitudes than younger age groups across all cities. In addition, the intragenerational comparison will indicate a strong influence of internationality and the multilingualism in the respective cities on the attitudes across generations. A general intergenerational difference is noticeable between younger and older generations while the intragenerational comparison is highly influenced by location.

Generational Predictors of English Proficiency: Investigating Undergraduate Students in Cebu City (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Loy Lising (Macquarie University)
• Aurelio Vilbar (University of the Philippines Cebu)
• Peter Siemund (University of Hamburg)
• Jannah Flores Alcantara (Universitaet Hamburg)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal English is widely used in the Philippines as an additional and co‑official language alongside the official language Filipino and more than 150 indigenous languages. People across the Philippines are typically bilingual in Filipino and English in northern Luzon, or trilingual in Filipino, English, and Cebuano in the central and southern parts of the country (Visayas, Mindanao). Moreover, English plays a central role in education making English proficiency critical for academic success. Despite this, little is known about how generational and home‑based language practices shape English proficiency, especially among young adults. This study examines the English proficiency of 624 undergraduates from four universities in Cebu City to identify which generational factors best predict English proficiency. The port town of Cebu City is the most important municipality in the Visayas. Data were collected through a large sociolinguistic survey measuring listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, each captured on six-point Likert scales. Predictor variables include demographic factors (age and gender), educational background (pri-vate vs. public), university affiliation, medium of instruction, home language, parental level of education, and English use with family members (parents, grandparents, sib-lings) and peers. Bayesian modelling was applied to both complete cases (n = 502) and to multiply imputed datasets using predictive mean matching (n = 624), with imputation improving estimate reliability. Results show that English use within the family strongly predicts proficiency across all four skill domains. Interacting in English with parents, siblings, and grandpar-ents, as well as having English as a home language, substantially increases proficiency. English home language use had the biggest impact on speaking abilities. In contrast, age, gender, school background, university affiliation, medium of instruction, and Eng-lish use with best friends exert little influence. These findings highlight the central role of family language practices in fostering English proficiency, suggesting that home‑based exposure may be more influential than institutional factors in this student population.

Intergenerational constellations and linguistic adaptation in micro ecologies of Lagos (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Henning Schreiber (Universität Hamburg)
• Ismail Olaitan Afolabi (Universität Hamburg)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Nigeria is a country of considerable linguistic complexity, with approximately 500 languages from three African language phyla. The linguistic landscape is dominated by Hausa in the North, Yoruba in the Southwest, and Igbo in the Southeast, while convergence zones with high rates of contact and multilingualism are situated in between (Jegede, 2024). Although the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria recognises regional languages such as Yorùbá, Igbo, and Hausa as official languages, English enjoys greater prominence and, as in other countries, has continued to expand its spheres of influence. English in Nigeria can be traced back to the era of the Atlantic Slave Trade, which also influenced settlement patterns in the region. The first ‘Nigerian’ English variety is a creole language related to Krio, known as Nigerian Pidgin English. Since English was (re-)introduced in colonial times, Nigerian Standard English owes its status in present-day Nigeria to its mass diffusion through education after independence (van Rooy 2019, p. 219). In modern Nigeria, Nigerian Standard English is the ‘in-official official’ language, the language of the media and the dominant language of instruction at all levels in many institutions. Nevertheless, the status and functions of English varieties and their fluid transitional variations in Nigeria are highly diverse, and the dynamics depend overall on the respective multilingual ecology (Jowitt, 2019). Also, while the dominant roles of English and its bidirectional impact on indigenous languages have continued to draw scholarly attention, to say the least, more still needs to be done in multigenerational analysis to achieve a nuanced understanding of the rapidly shifting multilingual dynamics in the country. In this presentation, using interviews and participant observation involving 180 participants from three demographic groups, we draw on the Dominant Language Constellations (DLC) framework and analyse communicative practices and discrepant language repertoires in nine micro-ecologies within the Egbe-Idimu and Igando-Ikotun Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos, focusing on how linguistic diversity is navigated across diverse conversational contexts. The findings point to intergenerational convergence and divergence and, to a great degree, high preferences for English across all groups. However, the dominant use of English, like Pidgin, is not without an active restructuring of the language to accommodate social values and local cognitive frameworks or thought patterns. Also, the additive bilingualism characteristic of older generations is being eroded and replaced, instead with English and Pidgin-centric linguistic frameworks or constellations, which are largely shaped by fluid adaptation and social-pragmatic transfer. Overall, speakers’ repertoires range from 2 - 7 languages but stratified constellations are formed by 2 - 4 languages, and these constellations not only enable communication with individuals from diverse ethnic backgrounds but also reflect substrate-superstrate dynamism, where the grammatical structure is occasionally derived from indigenous languages, and the lexical component originates from the English superstrate

Intergenerational transmission of ethnic languages in Kahama (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Roland Kiessling (University of Hamburg)
• Mpologo Kapingu (Universität Hamburg)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Family plays the most significant role in intergenerational transmission of ethnic or local languages in multilingual contexts, even in contexts where community attitudes happen to be in favor of the regionally or nationally dominant languages (Fang & Yao 2025). This contribution looks into intergenerational multilingual transmission in Kahama, Tanzania, where English and Swahili are official languages co-existing with several ethnic languages. It investigates how multilinguals pick up their individual languages and to which degree their multilingual language skills are a result of language socialization in the home domain (traditional transmission) rather than an outcome of formal education in school. With respect to the role of English, which has been claimed to be gaining influence in Tanzania(Mohr 2018) after years of being confined to only a few domains (Mohr & Ochieng 2017), we will explore whether this is actually reflected in acquisition practices to ascertain if it has gained any space in the family domain to the extent that children can be informally exposed to it right within the home context. The work is based on data collected using the CODILAC questionnaire and interview protocol. A total of 58 online questionnaires were administered and 12 interviews conducted from the 11th September to the 10th of November 2025 in Kahama. Preliminary findings from the questionnaire indicate that the Kahama micro-ecology is characterized by up 15 languages, namely Swahili, English, Sukuma, Giha, Haya, Hangaza, Sumva, Kurya, Jita, Chagga, Nyakyusa, Luo, Ndali, Maasai and Kimalila. The number of languages in the repertoire of individuals ranges from 2 to 7. On average, an individual has 3 languages in their repertoire. All respondents reported to be speaking Swahili, which qualifies as the most dominant, followed by Sukuma (46), and English (37). A total of 29 respondents reported to be speaking an ethnic community language other than Sukuma, where some were born of intermarried parents but had at least acquaintance with the ethnic languages of both. On language acquisition, the quantitative findings indicate that most respondents (30) learnt Swahili at home and at school while the rest learnt it in school only (23) and in the neighborhoods (4). Of the 37 respondents speaking English,36 reported to have learnt it in school, including those having parents who speak it. Respondents with English-speaking parents did not pick it from home since it was not used for home conversations. The findings suggest that most residents of Kahama acquire Swahili and ethnic languages in the family. Meanwhile, English is not at all transmitted by the family, thus education remains the only path of its transmission. References Fang, F & Yao, X. (2025). Intergenerational transmission and multilingual dynamics: exploring language policies in Chaoshan families through a contextual lens, Current Issues in Language Planning, 26 (2), 234-253, DOI:10.1080/14664208.2024.2410517 Mohr, S. (2018). The changing dynamics of language attitudes in Tanzania. Language matters -studies in Languages of Africa 49 (3),105-127 Mohr, S & Ochieng, D. (2017). Language use in everyday life and in education: current attitudes towards English in Tanzania

Institutional Multilingualism and Migrant Heritage Languages: Ideological Negotiations in South Tyrol (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Safà El Koura (Universität Innsbruck)
• Kristina Savic (Universität Innsbruck)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal South Tyrol represents an interesting case of institutionalised multilingualism, structured around the coexistence of German, Italian, and Ladin as minority and official languages. In recent decades, this minority context has increasingly intersected with new dynamics of migration, transforming the region into a multilingual migration society. The presence of additional heritage languages in families and schools, raises new questions about language maintenance and the negotiation of linguistic hierarchies. This paper explores how families and educational institutions orient to heritage languages and which language ideologies guide these orientations by drawing on a year-long multi-sited ethnographic study (Marcus, 1995) conducted with families and a local primary school. The ethnography focuses on the transition period from kindergarten to primary school as a critical institutional moment in which expectations about language and future trajectories of multilingualism are articulated and negotiated. This transition constitutes a key site where families’ linguistic resources encounter school-based norms (Gogolin, 2008) and ideologies, with concrete consequence for everyday language practices. Theoretically, the study is grounded in third-wave sociolinguistics and speaker-centred approaches (Eckert, 2019; Busch, 2017), conceptualising multilingualism as dynamic and socially situated (Schnitzer, 2018). Raciolinguistic ideologies (Flores & Rosa, 2015) are shown to play a central role in shaping which linguistic resources are perceived as legitimate, desirable, or “problematic” within educational settings, influencing how children’s repertoires are evaluated, how parents assess the risks and benefits of heritage language maintenance, and  how schools position linguistic diversity. By foregrounding heritage language maintenance in a migratory minority context, this paper contributes to debates on multilingualism and linguistic hierarchies in border regions. The guiding research question is: How do language ideologies shape the positioning and maintenance of migrant heritage languages in South Tyrol’s multilingual context?   Literature Busch, B. (2017). Expanding the notion of the linguistic repertoire: On the concept of Spracherleben – the lived experience of language. Applied Linguistics, 38(3), 340–358. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv030 Flores, N., & Rosa, J. (2015). Undoing Appropriateness: Raciolinguistic Ideologies and Language Diversity in Education. Harvard Educational Review, 85(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.149 Gogolin, I. (2008). Der monolinguale Habitus der multilingualen Schule. Waxmann. Marcus, G. E. (1995). Ethnography in/of the World System: The Emergence of Multi-Sited Ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology, 24, 95–117. Schnitzer, A. (2017). Mehrsprachigkeit als soziale Praxis: (Re-)Konstruktionen von Differenz und Zugehörigkeit unter Jugendlichen im mehrsprachigen Kontext.Beltz Juventa.

The role of English within two multilingual contexts: A comparison of speakers residing in the United Arab Emirates and the Maldives (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Eliane Lorenz (Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal The current study zooms into two locations, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Republic of Maldives, that share several linguistically relevant developmental similarities (Meierkord 2018) and investigates the status and role of English within the countries’ multilingual ecologies. Historically, the English used in the UAE and the Maldives differs from other prototypical postcolonial Englishes, because the two countries were not directly under British rule but had established international relations as British protectorates (Bernaisch et al. 2025; Siemund et al. 2021). Both rely heavily on the tourism industry, have undergone societal changes with high influxes of labor migrants, and English has been introduced through education and established as the main medium of instruction (Meierkord 2018; Siemund et al. 2021). While there is hardly any research on English or multilingualism in the Maldives (Meiekord 2018; but see Bernaisch et al. 2025), there has been an increasing interest in investigating English and other languages in the Gulf region in recent years (e.g., Boyle 2011; Parra-Guinaldo & Lanteigne 2021; Randall & Samimi 2010; Siemund et al. 2021). The study relies on different yet comparable online survey data. The surveys were conducted in 2019 (UAE, n = 692) and 2024 (Maldives, n = 94) in two densely populated regions, Sharjah, one of UAE’s seven sovereign emirates, and Malé, the capital of the Maldives. The respondents were exclusively (UAE) or largely (Maldives) university students in their early twenties. With this, the data are not representative of the societies at large, yet one can argue that these speakers are the drivers of newly developing norms (Bernaisch et al. 2025; Sankoff 2018) which makes an investigation of them the most interesting, when aiming to make future developmental predictions. In addition, recorded sociolinguistic interviews (UAE, n =115) and pair conversations (Maldives, n = 47) provide insights into language use patterns. The study investigates (1) language use patterns in different domains (e.g., spoken, written, private, public) with a focus on the local languages (Dhivehi, Arabic) versus English and possibly other languages, (3) the level of self-reported multilingualism, and (2) it considers attitudes towards English spoken in the respective locations. It tries to establish whether the historical similarities shared by the two regions also manifest in similarities with respect to language profiles, usage patterns, and attitudes. It has been shown that English is indeed the lingua franca in the UAE, albeit Arabic is the official language (Lorenz 2023). This is especially apparent in the public domain, but increasingly so in the private sector, with differences between Emirati and other Arab expatriates, on the one hand, and South Asian and other citizenship groups, on the other. The differences, however, largely relate to the absence or presence of Arabic (Lorenz 2023). It is hypothesized that similarities can be found in the Maldives, with English, the main lingua franca, gaining in importance, and restricting the use of Dhivehi (Meierkord 2018; Bernaisch et al. 2025). Citizenship differences, however, will not be relevant, because all participants in the data collected in the Maldives are Maldivians.

Inter-Generational Multilingualism and Language Shift in a Rural Botswana Village (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Kamogelo "Blade" Mokgosi (Independent)
• Rebecca Everson (University of California, Berkeley)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Patterns of language choice (or “language shift”) across global multilingual communities demonstrate the importance of community-specific understandings of language use. This is especially important for rural African communities, which have received less attention than, for instance, African urban centers. In this talk we present the results from a language use and attitudes survey in a rural, multilingual village in Botswana and show that, while self-reported language ideologies remain constant across generations, both younger and older speakers perceive a language shift in progress that is marked by younger speakers mixing words and phrases from the national language, Setswana, when speaking local languages. Previous work on multilingualism in rural Africa has focused on diagnosing the “prestige” hierarchy of languages in these contexts (e.g. Moore 2004, Lüpke 2016, Di Carlo et al. 2019). From self-reported language ideologies, speakers don’t (overtly) categorize the languages they speak into such a hierarchy, but when asked about perceived generational differences, they reveal more diglossic (Ferguson 1959, Fishman 1967) attitudes, with younger speakers ranking Setswana above local languages. The name “Tjhauba” refers to the name of a tribe of Bakgalagadi people and their variety of the Shekgalagadi language (Bantu). Tjhauba is spoken by ~1000 people and is considered endangered (Gunnink 2022, Monaka 2013). We (a linguist from the USA and a Tjhauba community member) conducted 34 sociolinguistic interviews with Tjhauba speakers, ranging from 19 to 91, in Nxamasere. The interview structure largely follows Di Carlo et al.’s (2021). We interviewed participants individually about their linguistic backgrounds, including how many languages they speak. On average, participants report speaking 3.74 languages. For each language, we asked participants to answer questions like “What are the advantages of speaking this language?” We also interviewed participants in small groups to elicit targeted metalinguistic commentary on Tjhauba, such as perceived gender and generational differences in speech. Cultural affiliation and familial connection to the language are uniformly reported as the reasons why people feel it is advantageous to speak Tjhauba, while performance in school, accessibility to government services, and ability to communicate with people from other regions are the most widely reported benefits of knowing Setswana. For other languages, answers ranged from feeling connected within the community to being able to understand when someone is gossiping about them. Taken at face value, these attitude reports may suggest egalitarian multilingualism (François 2012). Answers to the question, “What do you want people to think or say about you when you speak Setswana?” reveal that younger speakers consider Setswana to mark them as “true citizens” of Botswana, while older speakers either didn’t answer or said they hope people notice that they are fluent in more languages. This difference in language ideologies is further supported by the metalinguistic commentary on generational differences in Tjhauba speech that is marked by younger speakers injecting more Setswana into their Tjhauba speech. We use these results and others to describe a language shift in progress, and highlight the advantages and limitations of self-reported language attitudes to investigate language shift.

English in a Multilingual Ecology: Phonetic Variation among Speakers from Northeast India (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• John Aheibam (Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Northeast India is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world, where English plays a very important role in communication, education, and administration. Hundreds of languages belonging to three different language families, viz. Tibeto-Burman, Indo-Aryan, and Austro-Asiatic coexist within a dense multilingual environment (Fuchs et al., 2025). Although English is widely used as a lingua franca in this region, systematic phonetic studies of second-language English produced by speakers from various linguistic backgrounds in Northeast India remain limited. As noted by Flege (1995), variation in second-language pronunciation is often influenced by speakers’ first language (L1) phonological systems, and similar L1 transfer effects have been documented in studies of English spoken by speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages in Northeast India. This study, therefore, asks the following research question: To what extent does English speech produced by multilingual speakers from distinct linguistic backgrounds in Northeast India exhibit systematic phonetic variation within a shared multilingual environment? Tackling this question provides new empirical evidence on the phonetic realisation of English in Northeast India and offers a sociophonetic perspective on the use of English in multilingual settings. This study focuses on English speech produced by young adult speakers from Northeast India whose first languages belong to Assamese, Angami, Khasi, Meiteilon, and Mizo, representing the three major language families. The speakers belong to a comparable age cohort (approx. 18-35 years), enabling the study to examine variation within a broadly similar generation while also considering possible variation across younger and older speakers within this group. The dataset comprises controlled read-speech recordings of the same passage; lexical content is controlled, enabling direct comparison of phonetic patterns across speakers. Acoustic analysis of the recordings is performed with Praat (Boersma & Weenink, 2024) to investigate temporal organisation and phonetic realisation in connected speech. The analysis focuses on speech rhythm, the structure of vowel and consonant intervals, and patterns of vowel realisation in stressed and unstressed syllables. Rhythm metrics used in this study are based on the proportion of vocalic intervals in the utterance (%V), the standard deviation of vocalic interval durations (ΔV) and the standard deviation of consonantal interval durations (ΔC) (Ramus et al., 1999), pairwise variability indices (nPVI, rPVI) to capture durational variability between successive interval (Grabe et al., 2002), rate-normalised interval measures (VarcoC and VarcoV) which allow rhythmic variation to be assessed independently of speech rate (Dellwo, 2006; White & Mattys, 2007). In addition, vowel reduction and durational differences between stressed and unstressed syllables are examined to explore possible influences of speakers’ first languages on English speech production. By examining phonetic patterns in English speech within a shared multilingual environment, this study highlights the possibility of internal phonetic variation shaped by speakers’ linguistic backgrounds and the broader multilingual ecology of the region. The findings will contribute to further research on multilingual language use and World Englishes by providing empirical evidence on how multilingual linguistic environments may influence the phonetic realisation of English within a single generation of speakers.

Reshaping family language policy: Paternal absence and the role of domestic caregivers in Botswana (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Sheena Shah (University of Hamburg)
• Erika Herrmann (University of Hamburg)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal This study investigates the impact of contemporary family structures on Family Language Policy (FLP) and Heritage Language Maintenance (HLM) in Botswana. It addresses two distinct but intersecting phenomena: 1) the linguistic consequences of paternal absence in single-parent households and 2) the role of domestic childcare workers as significant agents of language input in child language acquisition. In Botswana, traditional family structures have been reshaped by high HIV/AIDS prevalence, labour migration, and declining marriage rates (Dintwat, 2010). Data from the 2022 census indicates that 44% of households are female-headed, while 55% of household heads have never married or cohabited (Statistics Botswana, 2025). When fathers are absent, children are often deprived of consistent exposure to the father’s linguistic variety. This is particularly critical in the Botswanan context, where minority language speakers are increasingly shifting towards dominant regional languages or the national language, Setswana (Shah, 2025). Furthermore, the study explores the influence of domestic caregivers on children’s linguistic trajectories. While previous research in the Gulf States and Hong Kong has examined how domestic workers influence children’s language practices and proficiencies (Al-Jarf, 2005; Said & Jaafarawi, 2025; Taha-Thomure, 2022 for the Gulf countries and Wolfaardt, 2021, 2022 for Hong Kong), few studies treat childcare workers as agents of language input in the Global South. In Botswana, domestic workers – frequently Zimbabwean nationals who may not speak Setswana – often use English with their wards, providing them with early, extended exposure to English within the home domain. Data were collected as part of the project “English in the multilingual ecologies of Botswana” (DFG FOR 5728). 180 participants completed a researcher-administered sociolinguistic questionnaire covering socio-demographics, language repertoire, proficiency, use, and attitudes; 60 of these participants subsequently took part in semi-structured interviews. The analysis focuses specifically on participants whose fathers were absent or who had domestic caregivers for extended periods during their childhood. Part 1 provides descriptive statistics of the Dominant Language Constellations, ethnic identities, and language proficiencies of participants whose fathers were absent during their childhood, supplemented by qualitative interview data elucidating strategies that single mothers employ to maintain the paternal heritage language. Part 2 analyses how exposure to English in the home domain via domestic workers impacts participants’ proficiency in English and their confidence in speaking it. By examining these two features of contemporary family life, the study provides a multifaceted account of the variables currently shaping FLP and impacting HLM in the Botswana context.

Ideologies surrounding language use within speech communities (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Shabang Sardar Salih (Universität Hamburg)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal Abstract In this paper, I examine the relationship between age and English proficiency in the Kurdistan Region. I challenge the common belief that younger generations are naturally better at English than older ones. Drawing on a World Englishes and language ecology perspective, I argue that English proficiency in Kurdistan is shaped mainly by access to education, professional use, technological exposure, and language ideologies, rather than by age itself. My analysis is based on qualitative data from Kurdish speakers of different age groups. I focus on how English is used in academic, professional, and everyday contexts. The findings show that age only becomes relevant when it reflects differences in opportunity and exposure. While some younger speakers show limited functional proficiency, older speakers demonstrate strong and confident use of English in specific domains. I also suggest that “generation” in Kurdistan should be understood as an educational, technological, and political–historical category rather than a purely biological one. By questioning the idea of English as a “young person’s language,” this paper highlights the importance of language ecology in understanding English use in non-Inner-Circle contexts.

Sociolinguistic dimensions as predictors of variation in spoken Northeast Indian English (inter- and intra-generational dynamics of multilingualism)

• Tjorven Halves (Universität Bonn)

Room: Berendsohn-Lesesaal World Englishes as a field of research has gained considerable traction; however, several gaps remain. First, most studies on variation in different English varieties use either qualitative methods with limited generalizability or quantitative, corpus-based methods lacking extensive speaker metadata (e.g., Botha & Bernaisch, 2024). Second, postcolonial English varieties are often examined in isolation, an approach which neglects their multilingual contexts (e.g., Vida-Mannl et al., 2025). Integrating detailed sociodemographic data with corpuslinguistic methods and the context of local dominant language constellations (e.g., Aronin, 2019) is a powerful approach to addressing these gaps. Northeast India is significantly more linguistically diverse than mainland India, home to around 220 languages from the Indo-Aryan, Tibeto-Burman, and Austro-Asiatic families (Fuchs et al., 2025; Moral, 1994). English plays an important role in the region as a medium of instruction and lingua franca, partly also due to resistance to the central government’s promotion of Hindi (Fuchs et al., 2025). Investigating the role of English within Northeast Indian multilingualism and its interactions with social dynamics provides a replicable, integral approach to examining variation in this English variety. To this end, my PhD project statistically models sociolinguistic variation and dominant language constellations in Northeast India and analyzes their influence on the region’s spoken English variety. Data was collected as part of the project “English as a local lingua franca in the multilingual ecology of Northeast India”, funded by the German Research Foundation (research unit FOR 5728). A stratified random sample of Northeast Indian participants (n = 180) completed a researcher-administered questionnaire, which covered sociodemographics, education, language repertoire, proficiency, use, and attitudes. A subset of the informants (n = 60) additionally completed semi-structured interviews of approximately two hours duration each, forming a corpus of spoken English. This poster presents the first phase of the project: Identifying underlying dimensions of sociodemographic variation in Northeast India using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). MCA models relationships between individuals and variables to identify underlying dimensions of variation in the data (e.g., Clarke et al., 2021). In this study, dimensions resulting from the MCA computed on the questionnaire data are expected to reveal several components of social dynamics, such as core sociodemographics (e.g., gender), generational dynamics (e.g., age), and educational trajectory (e.g., schooling, occupation). In the future, the project will examine interactions of the resulting dimensions with dominant language constellations and their effects on variation in spoken Northeast Indian English. The poster will thus shed light on the social dynamics of Northeast India and provide a replicable approach for modeling sociolinguistic variation in world Englishes. The proposed approach contributes to bridging the gap between sociolinguistics in world Englishes, multilingualism, and corpuslinguistic methods.