Parental Language Attitudes and Practices to Socialise Children in a Diglossic Society

Abstract

This qualitative study, framed by a language socialisation perspective, explores parental language attitudes of families living in Paraguay, where Spanish and the indigenous language of Guaraní coexist in what many sociolinguistics have labelled a diglossic society. During home visits, 27 parents or primary caregivers participated in individual interviews. While focusing on reported linguistic attitudes and practices concerning the two languages, this study also investigates how parents feel about the future of the Guaraní language, the native tongue for many Paraguayans. Interview results illustrate that most Paraguayan parents value some conceptualisation of bilingualism for their children. More specifically, many parents report holding Spanish in higher esteem than Guaraní, but they do not believe that their children will lose the indigenous language in the future.

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