Family Language Policies

from spolskian theory to Tannenbaum's expanded approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The Language Policy model created by Spolsky was expanded by Tannenbaum (2012) in the family domain scope, where it is relevant to evaluate emotions as an unpredictable factor to understand how families deal with languages in migratory contexts. According to the author, this emotional dimension can influence how families use, perceive, and manage languages. Thus, Family Language Policies (FLP) function as defense and coping strategies that aim to protect family balance in the face of (historical, economic, sociocultural, and psychological) threats and/or losses and reduce emotional suffering, thus favoring the state of adaptation. Tannenbaum's methodology for researching FLP consists of collecting data on language practices, ideology, and management through the lens of emotional coping and defense mechanisms that interfere with decisions about languages in the family, contributing to clarifying their meaning and including their unconscious, defensive, and adaptive functions in the host community. In this article, we present a bibliographic study on Tannenbaum's contributions to spolskian theory composition and the analysis of linguistic policies used by families in migratory contexts.

KEYWORDS: Language Policy; family; migrants; lenses; emotional mechanisms.