'I Don't Like Them to Know I'm Syrian': Family Language Policy Amongst Syrian Refugees in Türkiye

Abstract

This study investigates an emerging area of inquiry: refugee family language policy (FLP), through examining the practices, management and ideologies of FLP among Syrian refugee families in T & uuml;rkiye. It also examines the multilingualism of the children and their parents' attitudes towards languages, focusing on heritage language maintenance (HLM). The study aims to understand how Syrian refugee families in T & uuml;rkiye construct, negotiate and implement their FLP. Applying a qualitative approach, the study employed semi-structured interviews with ten families and language portraits coloured by seven children. Language portraits were used as a tool to make children's multilingualism visible by using colours to present their linguistic repertoire. Thematic analysis using a coding scheme was used to analyse the data. The findings revealed different views by parents and children about language practices, management and ideologies.