Family language policy as a form of coping or defence mechanism

Michal Tannenbaum ^[1]
1. [1] Tel Aviv University
  
  Tel Aviv University
  
  Israel
Localización: Journal of multilingual and multicultural development, ISSN 0143-4632, Vol. 33, Nº. 1, 2012 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Language Policy and Practice in Multilingual, Transnational Families and Beyond), págs. 57-66
Idioma: inglés
Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)

Resumen
- Family language policy (FLP), like language policies in general, includes aspects of practice, management and ideology. But FLP is often affected by and affects emotional issues and psychological dimensions that are seldom acknowledged as central in the analysis of such policies. Relying on a psychoanalytic theoretical framework, this article suggests a re-conceptualisation of FLP, analysing it in terms of its coping and defence functions. The article elaborates on ways that language policies in the immigrant family may reflect the way the family system perceives external reality and internal states, consciously or unconsciously, and utilise their language policy to affect its well-being. This re-conceptualisation may help to clarify the centrality of emotional aspects within FLPs, including their unconscious, defensive and adaptive roles.