The article addresses the family language policies of multilingual families (FLPs) with Ukrainian roots, describing, among others, the language practices of families in different areas. The analysis of the study is based on semi-structured interviews with newly arrived Ukrainian immigrants living in Tallinn. The language ideologies of families in relation to the choice of languages of education are examined. The secondary objective is to find the reasons why some families manage to maintain their national language and culture and others do not. The article shows that the desire to integrate into Estonian society has influenced the choice of language of instruction of the school among newly arrived immigrant parents, whereas, depending on different cases, the choice was both Estonian and Russian-language school. The article also shows the language management of parents of the studied families implemented with a view to maintaining their language of origin, among which, for example, participation in the Sunday school for the study of Ukrainian language and culture is also in focus alongside the language of instruction in a general education school.
Bergroth, M. and Å. Palviainen (2017) “Bilingual children as policy agents: language policy and education policy in minority language medium early childhood education and careˮ. Multilingua 36, 4, 375–399.
https://doi.org/10.1515/multi-2016-0026
Bernhold, Q. and H. Giles (2017) “Grandparent-grandchild communication: a review of theoretically informed researchˮ. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships 15, 4, 368–388.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2017.1368348
Bilaniuk, L. (2005) Contested tongues: language politics and cultural correction in Ukraine. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Bilaniuk, L. and S. Melnyk (2008) “A tense and shifting balance: bilingualism and education in Ukraineˮ. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 11, 3, 4, 340–372.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050802148731
Code of ethics of Estonian researchers (2002) Estonian Academy of Sciences. Available online at
https://www.etag.ee/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Eetikakoodeks2002.pdf
Accessed on 07.08.2021.
Czubinska, G. (2017) “Migration as an unconscious search for identity: some reflections on language, difference and belongingˮ. British Journal of Psychotherapy 33, 2, 159–176.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bjp.12286
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2009) “Invisible and visible language planning: ideological factors in the family language policy of Chinese immigrant families in Quebecˮ. Language Policy 8, 351–375.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-009-9146-7
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2018) Family language policy. In J. W. Tollefson, M. Pérez-Milans, eds. The Oxford handbook of language policy and planning, 420–441. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190458898.013.21
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. and J. Huang (2020) Factors influencing family language policy. In A. C. Schalley, S. A. Eisenchlas, eds. Handbook of home language maintenance and development: social and affective factors, 174–194. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-009
De Houwer, A. (2009) Bilingual first language acquisition. Briston: Multilingual Matters.
https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847691507
Duff, P. A. (2015) “Transnationalism, multilingualism, and identityˮ. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35, 57–80. Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S026719051400018X
Fogle, L. W. and K. A. King (2013) “Child agency and language policy in transnational familiesˮ. Issues in Applied Linguistics 19, 1–25.
https://doi.org/10.5070/L4190005288
Higgins, C. (2018) “The mesolevel of family language policyˮ. International Journal of Multilingualism 15, 3: Multilingual Families: Aspirations and Challenges, 306–312.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2018.1477298
Houtkamp, C. (2016) “Inclusion in the 21st century: an exploration of policy opportunities and challengesˮ. In Ž. Ozoliņa, ed. Societal security: inclusion – exclusion dilemma: a portrait of the Russian-speaking community in Latvia. Rīga: Zinātne, 29–43. Available online at
https://www.szf.lu.lv/fileadmin/user_upload/szf_faili/Petnieciba/sppi/demokratija/Societal_Security_iekslapas_20160418.pdf
Accessed on 02.08.2021.
Kaldur, K., K. Kivistik, T. Pohla, M. Veliste, N. Pertsjonok, and M. Käger (2019) Uussisserändajate kohanemine Eestis. Uuringu aruanne. [Adaptation of new immigrants. Study report.] Tartu: Baltic Research Institute. Available online at
https://www.siseministeerium.ee/sites/default/files/uussisserandajate-kohanemine-eestis-2019-ee_1.pdf
Accessed on 10.07.2021.
Kalmus, V., A. Masso, and M. Linno (2015) Kvalitatiivne sisuanalüüs. Sotsiaalse analüüsi meetodite ja metodoloogia õpibaas. [Qualitative content analysis: learning base of methods and methodology of social analysis.] Tartu: University of Tartu. Available online at
https://sisu.ut.ee/samm/kvalitatiivne-sisuanalyys
Accessed on 17.06.2021.
Kaveh, Y. M. (2018) “Family language policy and maintenance of Persian: the stories of Iranian immigrant families in the northeast, USAˮ. Language Policy 17, 4, 443–477. Available at
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-017-9444-4
Accessed on 31.08.2021.
King et al. 2008 = King, K. A., Fogle, L., and A. Logan-Terry (2008) “Family language policyˮ. Language and Linguistics Compass 2, 5, 907–922. Available at
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2008.00076.x
Accessed on 15.09.2021.
Kond, J. (2016) Opinions of management and support specialists on teaching new immigrants and supporting their in Estonian schools.[Juhtkonna ja tugispetsialistide arvamused uussisserändajate õpetamisest ja kohanemise toetamisest Eesti koolides.] Master’s thesis Tartu: University of Tartu.
Kopeliovich, S. (2013) Happylingual: a family project for enhancing and balancing multilingual development. In M. Schwartz and A. Verschik, eds. Successful family language policy: parents, children and educators in interaction, 249–275. Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7753-8_11
Kulyk, V. (2016) “Language and identity in Ukraine after Euromaidanˮ. Thesis Eleven 136, 1, 90–106.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513616668621
Küün, E. (2021) “Viie ukraina juurtega pere keelepoliitika mudelid Eesti kontekstisˮ. [Models of language policies of a families with Ukrainian roots in the Estonian context.]. Eesti Rakenduslingvistika Ühingu aastaraamat/Estonian Papers in Applied Linguistics 17, 159–176.
https://doi.org/10.5128/ERYa17.09
Laherand, M.-L. (2008) Qualitative research. [Kvalitatiivne uurimisviis.] Tallinn: Infotrükk.
Lazdiņa, S. and H. F. Marten (2021) Why do Russian-speaking families in Latvia choose Latvian-medium education? Three narratives about critical events. In A. Verschik, ed. Multilingual practices in the Baltic countries, 240–283. (ACTA Universitatis Tallinnensis.) Tallinn: Tallinn University Press.
Liebscher, G. and J. Dailey-O’Cain (2013) Language, space and identity in migration. The Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137316431
Linno, M. (2021) Kvalitatiivsed uurimismeetodid sotsiaalteadustes. [Qualitative research methods in the social sciences.] Tartu University. Available online at
https://sisu.ut.ee/kvalitatiivne/transkribeerimine
Accessed on 27.08.2021.
Melo-Pfeifer, S. (2015) “The role of the family in heritage language use and learning: impact on heritage language policiesˮ. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 18, 1, 26–44.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2013.868400
Mills, J. (2001) “Being bilingual: perspectives of third generation Asian children on language culture and identityˮ. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 4, 6, 383–402.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050108667739
Mills, J. (2004) “Mothers and mother tongue: Perspectives on self-construction by mothers of Pakistani heritage”. In A. Pavlenko, A. Blackledge, eds. Negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts, 161–191. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853596483-008
Padilla, A. M. and W. Perez (2003) “Acculturation, social identity, and social cognition: a new perspectiveˮ. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 25, 1, 35–55.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986303251694
Palviainen, Å. and S. Boyd (2013) Unity in discourse, diversity in practice: the one person one language policy in bilingual families. In M. Schwartz, A. Verschik, eds. Successful family language policy: parents, children and educators in interaction, 223–248. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, New York, and London: Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7753-8_10
Pavlenko, A. (2004) “‘Stop doing that, ja komu skazala’: language choice and emotions in parent-child communication”. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 25, 2-3, 179–203.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01434630408666528
Pavlenko, A., ed. (2011) Thinking and speaking in two languages. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847693389
Peräkylä, A. (2005) Analyzing talk and text. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, eds. The Sage handbook of qualitative research, 869–886. Sage Publications.
Piller, I. (2001) “Private language planning: the best of both worlds?”. Estudios de Sociolingüística 2, 1, 61–80.
Rannut, Ü. and M. Rannut (2010) Tallinna õpilaste kodukeele uuring. 1. osa: vene keele mõju Tallinna õpilaste kodukeelele. [Study of the home language of Tallinn pupils. Part 1: the influence of Russian on the home language of Tallinn pupils.] Tallinn: Institute for Integration Studies.
REL (2011) = Eesti Statistikaameti andmed: rahva ja eluruumide loendus 2011. [The 2011 Population and Housing Census.] Available online at
https://www.stat.ee/et/statistikaamet/rahvaloendus-2021/2011-aasta-rahva-ja-eluruumide-loendus
Accessed on 29.07.2021.
Riigi Teataja (2014) Adaptation programm, accepted on 13.08.2014, No. 34. Available at https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/122082014005. Accessed on 31.07.2021.
Rothman, J. (2009) “Understanding the nature and outcomes of early bilingualism: Romance languages as heritage languagesˮ. International Journal of Bilingualism 13, 2, 155–163.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006909339814
Schwartz, M. (2010) “Family language policy: core issues of an emerging fieldˮ. Applied Linguistics 1, 171–191.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110222654.171
Seals, C. A. (2019) Choosing a mother tongue: the politics of language and identity in Ukraine. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788925006
Smith-Christmas, C. (2020) Child agency and home language maintenance. In A. C. Schalley, S. A. Eisenchlas, eds. Handbook of home language maintenance and development: social and affective factors, 218–236. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-011
Soler, J. and Zabrodskaja, A. (2017) “New spaces of ‘new speaker’ profiles: exploring language ideologies in transnational multilingual familiesˮ. Language in Society 46, 4, 547–566.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404517000367
Spolsky, B. (2004) Language policy. Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Spolsky, B. (2009) Language management. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tabouret-Keller, A. (2000) “Language and identity”. In F. Conlmas, ed. The handbook of sociolinguistics, 315–326. Oxford. Blackwell Publishers.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405166256.ch19
Tammekänd, L. (2013) “Multilingualism of a Southern Estonian – comparison of Estonian, Võru and Finnish narrativesˮ. Eesti Rakenduslingvistika Ühingu aastaraamat/Estonian Papers in Applied Linguistics 9, 279–296.
https://doi.org/10.5128/ERYa9.19
Tseng, A. (2020) Identity in home-language maintenance. In A. C. Schalley, S. A. Eisenchlas, eds. Handbook of home language maintenance and development: social and affective factors, 109–130. Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501510175-006
Tuominen, A. (1999) “Who decides the home language? A look at multilingual familiesˮ. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 140, 59–76.
https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1999.140.59
Turner-Zwinkels, F., T. Postmes, and M. van Zomeren (2015) “Achieving harmony among different social identities within the self-concept: the consequences of internalising a group-based philosophy of lifeˮ. PLoS ONE 10, 11.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137879
Verschik, A. (2010) “Contacts of Russian in the post-Soviet spaceˮ. In Li Wei, ed. Applied Linguistics Review 1, 85–127. De Gruyter Mouton.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110222654.85
Verschik, A. and C. J. Doyle (2017) “Young Swedish-Estonian returnees to Estonia: reflections on family language policy and a multilingual upbringing”. In M. Siiner, K. Koreinik, and K. Brown, eds. Language policy beyond the state, 123–140. (Language Policy, 14.) Cham: Springer.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52993-6_7
Wilson, S. (2019) “Family language policy through the eyes of bilingual children: the case of French heritage speakers in the UKˮ. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 41, 3, 1–19.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1595633
Wilson, S. (2020) Family language policy. Children’s perspectives. Milton Keynes, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978/-3-030-52437-1
Õunapuu, L. (2014) Kvalitatiivne ja kvantitatiivne uurimisviis sotsiaalteadustes. [Qualitative and quantitative research in the social sciences.] Tartu: University of Tartu. Available online at
http://hdl.handle.net/10062/36419
Accessed on 20.08.2021.
Yin, R. K. (2009) Case study research: design and methods. 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
https://doi.org/10.33524/cjar.v14i1.73
