This paper addresses family language policy and wellbeing in the context of the Hungarian diaspora in Australia. This study explored (i) what strategies parents used for teaching Hungarian to their children (ii) how they grappled with the challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic and (iii) how the intergenerational transmission of the heritage language contributes to family wellbeing and/or family conflict.
Despite the relatively strong language planning activities surrounding the Hungarian diaspora on the community and transnational levels, the success of intergenerational language maintenance largely lies with the families. Family language policies and the domain of home have been well-documented in the literature as the key bastions of intergenerational language maintenance. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to study the dynamics of language use, and language policy in families, and to explore how effective these policies are. While most studies have focused on educational and linguistic outcomes, relatively few studies have addressed the connections between harmonious bilingual development (successful intergenerational language maintenance) and its impact on the parents' well-being. This aspect is particularly relevant in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on families and heritage language learning. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, heritage language maintenance and language planning strategies shifted from face-to-face family interactions to new methods using digital technology and connecting with family members online, across geographical locations.
The discussion is based on an online survey (N=80) and parental semi-structured interviews (N=13) which explored family language planning and practices in Hungarian families living in Australia raising their children bilingually. Parents reported on language use in the family and in various public domains, strategies of engaging children in the heritage language, teaching literacy skills in Hungarian, and the challenges they face while parenting bilingually, with a particular focus on family conflict and family wellbeing.
The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the maintenance and intergenerational transmission of Hungarian as a heritage language in Australia and advance our understanding of the socio-affective factors in language maintenance, particularly the interconnectedness between heritage language maintenance and parental wellbeing.
