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Speaking Chinese or no breakfast: Emotional challenges and experiences confronting Chinese immigrant families in heritage language maintenance

This study aims to explore parental emotions in heritage language maintenance and to examine ways in which parents’ emotions interplay with their language ideologies, maintenance practices, and children’s language proficiencies. I conducted an ethnographic qualitative study of 12 Chinese immigrant families including 13 parents and 13 children. The study focuses on parents who brought their children into Australia when they were between ages 3 and 9. Data were collected through open-ended interviews, informal conversations, observations, evidence of literacy practices and postings on WeChat.1 Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach. The generated themes relate to emotions, ideologies, practices, and proficiencies in heritage language. Findings show that maintaining heritage language in immigrant and minority contexts is fraught with negative emotions such as irritation, regret, guilt, anguish, loss, insecurity, and shame, but this is complemented by a sense of accomplishment, fulfilment, and pride. Parental emotions, whether positive or negative, which are shaped by language ideologies of Chinese as identity, family tie, and profit, are often elicited by children’s language behaviours and their proficiency outcomes. The study suggests that children’s heritage language proficiencies are significant for the wellbeing of immigrant families. Emotion-relevant studies in heritage language research have largely focused on children and other learners in classroom settings, with heavy reliance on survey data and statistical analysis. Few studies have explored parental emotions regarding heritage language maintenance in the home domain or documented the relevant nuanced experiences. This study makes an in-depth ethnographic investigation of various types of emotions of family language policy (FLP) in parental discourses and situates parents’ emotions in their own language ideologies and their children’s language practices. This ethnography fills a gap by providing a realistic understanding of the link between parental emotions, their language ideologies and maintenance practices, and their children’s language behaviours and proficiencies in transnational contexts. Children’s use of, and proficiency in, their heritage language is significant for the socio-emotional wellbeing of immigrant/minority parents and their families and has implications for language policy makers and heritage language education.