The dimensionality and influence of parental attitudes towards childhood multilingualism in Nordfriesland and Fryslân

This study examined parental attitudes towards childhood multilingualism in the district of Nordfriesland, Germany, and the province of Fryslân, the Netherlands. Both are home to speakers of the local majority language (i.e. German/Dutch), autochthonous heritage languages (e.g. Frisian), and immigrant heritage languages (e.g. Arabic). Quantitative questionnaire data were collected from 645 parents of young children, making this the first large-scale study of parental attitudes towards childhood multilingualism outside Québec. There were three key findings. First, like in Québec, three evaluative dimensions emerged from parents’ attitudes: status, solidarity, and cognitive development – indicating that these dimensions may characterise parental attitudes across contexts. Second, parents with more positive solidarity-related attitudes were more likely to raise their children multilingually in the home. This is the first time a significant relationship between parental attitudes towards childhood multilingualism and multilingual child-rearing in the home has been attested. Third, no significant attitudinal differences were found between parents in Nordfriesland and Fryslân. The study makes a theoretical contribution by advancing knowledge relevant to attitude theory, and a practical contribution by serving as a basis for research-informed science communication for policy makers and language planners wishing to promote multilingual child-rearing and intergenerational heritage language transmission.