Parents needed for research on language transmission in early childhood education in Friesland

For research on language transmission in parenting, the Afûk and Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning (part of the Fryske Akademy) are looking for parents-to-be and parents with young children in Fryslân. Using a questionnaire, they want to find out more about what it is like to be a parent in Fryslân, but also what support parents would like to receive in terms of language. What is special about this project is that it looks at both parents who have decided to pass on Frisian to their children and parents who have decided not to pass on Frisian to their children.

Transmission of West Frisian

West Frisian has been classified as a vulnerable minority language. In recent decades, it has therefore received increasing protection and promotion through provincial language planning. As a result, West Frisian now has greater institutional support, it is more present in the media and in other public domains, and it is included in school curricula. Moreover, efforts are made to encourage its intergenerational transmission in the home, as the number of parents passing on Frisian to their children is gradually declining.

The project ‘The intergenerational transmission of West Frisian: promoting multilingual child-rearing and supporting (future) parents’ investigates parental language attitudes as well as the use of – and desire for – resources amongst Frisian-speaking parents in Fryslân. Notably, the project focuses on both: parents who decided to transmit Frisian to their children and parents who decided not to transmit Frisian to their children. A key aim of the project is to find out how parents can best be supported throughout the process of multilingual child-rearing.

International cooperation

The questionnaire is part of a research project conducted by researchers from the European Centre for Minority Issues in Germany, Mercator European Research Centre and the Afûk.

Frisian as spoken in Fryslân is closely related to North Frisian as spoken in Nordfriesland (Germany). In parallel with the project on intergenerational Frisian language transmission in the Netherlands, Ruth Kircher (principal investigator) is working on a study of intergenerational North Frisian language transmission. This will ensure that a comparison can be made between the two Frisian-speaking contexts and provide overarching results relevant to language preservation and language revitalisation on both sides of the Dutch-German border.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire is now open to expectant parents and parents with young children (under five) in Friesland. It is intended for both Frisian-speaking parents who have decided to speak Frisian with the children and for Frisian-speaking parents who have decided not to speak Frisian with the children. The questionnaire is available in Frisian and Dutch.

The project received a research grant from the Province of Fryslân.