Bilingual Siblings

Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert independently researches bilingual families and their language patterns. She is the author of Language Strategies for Bilingual Families: the one-parent-one-language approach (2004, Multilingual Matters). Suzanne is British, married to a Frenchman, and lives in France with their three bilingual children aged 13, 11 and 7. Suzanne advises families through Bilingual Support Groups in France and writes on education and bringing up children with two languages.

Multilingual parents are often surprised by the different language preferences of their children. Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert shows just how dynamic the family language situation becomes with the arrival of younger siblings, thus putting the finger on an under-researched area of bilingualism research. She combines academic rigor with extensive hands-on experience and manages to present the issues with vivid descriptions and insightful comments and suggestions. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in bilingual and multilingual families.

• IntroductionChapter 1 – What do we know about Bilingual Families?Chapter 2 – The Growing and Evolving FamilyChapter 3 – The Sibling RelationshipChapter 4 – Age Difference, Family Size & Language OrdersChapter 5 – Gender & LanguageChapter 6 – Birth Order: A Child’s Position in the FamilyChapter 7 – Individual Differences: Same Languages, Different Language HistoriesChapter 8 – Bilingualism and Twins, Adoption, Single parents & Step-familiesChapter 9 – Five Themes on Family Language Use