Longitudinal Patterns of Code Mixing and Identity Construction in Multilingual Refugee Family Environments

Abstract

The longitudinal study looks into the dynamic use of language as well as the process of identity negotiation in multilingual refugee households over two years. As far as the problem of forced displacement is concerned, the use of language can be seen as a source of struggle but also of resistance; yet previous studies have tended not to possess the necessary time dimension needed to trace how such processes unfold throughout resettlement. The present study employs the QL research paradigm to trace three households through home recordings as well as semi-structured interviews every six months. Specifically, code-mixing will be looked into as an indication of social positioning. The results show that although there is a linear increase in terms of dominance from 15% to 75% with regard to host-language use, the rate of code-mixing experiences a pattern of peaking then stabilizing. High rates of hybridity (which peak at Phase 3) occur when there is the establishment of a Third Space identity, balancing both aspects of heritage culture and host-country identity. In the data collected, there appears to be a clear difference in the use of code-mixing practices between generations: parents use these strategies to emotionally connect themselves with their origin, while the children use such practices to construct their transcultural selves. Such findings reject traditional deficiency-oriented theories of language attrition, indicating instead that code-mixing serves as an important indicator of a well-adjusted multilingual individual. By analyzing the changes in language use in refugees over time, this paper highlights the importance of these practices in maintaining family cohesion.