This sociolinguistic study of the linguistic practices of bilingual couples describes the conditions, processes and results of private language contact. It is based on a unique corpus of more than 20 hours of private conversations between partners in bilingual marriages. Adding to its breadth of coverage, these private conversations are supplemented with larger public discourses about international couplehood. The volume thus offers a corpus-driven investigation of the ways in which ideologies of gender, nationality and immigration mediate linguistic performances in private cross-cultural communication. The author embraces social-constructionist, feminist and postmodern approaches to second language learning, multilingualism and cross-cultural communication. In contrast to other titles in the field which have focused almost exclusively on the socialization of bilingual children, this book explores what it means to one’s sense of self to become socialized into a second language and culture as a late bilingual.
Quotes
“The book is well-written and accessible to a wide range of audiences. It is an important contribution to the study of bilingualism and of couples talk specifically, but also, more generally, to the study of second language acquisition and language and identity. In this book, the author manages to design a viable methodology without essentializing the complexity of the sociolinguistic situation in which the couples live. One important way the author achieves this is through the inclusion of the voices of the participants themselves, and another is through use of an eclectic mix of data collection procedures and approaches to data analysis.”
— Holly R. Cashman, Arizona State University on Linguist List Vol-14-176, 2003
“Piller presents an account of linguistic choices and identities which is both stimulating and thorough, and her challenge to oversimplified views on cross-cultural couplehood and their language behaviour should be considered a major contribution for further research.”
— Monika S. Schmid in The International Journal on Bilingual Education and Bilingualism Vol.8:1, 2005
“Piller’s book is written in a refreshingly lucid, lively, and engaging way. It not only makes a very significant contribution to the study of multilingualism an identities, but it also shows that an academic treatise can be fun to read.”
— Michael Cllyne in Language 80(1), 2003
