Mixing vs. separation: family language planning strategies across Berber-speaking families in Algeria.

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Title: Mixing vs. separation: family language planning strategies across Berber-speaking families in Algeria.
Authors: Melgani, Haroun1 (AUTHOR) melgani.haroun@univ-oeb.dz
Source: Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development. May2026, Vol. 47 Issue 4, p2559-2576. 18p.
Subject Terms: *Language planning, *Families, *Code switching (Linguistics), *Bilingualism, Intergenerational communication
Geographic Terms: Algeria
Abstract: This study examines the language strategies employed by Algerian parents of Chaouia-speaking backgrounds and Kabyle-speaking backgrounds to develop their children's bilingualism in Chaouia/Kabyle and colloquial Arabic. It also investigates the extent to which parents prefer the adoption of language separation strategies over language mixing strategies in their interactions with children. At the centre of attention of this survey, children are up to 10 years of age, who are raised by Berber families in Algeria and exposed to at least one Berber variety at home. A web-based questionnaire was sent to 105 Berber families, who reside in different urban cities. The results revealed that Minority-Language-at-Home (ML@H) and Time-and-Place are the most favoured strategies by Berber families. Parents in both groups employ language separation strategies much frequently, a tendency that reflects the strong prevalence of a monoglossic mindset across many Berber families. Berber Parents use four extra sources of parental support to foster their children's exposure to heritage language: Reading stories, maintaining contacts with extended families, designing home language strategy, and Berber oral literature. The adoption of an adaptive Family Language policy (henceforth FLP) echoes parents' desire to raise bilingual children, while concomitantly maintaining a full cross-generational transmission of the home language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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DbLabel: Education Research Complete
An: 193526086
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  Data: Mixing vs. separation: family language planning strategies across Berber-speaking families in Algeria.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Melgani%2C+Haroun%22">Melgani, Haroun</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> melgani.haroun@univ-oeb.dz</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Multilingual+%26+Multicultural+Development%22">Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 47 Issue 4, p2559-2576. 18p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+planning%22">Language planning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Families%22">Families</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Code+switching+%28Linguistics%29%22">Code switching (Linguistics)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingualism%22">Bilingualism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intergenerational+communication%22">Intergenerational communication</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Algeria%22">Algeria</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study examines the language strategies employed by Algerian parents of Chaouia-speaking backgrounds and Kabyle-speaking backgrounds to develop their children's bilingualism in Chaouia/Kabyle and colloquial Arabic. It also investigates the extent to which parents prefer the adoption of language separation strategies over language mixing strategies in their interactions with children. At the centre of attention of this survey, children are up to 10 years of age, who are raised by Berber families in Algeria and exposed to at least one Berber variety at home. A web-based questionnaire was sent to 105 Berber families, who reside in different urban cities. The results revealed that Minority-Language-at-Home (ML@H) and Time-and-Place are the most favoured strategies by Berber families. Parents in both groups employ language separation strategies much frequently, a tendency that reflects the strong prevalence of a monoglossic mindset across many Berber families. Berber Parents use four extra sources of parental support to foster their children's exposure to heritage language: Reading stories, maintaining contacts with extended families, designing home language strategy, and Berber oral literature. The adoption of an adaptive Family Language policy (henceforth FLP) echoes parents' desire to raise bilingual children, while concomitantly maintaining a full cross-generational transmission of the home language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Multilingual & Multicultural Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/01434632.2025.2480179
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
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      – SubjectFull: Language planning
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Families
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Code switching (Linguistics)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Bilingualism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intergenerational communication
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Algeria
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Mixing vs. separation: family language planning strategies across Berber-speaking families in Algeria.
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              M: 05
              Text: May2026
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              Y: 2026
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