Abstract

In multilingual societies, parents’ beliefs, attitudes, and everyday language practices have a significant impact on their children’s early language environments. In Kazakhstan, where many nations and languages coexist in a complex sociolinguistic landscape, multilingual and multiethnic parents must decide which language to prioritize for their children’s early development. These decisions are influenced by parental language ideologies - beliefs and assumptions about language value, use, and identity - which are embedded in broader sociopolitical and educational contexts (Spolsky, 2004; Curdt-Christiansen, 2009). While previous research in Kazakhstan has looked at parental attitudes toward trilingual education policies and language use among school-aged children, there has been less focus on parental perspectives during the early stages of language acquisition.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the language ideologies that multilingual ethnic Kazakh parents hold about their children’s first language, to identify the factors that shape these beliefs, and to examine how parents’ stated language intentions correspond to language practices in everyday home interactions. The study uses a qualitative multiple-case study design with multilingual and transnational families in Kazakhstan raising children aged 12 to 24 months. Data will be gathered through semi-structured interviews, observations of parent-child interactions at home, and artifact analysis of language-related materials.

The expected findings indicate that parental language ideologies are influenced by a combination of national language policies, sociocultural identity considerations, and perceived educational and socioeconomic opportunities associated with various languages. The study contributes to the field of family language policy by shedding light on how parental beliefs and practices interact in the early stages of language development in multilingual families. Understanding these processes has significant implications for multilingual education and language policy in Kazakhstan.

Keywords: family language policy, language ideologies, multilingualism, first language acquisition, translational families.