Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children: Learning Beyond Words 9781800413344

Table of contents :
Contents
Figures
Acknowledgements
Notes on Romanisation
Notes on Videos
Preface
1 Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures
2 Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family
3 Learning Together: A Case Study
4 Attitudes and Emotions
5 Politeness Matters
6 Talking with Parents
7 Talking with Grandparents, Wider Family and Carers
8 Sibling and Peer Talk
Epilogue: Towards a Culture of Translanguaging
References
Index

Citation preview

Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

BILINGUAL EDUCATION & BILINGUALISM Series Editors: Nancy H. Hornberger, University of Pennsylvania, USA and Wayne E. Wright, Purdue University, USA Bilingual Education and Bilingualism is an international, multidisciplinary series publishing research on the philosophy, politics, policy, provision and practice of language planning, Indigenous and minority language education, multilingualism, multiculturalism, biliteracy, bilingualism and bilingual education. The series aims to mirror current debates and discussions. New proposals for single-authored, multiple-authored, or edited books in the series are warmly welcomed, in any of the following categories or others authors may propose: overview or introductory texts; course readers or general reference texts; focus books on particular multilingual education program types; school-based case studies; national case studies; collected cases with a clear programmatic or conceptual theme; and professional education manuals. All books in this series are externally peer-reviewed. Full details of all the books in this series and of all our other publications can be found on http://www.multilingual-matters.com, or by writing to Multilingual Matters, St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol, BS1 2AW, UK.

BILINGUAL EDUCATION & BILINGUALISM: 136

Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children Learning Beyond Words Jieun Kiaer

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS Bristol • Jackson

DOI https://doi.org/10.21832/KIAER3337 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Names: Kiaer, Jieun, author. Title: Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children:   Learning Beyond Words/Jieun Kiaer. Description: Bristol; Jackson: Multilingual Matters, [2023] | Series:   Bilingual Education & Bilingualism: 136 | Includes bibliographical   references and index. | Summary: ‘This longitudinal study explores young   children’s language acquisition in Korean-English multilingual   households, investigating how children acquire multiple strategies of   verbal and non-verbal communication and use a range of multimodal   resources to communicate effectively with members of their family’ –   Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2022044347 (print) | LCCN 2022044348 (ebook) | ISBN   9781800413337 (hardback) | ISBN 9781800413344 (pdf) | ISBN   9781800413351 (ePub) Subjects: LCSH: Multilingualism in children. | Translanguaging   (Linguistics) | Korean language – Acquisition. | English language – Acquisition. Classification: LCC P115.2 .K53 2023 (print) | LCC P115.2 (ebook) |   DDC – 495.7/04221083 – dc23/eng/20221208 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022044347 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022044348 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN-13: 978-1-80041-333-7 (hbk) Multilingual Matters UK: St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol, BS1 2AW, UK. USA: Ingram, Jackson, TN, USA. Website: www.multilingual-matters.com Twitter: Multi_Ling_Mat Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/multilingualmatters Blog: www.channelviewpublications.wordpress.com Copyright © 2023 Jieun Kiaer. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. The policy of Multilingual Matters/Channel View Publications is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable products, made from wood grown in sustainable forests. In the manufacturing process of our books, and to further support our policy, preference is given to printers that have FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification. The FSC and/or PEFC logos will appear on those books where full certification has been granted to the printer concerned. Typeset by Riverside Publishing Solutions.

Contents

Figures Acknowledgements Notes on Romanisation Notes on Videos Preface

vii ix xi xiii xv

1 Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Researching Asian–English Multilingualism 1.3 How are Family Languages Made? 1.4 Translanguaging in Everyday Talk 1.5 Havens of Translanguaging: Home and the Community 1.6 Beyond Words 1.7 Data Collection 1.8 Overview of the Book

1 1 3 5 7 9 9 10 12

2 Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Weaving a Linguistic Tapestry 2.3 Translanguaging Competence 2.4 Making Meanings: Translingual Collaboration between Father and Daughter 2.5 A Typical Breakfast Talk 2.6 Summary

15 15 18 26

3 Learning Together: A Case Study 3.1 Learning and Making Languages Together 3.2 Translanguaging in Mother–Daughter Reading Practice 3.3 Summary

41 41 45 58

4 Attitudes and Emotions 4.1 Pragmatic Awareness in Young Children 4.2 Language Awareness 4.3 Switching Accents to Accommodate Others 4.4 Korean vs. English – Comfy vs. Oomphy 4.5 Summary

59 60 64 73 76 79

v

29 35 40

vi  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

5 Politeness Matters 5.1 Defining Politeness 5.2 Honorifics and Speech Styles in Korean 5.3 More Than Words 5.4 Multilingual Politeness 5.5 Summary

80 81 85 92 96 104

6 Talking with Parents 6.1 Mother Tongue? Parents’ Tongues? 6.2 Family Language as Social Practice 6.3 Diversity in Family Language Practice 6.4 Relations Matter 6.5 Summary

106 107 109 112 118 124

7 Talking with Grandparents, Wider Family and Carers 7.1 Maintaining Heritage Languages 7.2 Cultural Activities 7.3 Metalinguistic Awareness and Language Socialisation 7.4 The Importance and Challenges of Digital Connectivity 7.5 A Joint Effort: Grandfather and Grandchildren 7.6 Summary

125 127 131 132 134 136 143

8 Sibling and Peer Talk 8.1 Varying Concepts of Siblings and Peers 8.2 The Importance of Peer Talk 8.3 The Language of Play 8.4 Translanguaging Practice among Siblings and Peers 8.5 Summary

145 145 147 153 156 162

Epilogue: Towards a Culture of Translanguaging 163 References166 Index171

Figures

1.1 Lexicon of five-year-old Hyun-woo

6

2.1 Jessie shrugs in response to her mother’s question 2.2 Five languages at the table 2.3 Jessie puts her finger to her mouth while thinking of an answer 2.4 Jessie touches her throat to explain to Ian that Daniel has a sore throat 2.5 Ian clarifies that he understands Daniel has a sore throat by touching his throat 2.6 Jessie watching her older sister at the breakfast table

23 24

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5

45 48 50 51 53

A page from Yeoni’s Day Out in Seoul Jessie bringing a turquoise-coloured pencil crayon Jessie pointing at ‘rich people’ Korean women washing clothes Jessie bringing lamp

5.1 Fiery subtitle used by a Korean TV show to show how shocking neo (너 ‘you’ casual) is when used to refer to one’s husband 5.2 Sarah’s letter to her cousin

33 34 34 35

98 100

7.1 Anna and David complain that grandma isn’t a real grandma, unbeknownst to grandma 126 7.2 Reasons for KE children wanting to learn Korean 128 7.3 Sarah’s Hangul mnemonic chart129 7.4 Sarah using Hangul to write to Korean family130 7.5 Dumpling making tradition on Lunar New Year’s Eve132 7.6 FaceTime communication with Korean family135 7.7 Jessie wiggles pen in front of paper to indicate that she wants Grandad to write something for her139 7.8 After calling Grandad (‘Dandan’), Jessie points at the paper to indicate what she wants Grandad to do139 vii

viii  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

7.9 Jessie points at the window to direct Grandad’s attention at the moon, before saying ‘moon’140 7.10 Grandad directing Jessie’s attention to her mum for guidance140 7.11 ‘Can I get um, pink- moves finger one place pan- moves finger one place een- moves finger one place juh?’141 7.12 Jessie holds up scissors and exclaims ‘bbang!’142 8.1 Jessie plays with a toy mouse and some tickets while talking in English153

viii

Acknowledgements

So many friends and colleagues helped and encouraged me to continue this project and, as I mention in the book, it isn’t complete but ongoing. I am grateful to Youngshin Jung who looked after my two daughters with love and kindness. I was commuting from London to Oxford with no time to see my children sometimes, but often Mrs Jung left a small memo for me saying that Sarah had learned this word today or Jessie had said this word. She was like a mother to me and a grandma to my kids. A big thank you to her and her husband. My Korean friends living in a small Korean community in London also provided a safe place for my kids to grow as bilinguals. Thank you to them also for their contribution to this book. They provided valuable comments that have demonstrated that we learn from our mistakes and that sharing is a great source of power to overcome difficulties when living as multilingual families. I am very grateful to Louise Hossien for helping me at every stage of this project. Thanks also go to the wonderful editors of Multilingual Matters. I dedicate this book to my late father Mr Taehoon Joe and my late father-in-law Stanley Kiaer whom I, together with my family, miss very much.

ix

Notes on Romanisation

The Revised Romanisation system has been used throughout the text. Korean names have been Romanised in a surname (space) first name format, where a two syllable first name may have a hyphen between the two syllables. Where interviews have been conducted in Korean, I have provided the original hangul and English translation. While the Romanisations of in-text Korean terms have been provided, Romanisations of long interview transcripts will not be provided, as I believe that they will be of little use to non-Korean speaking readers.

xi

Notes on Videos

The main body of evidence in this book is videos of my own family communicating together. I have uploaded most of these videos to YouTube and inserted the links into the text. However, for privacy reasons, not all videos are included. List of Videos in Order of Appearance: https://tinyurl.com/multilingual3 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual4 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual5 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual6 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual7 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual8 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual9 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual10 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual12 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual13 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual14 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual15 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual16 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual17 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual18a https://tinyurl.com/multilingual19 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual22a https://tinyurl.com/multilingual23 https://tinyurl.com/multilingual24a https://tinyurl.com/multilingual25

xiii

Preface

This book shares the language journey on which my family has embarked and which it is still on. I used to think children learn their parents’ languages. I have since found that there are no teachers and no students; we all learn every day from each other. No-one speaks a perfect language, but our language arguably becomes perfect, tailored for our own unique needs. My Korean-English family develops our own languages, mixing them together just as we cook food that is neither Korean nor English. In the process of tailoring our language, words matter, but so do gesture and prosody. We have learnt how different ingredients from each language carry particular nuances, be they emotional or attitudinal. It’s a bit like seasoning. You might add some sugar to a particularly sour sauce to tone it down, just as my children might add Korean address terms to create solidarity when talking to a Korean person, even if the rest of the sentence is in English. Different words and gestures bring new meanings, and my family negotiates these meanings every day. Crossing languages and combining the resources that we have is comparable to making a jigsaw puzzle. As a multilingual family, we make meanings using the puzzle pieces between and beyond our languages and cultures. In this practice of mixing and sharing our languages, we grow and nurture them. We learn not only how to speak and express ourselves but also how to listen and care for others. This is not a journey that we make as a family alone. Our languages are also built through our encounters with others, such as friends, neighbours, relatives. In the AI era, virtual assistants also interact with and impact us. On this journey, we also face conflict with ourselves and with others. It is not just words and languages that we must take into consideration: the cultures that we belong to also matter greatly. Our free and border-crossing manner of communication can be misunderstood as being incorrect and broken. Although it may look broken at first glance, I want to suggest we have found the perfect language of our own. It helps us to find our sense of belonging and identity that enriches our lives. I hope this book provides some insight into multilingual families as they navigate and explore their multilingual and multicultural world through language. xv

1 Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures

1.1 Introduction

Language is closely tied to identity. When my 12-year-old daughter introduces herself, she says, ‘My mum is Korean. My dad is half Danish, a quarter Scottish, and a quarter English, which makes me half Korean, a quarter Danish, an eighth Scottish and an eighth English’. My husband is English, but his family history is equally complex: his father’s grandparents were from Denmark, his grandmother was born and raised in Shanghai and his mother was Scottish. It’s not just us, most people’s family histories are complex and diverse. For instance, in our neighbourhood, Irene is from Catalonia and Theo is from Denmark, but both moved to England. Because of this, their son Luke can speak Danish and Catalan, although he speaks mainly English when he goes to nursery. Their family speaks more than three languages on a daily basis, though mainly English. Because of their family history, their version of English is a little bit different from ours, as they mix Spanish, Catalan and Danish words into their English. Our other neighbours, Henry and Tess, are from Hungary and the Philippines, respectively. Tess’s family is originally from the Philippines, but they moved to Los Angeles when Tess was a young girl. Tess then moved to the UK. Henry used to live in Budapest and speaks Hungarian and English, while Tess speaks English with a bit of Tagalog. Their son, Lorenzo, speaks English in nursery but can also speak and understand a bit of Tagalog and Hungarian, which he uses when they visit his grandparents. For my neighbours, English is the language that binds everyone in the family together, however, it is not necessarily the language that each member, particularly the parents, finds the most comfortable or familiar. Families like these exist all over the globe. Over the past 20 years, the percentage of students in UK schools whose first language is not English has almost doubled. In 2002, 10% of pupils spoke English as an additional language (NALDIC, 2012). As of 2021, 19.3% of pupils have been reported to have a first language other than English (United Kingdom Statistics Authority, 2021).

1

2  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

Today, our world is more multilingual than ever before. There are also more multilingual families than ever. According to Grosjean (2010), more than half of the world’s population is bilingual, although I would recommend taking these figures with a pinch of salt as it is extremely difficult to measure precisely. I have personally been surprised by the number of bilinguals that I encounter in my daily life in the UK. I was surprised to learn that pupils at my daughter’s small primary school in Oxfordshire speak over 40 different languages at home. My twelve-yearold daughter, who is now in Year 7, once told me that there are no real English people in her class. By this, she meant that none of the pupils in her class were monolingual in English. It’s an exciting reality: everyone speaks English at her school, yet everyone has a different linguistic and cultural background. Each multilingual family communicates in their own unique way at home. Families mould and build their languages through interacting with each other. It is an on-going process that involves children, their parents and the wider communities of which they are part. This book aims to focus on how children and their families embark on a journey together, learning from each other and nurturing their language. For most multilingual families, the most convenient and comfortable way of speaking is to mix languages. The mixing phenomenon, which is coined either as code switching or translanguaging, is found not only in young children but also in their parents and wider communities they belong to. This isn’t transitional but is found consistently in everyday talk by multilingual families throughout their lifetime. Through this kind of language mixing, each family creates a unique language that is different from the languages that monolingual families speak. Language mixing is often viewed as incorrect language use, for instance, the use of Konglish in Korean societies (Kiaer, 2019a). Overseas Koreans and their children are often pressured by their Korean relatives and families to speak ‘proper’ Korean, meaning just Korean without any added English. Yet, mixing languages is the defining attribute of multilingual families that fundamentally enables them to build their life together. In doing so, they will better understand each other, find identities and a sense of belonging as those who share life trajectories between and beyond multiple languages and cultures. This practice is best understood through the lens of translanguaging. Translanguaging characterises multilingual individuals’ language and literacy practices, insofar as they not only go back and forth between two languages, but also flexibly and creatively interweave various linguistic features from two or more languages in their language and literacy practices (García & Li, 2014). In households where more than one language is spoken, children seamlessly travel around languages and create borderless languages of their own. They are always translating, always experimenting and always learning, through dynamic multimodal

Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures  3

interaction. However, they also know the differences between the languages, particularly their nuanced meanings and cultural norms. They translanguage creatively, using all the verbal and non-verbal resources available to them to create meaning. Flexibility and creativity are indeed at the heart of language practice, as we shall observe in this book. Hence, in this book, I will adopt the term translanguaging to further explain the practice of language mixing in multilingual families. Through research on Korean–English (henceforth KE) children and their family language, I will show the innovative dimension of their interaction that goes beyond just a verbal exchange. A KE child is a child who lives and speaks between and beyond Korean and English at home in their everyday life. Also, as I shall explore, language mixing or translanguaging on a pragmatic level requires a holistic understanding of languages and cultures. In this sense, as Zhu Hua and Li Wei have argued, I will move away from focusing on multilingualism from the perspective of language maintenance and language transfer, and instead view multilingualism as an ‘experience’ that needs to ‘be studied holistically and multidimensionally’ (2016: 665). Hence, this book investigates the complex linguistic tapestries of KE children from a holistic viewpoint, focusing on the ways in which these multilingual children communicate multimodally in various contexts. 1.2 Researching Asian–English Multilingualism

The holistic and multidimensional approach matters particularly in studying young Asian multilingual children who grow in the Englishspeaking world as the languages and cultures they engage in are very different from each other (Chapter 5). Although the young Asian population and Asian–English families are growing in the Englishspeaking world, to date, the research on multilingual children and their family languages remains predominantly Euro-centric. According to a report published by the United Kingdom Statistics Authority, over one in five children now have a mother tongue other than English, and this figure has risen steadily over the past few years (UK Gov, 2021). The most spoken languages in the UK other than English are Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Arabic, French and Chinese. Notably, three quarters of the most spoken languages in the UK are Asian languages, and yet there has been very little linguistic study of non-European and non-American multilingual households. The situation is similar in other English-speaking countries. According to Canada’s 2021 census results published by Statistics Canada, there has been an increase from 9.7% in 2000 to 12.7% in 2021 in the number of people who primarily speak another language at home other than English and French, in particular languages from South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia. Among the top 12 languages

4  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

spoken at home, the majority (nine) are Asian languages: Mandarin, Punjabi, Cantonese, Arabic, Tagalog, Urdu, Korean, Iranian Persian and Vietnamese. In the case of Australia, in the latest 2021 census, it was reported that the top five languages spoken at home in Australia, other than English, are Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Punjabi, all of which are Asian languages (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2021). As for the United States, survey data on home language was collected by the American Community Survey (a subsidiary of the US Census Bureau) from 2009 to 2013, and I have included the top 20 home languages (excluding English and Spanish due to the relatively large number of speakers), 13 of which, namely Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Cantonese, Japanese, Urdu, Persian, Gujarati and Bengali, are Asian (US Census Bureau, 2015). However, as Jean Mills (2001) among others points out, most studies on childhood bilingualism are dominated by accounts from middle-class, professional or academic parents from Europe or North America (2001: 387). Two decades have passed since Mills’ study and the situation has not changed much. Several other scholars have also echoed Mills’ views. Montanari and Quay (2019) advocate for a shift away from a ‘Eurocentric ideology’, which they argue has been the backbone of research on multilingualism to date (2019: 399). Lanza and Gomes (2020) note that scholarly debates on family language policy still largely adopt a Eurocentric approach and argue that documenting the ‘social reality’ of multilingualism and family multilingualism requires looking not only at Northern (Eurocentric) perspectives, but also at views from the global South (2020: 167). They also claim that, at least for the 20th century, discourses of multilingualism from non-Eurocentric regions (e.g. Asia, Africa and Latin America) have been ‘appropriated’ in Europe and North America before being recirculated back in those aforementioned regions (2020: 166). Understanding Asian–English multilingualism is not easily translatable in Eurocentric approaches due to complex, pragmatic aspects that are rich in Asian languages unlike English and other European languages. In Korean, for example, you cannot produce a grammatical sentence without knowing to whom you are speaking and where. For every utterance, one needs to know the relationship between themself and the hearer, otherwise one cannot be sure of how to even start talking. In this book, I hope to contribute to the diversity of this field by tackling pragmatic issues that are mostly relevant in Korean and further Asian–English multilingualism. This includes pragmatic adjustment and translanguaging to express emotions, attitudes and social interactions observed in KE children and their families. In doing so, this book aims to raise awareness on the necessity of researching Asian–English multilingualism.

Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures  5

1.3 How are Family Languages Made? Making English polite

Family languages reflect the ever-evolving history and trajectories of each individual family, making every family language both unique and constantly changing. Despite sharing the same combination of languages, each family creates their own unique ways of expression to meet their daily needs. For instance, my children often add polite endings after speaking in English. Both of them started adding haeyo (해요) and haesseoyo (했어요) to English sentences. This practice started when they were learning English but is still happening on a daily basis. Haeyo roughly means ‘do’ and haesseoyo means ‘did’. Importantly, they are both polite forms that are used when a child speaks to an adult in Korean. In English, there is no register or style that shows politeness as in Korean. Korean children know this and develop their own ways of making English polite by putting polite endings after English sentences. One day Jessie said, ‘eomma, I need the loo – I’m desperate -haeyo’ (‘엄마, I need the loo – I’m desperate 해요’, ‘Mum, I need the toilet, I’m desperate’). Adding haeyo could be redundant from a purely information-sharing perspective, but this example shows that language is not just functional but also has an emotional and attitudinal aspect. My daughters also use the word jebal-yo (제발요 ‘please-politely’). This word has a politeness marker -yo at the end of the emphatic expression jebal (제발), which means ‘please’ or ‘I’m begging’ in desperate situations. These are a few innovative expressions that they use to this day. They were not taught these but came up with them themselves to bridge the attitudinal gap between Korean and English. A Korean English child’s lexicon

One example that I came across in my observations was konbak sauce, a term coined by a young Korean–English child and adopted by his family. The word was coined by five-year-old Hyun-woo, who lives in the UK with his British mother and Korean father. One of his favourite sauces is Donkkaseu sauce, which his father introduced to him when Hyun-woo was around three years old. Donkkaseu is the Korean pronunciation of Tonkatsu sauce, a Japanese sauce made of fruit and vegetables that is a staple in Japanese kitchens. Tonkatsu sauce was first introduced around 1902, when Western food began gaining popularity in Japanese homes. The sauce was created to make Western dishes such as meat cutlets and other fried foods more appealing to Japanese tastes. The sauce later made its way to Korea, where it also achieved great popularity. Because Hyun-woo was quite young when he first encountered the sauce, he found the Korean name for Donkkaseu sauce difficult to

6  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

pronounce, so referred to it as konbak sauce instead. Hyun-woo used the term so frequently that the family had to adopt the term when referring to the sauce to ensure they were all talking about the same thing. This has confused the children’s grandparents (on both the British and Korean sides) as well as Korean friends, who at one point required a translation in order to follow the conversation during a visit. The above diagram is my representation of a portion of Hyunwoo’s lexicon (Figure 1.1). He uses the word brother to refer to his brother. Calling one’s sibling using address terms is natural in Korea. Yet, Hyun-woo does not use the Korean word hyung but uses the English word brother. Although the main language for him is English, he has a substantial number of Korean words in his lexicon. Most of them are words that he uses to refer to people. He knows how to use the vocative particle -a/ya in Korean when calling his Korean cousins of a similar age. Some sensory expressions about hunger and pain are also in Korean. His mother, who is British, said she used those partial Korean expressions to her children when they were young to make the language environment for their father more inclusive. Besides verbal expressions, Hyun-woo also knows the meanings of waving and uses it to English people whom he encounters. Yet, he is a little hesitant to wave to Korean adults.

Figure 1.1  Lexicon of five-year-old Hyun-woo

Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures  7

Hyun-woo’s lexicon is in no way similar to that of any other child growing up in Korea or the UK. Each expression has developed as a consequence of life between and beyond Korean and English. 1.4 Translanguaging in Everyday Talk

Translanguaging is a dynamic meaning making process by which one employs diverse semiotic resources across the borders of language. Often, I think of translanguaging as being like cooking. Even if two people are cooking the same dish, they will tailor make the dish to suit their tastes. In intercultural homes, dishes often combine different cultural staples. In our home, we often eat rice and kimchi, but other side dishes can come from any of our other culinary inspirations. There are no borders between Korean and English regarding the food that we put on our table: having rice and bread at the same table is not uncommon. All food also needs to be catered to each individual’s needs. My children were brought up eating kimchi from a young age, so they like to eat spicy food, as I do. Yet, when their English granddad or dad’s family comes over, we add fewer or even no chillies. On the other hand, when their Korean grandmother comes to visit, we increase the spice. It all depends on the people and the occasion. On the other hand, at home I cook Korean staple foods such as gimbap (seaweed rice roll). I make it with avocado, egg, red onions, sometimes with marinated chicken, and garnished with coriander. It is then dipped in soy sauce mixed with wasabi. This is how we make and eat gimbap in our household – we love it! Some Koreans may not view this as ‘proper’ gimbap, as we eat it with wasabi and garnished with coriander, both ingredients not being typically used to make gimbap. I also do not include danmuji (yellow pickled radish). Koreans can be particularly sensitive about the inclusion of danmuji, as it is often considered to be an essential ingredient that makes gimbap what it is. However, danmuji is not widely available in the UK, and not everyone in our family likes the taste, so we pick what we like from the ingredients that we have at home and call it gimbap. This is our family’s innovation of the Korean gimbap. Just like cooking, the fluid and innovative nature of translanguaging can capture and explain the complex linguistic and cultural experiences of multilingual families and, how young children with diverse backgrounds can make sense of their multilingual world. The term was originally coined in Welsh as trawsieithu by Cen Williams in the 1980s (Conteh, 2018: 445), before being translated into English as ‘translanguaging’ by Colin Baker, who introduced the term as a verb to capture the nature of the phenomenon as a process rather than a result. ‘Translanguaging’ was then developed further by other researchers. Baker (2011: 288) defined translanguaging as the process of ‘making meaning, shaping experiences, gaining understanding and knowledge

8  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

through the use of two languages’. Translanguaging goes beyond code switching, as it shows a hybridity of language use that transcends the typical features of any single language involved. Although many assume that translanguaging practices, such as fluidly switching and incorporating different languages into one’s speech, are a transitional behaviour that children will eventually grow out of once they become more linguistically competent, translanguaging is far from transitional; rather, it is a useful linguistic tool that forms part of everyday language for multilingual speakers and families throughout their lives. As Gorter (2013: 3) demonstrates, translanguaging is a skill that aids the development of bilingualism. It is a unique, fluid bilingual process that can make multilingual speakers’ speech creative and efficient while helping them build solidarity with other multilinguals through their shared linguistic experiences. The lexicons of multilingual families’ languages cannot be described in only one language, as they comprise a blend of words from languages tailormade to each family. When a child says a word from another language in an English sentence, they have not made a mistake or failed in constructing a ‘proper’ English sentence. Rather, they have succeeded in conveying a nuanced meaning by fully applying their multilingual repertoire. The lens of translanguaging will allow us to interpret children’s uses of non-English words as being creative, rather than erroneous. These behaviours are natural and pragmatically optimal. Translanguaging behaviours are not simply a steppingstone for proficiency in one language, but are in themselves a natural, productive language system. As Nakamura and Quay (2012) and Chevalier (2013) suggest, translanguaging is a complex interaction between the amount of input, language preference, children’s personality and how caregivers respond to language mixing. Later, we will see that English or Korean alone are inadequate to efficiently convey nuanced meanings in many cases. Our lives and languages are now connected on a global scale. As the world becomes more and more virtually interconnected, the distinctions between nation state, ethnicity and identity will become even more blurred. As a result, the practice of translanguaging will become more common than ever before – not only for a limited population but for everyone as virtual mobility soars. This book takes the framework of translanguaging to look at how children negotiate and navigate two or more languages. I focus on the pragmatics of English and Korean, between which there is a vast gap, and how children create attitudinal and emotional meanings accordingly. By looking at these aspects through the lens of translanguaging, we will begin to see how translanguaging is an enriching and nurturing feature of our children’s lives. Far from a sign of insufficient language proficiency, translanguaging allows children to show care and be considerate to those in their lives. It enriches their everyday communicative experience, allowing them to connect more deeply with relatives, friends, and beyond.

Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures  9

1.5 Havens of Translanguaging: Home and the Community

Sometimes we think children can adapt and learn new languages without any problems. We think that they can learn a new language as easily as a sponge absorbs water. Yet, in my previous work, I showed to the contrary, how language acquisition can be overwhelming and challenging when children are not in an environment where they have freedom to explore. The support from family and friends plays a crucial role too. Without support, children can feel anxious and daunted about language learning, just like adults (Kiaer et al., 2021). Li (2011) first coined the term ‘translanguaging space’ to refer to ‘a space for the act of translanguaging as well as a space created through translanguaging’, where people with multiple linguistic and cultural repertoires feel comfortable shifting creatively between repertoires and asserting their full linguistic identity. Following Li’s work (2011), which addressed translanguaging primarily in social spaces within educational spheres (e.g. universities or weekend Chinese schools), several studies have begun to explore further types of ‘translanguaging spaces’. Zhu et al. (2017), for instance, discuss the multimodality of translingual space in a Polish shop in London. Mazzaferro (2018) presents examples of diverse settings where translanguaging can be used in daily practice. Most recently, Kiaer et al. (2022) examine a range of translanguaging spaces; including ‘personal’, ‘philosophical’ and ‘playful’ spaces. Perhaps most pertinent to this chapter is Kiaer (2019b), which refers to the ‘safe translanguaging space’ in a study that demonstrates how ethnic minority community centres play the role of a ‘home away from home’ for ethnic minority diaspora by providing a linguistically safe translanguaging space. The home is also a ‘safe space’ for bilingual families. It is a haven, where translanguaging takes place in the comfort of one’s own family language. Every member of a multilingual family needs this space where their languages and lives can be understood and appreciated as they are, in order to learn, to assert and to relax. For children and the parent(s) whose first language is not the dominant language of the society in which they live, this space is vital for their linguistic and psychological wellbeing. 1.6 Beyond Words

Even though verbal and non-verbal elements of language are intrinsically and inseparably linked, it is rare to see the non-verbal features of language acquisition closely examined alongside their verbal counterparts. My own experience of raising multilingual children has shown me that child language acquisition is so much more than verbal acquisition. My children learnt to speak Korean first, and then, when they began to learn English, I saw that they first adopted non-verbal elements of English, like gesture and prosody.1

10  Multimodal Communication in Young Multilingual Children

They later developed verbal elements, such as word order. Even though my daughters could not speak English to their father with words and sentences, they knew how to interact with him in an English way by using body language. As they continued to develop fluency in both Korean and English, I noted how they still used non-verbal tools to aid their communication, and how this varied according to cultural differences. I became keenly aware that their language learning is inherently multimodal, including both verbal and non-verbal learning, and it is for this reason that I choose not to compartmentalise or reduce my findings to just verbal elements in this book. This book will focus on multilingual children’s language acquisition, paying particular attention to the pragmatic gap that they are required to negotiate daily, because Korean and English are so different. Considering both the verbal and non-verbal, issues of politeness and metalinguistic awareness take centre stage in our examination of how children translanguage and shed light on an area of child language acquisition that is often underexplored. As a bilingual child grows, there will necessarily be a collision of languages and cultures. This is particularly true for KE children, who must navigate two vastly different cultures. I found that more time and energy were spent negotiating the pragmatic elements of language than the syntactic elements in my household. It is for this reason that I decided to record my data in video form for readers to view. Many studies of child language acquisition provide transcripts of children’s speech, but in this study, videos will demonstrate how language and culture interact, as readers will be able to both hear and see how my bilingual children navigate languages and cultures as KE children. I do not aim to generalise this topic, but instead I wish to provide a useful insight into multilingual children at the intersection of culture and language through case studies of my own family and community. It is by negotiating this intersection that my family has grown and developed a strong sense of solidarity. Throughout the book, I will show the challenges that multilingual families face, and the dynamic, multifaceted processes of negotiation that they go through to make communication happen – both verbally and non-verbally. 1.7 Data Collection

In this book, I analyse data collected from a longitudinal study of my own family. I will use mainly video and audio recordings of natural family interactions. I examine not only verbal and non-verbal data, but also written and computer-mediated data. I have taken recordings on an almost daily basis. This book examines videos from 2014 to 2022, that are each 18 minutes long on average.2 In this book, I will transcribe focal events and make some of the video and audio clips available via the

Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures  11

URLs in the footnotes. Longitudinal studies like this study are relatively rare, but they are key to understanding the sociolinguistic trends of individuals in an increasingly interconnected global world. Perhaps two of the studies most relevant to this work are those of Xiao-lei Wang (2008, 2016), which both feature longitudinal studies of her children’s trilingual language acquisition. Earlier longitudinal studies in this area that go further than just focusing on the properties of language include Halliday (1973, 1975) and Fantini (1987), with one of the earliest being Leopold (1939). This work serves as a continuation to these studies, adding a Korean perspective to the field. Although it focuses on my two daughters and my family, I also included observation and interviews of other children and families from KE backgrounds. The observations cover children’s interactions with parents, grandparents, carers, neighbours and strangers alike. This includes interviews with children, parents and carers in London, as well as attendees of a Korean school in Chessington. In Chapter 6, some of the data on heritage families is also collected through Google Jamboard. Additionally, I draw upon my experience working as a consultant for the Korean Education Centre, a part of the Korean embassy since 2014. It also includes analysis of Korean reality television programme The Return of Superman (슈퍼맨이 돌아왔다 Syupeomaeni dorawada), which follows the lives of Korean fathers as they look after their children. Their interactions are filmed by a camera crew who hide in tents and playhouses in the family’s home to capture the children’s interactions with their families, guests and even the filming staff. While The Return of Superman is a reality-variety show and therefore may be scripted to some extent, this is more likely to influence the adults on the show rather than the children given their young age. Many of the children are featured on the show from before they can speak, and the programme follows the children as they grow into toddlers. It is not only Korean families who are featured on the show. Children of intercultural families are also featured, including KE families (New Zealander Sam Hammington and American Robert Kelly who are both married to Korean women), Korean–Japanese families (Japanese Korean Choo Sunghoon and Japanese wife Shiho Yano) and Korean–Swiss families (Korean Park Jooho and Swiss wife Anna). The vast majority of the families featured on the show are based in Korea, with the exception of the Korean–Japanese family who was living in Japan before moving to Hawaii. While this book focuses on KE children living in the UK, The Return of Superman offers another insight into intercultural families and KE children, their social interactions with their families and the wider context of Korean society. As the show is broadcast on KBS (Korean Broadcasting System), the national broadcasting system, it is available to watch globally on YouTube through subtitled clips. For these reasons, the programme was

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deemed a valuable material that is widely available and worth including in this research to study language acquisition and development in young children, as well as translanguaging in children of multicultural families. Transcription conventions

The transcriptions in this book come from (a) observations and (b) interviews. Interviews are provided as full transcripts, while observation data can be found as extracts. Korean is transcribed in Hangul and the English translation is given in square brackets underneath. I have not provided Romanisations for interviews that took place in Korean, as long sentences of Romanised Korean are friendly to neither Korean nor English speakers. For observations, overlapping turns are marked with ‘[’, ‘…’ indicates a pause in speech, ‘*’ gives specification to a speaker’s intention, motivation or what they are doing (e.g. speaking *to mother*, *spelling* a word or *working out how to say* something). Non-verbal expressions and interjections are then underlined. Pronunciation and speech errors have been included in order to be as accurate as possible in transcribing the original utterance. Additionally, ‘XXX’ marks speech that could not be transcribed, due to a lack of clarity of the speaker’s words, overlapping turns or poor audio quality. I advise that readers watch the videos where possible to be able to fully understand the range of verbal and non-verbal behaviours taking place. 1.8 Overview of the Book

Chapter 2, ‘Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family’, provides insight into how each family weaves their own linguistic tapestry by making use of the linguistic resources available to them. This chapter begins by providing an ethnography of the Kiaer family, and then moves on to consider translanguaging competence within the family. Exploring examples of Jessie reading a book with her father, and a Kiaer family breakfast talk, I consider what accommodations the family makes for Jessie, and how multimodal resources are used to make the communication as a family work. The techniques employed are dynamic, innovative and ever evolving. The resulting linguistic tapestry creates solidarity between family members, as well as aiding efficient communication. Chapter 3, ‘Learning Together’, focuses on how children not only learn from adults or caregivers, but can also teach them in return. By examining reading practices between mother and daughter, we see how both mother and daughter actively use multi-modal resources to create meaning together. The mother was not the sole giver of information, and the daughter was not the sole receiver. As such, information does not flow only in one direction. In intercultural and immigrant families,

Everyday Talk: Beyond Languages and Cultures  13

young children may also attain linguistic proficiency in an unfamiliar country before their parents and may take the lead in linguistic or social situations to assist their parents. Chapter 4, ‘Attitudes and Emotions’, describes the metalinguistic awareness of children in multilingual environments. Through interviews with my youngest daughter Jessie, and KE children, we will see that bilingual children understand differences in the two languages that they are learning despite not learning these differences in formal pedagogical contexts. Accordingly, they try their best to use each language at the right time, in keeping with factors such as age, environment, nationality, status and more. Just as language awareness can bring about solidarity, it can also cause conflict. Multilingual children always negotiate this both consciously and unconsciously. In Chapter 5, ‘Politeness Matters’, I discuss the pragmatic elements of the Korean and English languages. Korea is a high-context culture that contains strict styles for speech based on the dynamics between two or more speakers. Korean speakers must consider honorifics, address terms and gesture in order to show the appropriate level of respect or intimacy. Extracts from conversations with my children will demonstrate that this can be particularly challenging to members of a diaspora who were not brought up with the social norms of their heritage country, which can present significant challenges when visiting that country. In Chapter 6, ‘Talking with Parents’, I explore how parents and children interact. Each family has its own home language practice, which is often decided by parents, but also negotiated by various members of the family. Through interviews with KE children and parents, I will examine a range of different language policies employed in KE families, and their underlying motivations. I will also look at how conflict can arise because of differences between cultures, and what this means for children and their parents. Chapter 7, ‘Talking with Grandparents, Wider Family and Carers’, reflects on the importance of interpersonal relations in the modulation of translanguaging behaviours. Grandparents, carers and neighbours play an important role in shaping children’s identity development. They introduce children to traditions and cultural activities. As such, children begin to shape the idea of who they are and where they come from. Most of this chapter focuses on how my daughter Jessie and her English-speaking grandfather interact using a range of multi-modal resources. I also briefly examine the role of digital communication within grandparent–grandchild relationships. In Chapter 8, ‘Sibling and Peer Talk’, I concentrate on how KE children talk amongst themselves. I analyse interactions between KE children, looking at how they mix language, cooperate and compete with each other. Examining interactions between my two daughters and Jessie and her friends, we will see that talk between peers and

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siblings provides a unique site for language development, free from the pressures found in talk with adults, allowing multilingual children the opportunity to experiment with language in different pretend contexts. This allows them to learn language in both a linguistic and pragmatic way. Notes (1) Prosody is typically considered a non-verbal aspect of language, even though it may seem verbal at first glance. (2) 2014 – 110 videos, 2015 – 51 videos, 2016 – 25 videos, 2017 – 30 videos, 2018 – 27 videos, 2019 – 40 videos, 2020 – 35 videos, 2021 – 37 videos, 2022 – 10 videos.

2 Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family

2.1 Introduction

The primary source of data comes from an autoethnographic longitudinal study of my Korean–English family and the Korean– English community that we were part of in North London. I employ autoethnography as a research method. Hence, I am the participant and observer at the same time and able to provide self-reflection and anecdotal, personal experience relevant to each discussion. Through this method, I believe that I can situate the nature of nuanced meanings in each multilingual encounter in the right context and provide a more relevant meaning to it. The Kiaer family

I (referred to as Jieun in the transcript) moved to the UK from Korea at the age of 25. My parents are both Korean. My husband, Ian, is English, with Danish blood on his paternal side. He speaks English, and understands some basic Korean, particularly with the help of non-verbal cues. In my household, I speak English with my husband as English was the common language when we met. My husband tried to learn Korean, but the effort was not maintained. Linguistically, we were more or less English speaking, yet culturally, we had Korean and English both playing parts in our married life. Our multilingual and multicultural life was most visible at our table. For instance, we had Korean food half of the week. As a result, he knows many Korean words related to food and daily life. Until now, although his Korean proficiency level is still quite low, he quickly picked up that the Korean way of speaking was related to non-verbal aspects, such as certain intonational properties and gestures. Verbal expressions such as address terms, food words and some interjections are the key elements which form his Korean. He often uses these Korean elements while speaking to us in English. These verbal expressions were what he actively used in our conversations and in his communication with his children later on. These are still found in our 15

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daily conversation. My late father-in-law (referred to as Dan Dan) is Danish but was born and brought up in the UK and is very British in terms of his language and behaviour. My late mother-in-law is Scottish. I have two daughters. My first daughter, Sarah, was born in 2008. My youngest daughter, Jessie, was born in 2012. Both Sarah and Jessie were looked after by a Korean lady, Mrs Jeong, who is around the same age as my mother. Mrs Jeong looked after Sarah, and then also Jessie on a daily basis so that I could commute to Oxford for work. I often return home late from work and, consequently, I mainly spend time with the children in the morning. For this reason, my family has had breakfast table talks, rather than dinner talks. I have been recording our family breakfast table talks since 2014. These recordings make up the main database of this book. My children learnt to speak Korean before English. Growing up, Sarah spent most of her time with Mrs Jeong and a small Korean play group, so her Korean is very fluent. She did pick up some English from daily life and from her father, but she was spending most of her time immersed in Korean. It was only when she started going to nursery that she learnt to speak English. She first came to understand the difference between English and Korean in terms of pronunciation, intonation and the difference in non-verbal gesture. I will discuss this later as ‘pragmatic accommodation’. Jessie also first learnt Korean before she started to learn English, but she picked up English very quickly because of Sarah. This seems to be the case in many bilingual families. Mrs Jeong is the reason why Sarah and Jessie can speak Korean like native speakers. She also helped me noting down when Sarah or Jessie learnt a new word. When it came to learning English, Sarah helped Jessie a lot, although there was some competition between the two relating to their English competence. Maintaining Korean has proven possible for my children because they FaceTime my family in Korea at least once a week. Digital communication, the Korean nursery, Mrs Jeong and myself have all been key resources for my children to maintain their Korean competency. Mealtime talk

The main body of data for this book was collected by observing my own family during breakfast table conversations. Regarding my family, formal recording at the breakfast table started in 2014. My data shows in particular how my family navigates and negotiates verbal and non-verbal issues in our table talks to mediate and bridge our different linguistic and cultural expectations. Mealtime talk is an important occasion for family bonding and conversation, especially for children’s language acquisition. As parents are usually busy during the day, conversations around the dinner table

Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family  17

are one of the key places where relaxed conversations can take place. Some key linguistic works, including Blum-Kulka (1997), have focused on dinner time conversations for this reason. Blum-Kulka views the dinner table as the meeting point of sociability and socialisation. She examines dinner talks of 24 middle to upper-middle class families from three different communities (Jewish American, native-born Israeli and American immigrants to Israel). She shows how children learn to tell stories, introduce topics and develop themes at the dinner table. Her findings demonstrate the importance of dinner talk for the development of children’s voices and their ability to participate in adult discourse. Through comparative analysis, Blum-Kulka finds that Jewish Americans tend to gravitate towards ‘today stories’ (1997: 109), in a monologue style of delivery, while native-born Israelis would present narratives polyphonically, often recounting stories about the past. She also finds actions of politeness and metapragmatic discourse at the dinner table to be indicators that socialisation happens during dinner talk – an outcome analogous to my own findings in this book. All three groups demonstrated polite speech to be a major feature of pragmatic socialisation, although exactly what constituted politeness varied according to their different values. In the case of immigrant American Israelis, the dinner table also proved to be a site of bilingualism, where participants switched between speaking English and Hebrew. This practice helped to assist metapragmatic communication. In short, mealtime talk is an important event that not only allows for sociable discussion amongst groups of people but also imposes social norms and politeness onto its participants. Although the specific types of interactions vary from household to household, and more broadly from culture to culture, mealtime talk serves as a natural site of exchange and learning. In exploring how language, culture and society are linked, dinner talk can provide an important insight into the development of politeness, social cues and sociability. Breakfast talk is very important in my family, as I usually return home late from work, and so miss the dinner table talk. In my family, it is instead breakfast talk where the majority of our interaction as a family happens. In the same way that families talk about what has happened during the day at dinner, we discuss what has happened the day before and what will be done later in the day. We also engage in metapragmatic discourse to ensure talk at the table is polite. Thus, our breakfast table talks, much like dinner talks, serve as a medium for the mutual involvement of children and parents in language socialisation. Mealtime talks are a useful medium through which to examine the pragmatics of language use and semiotics that affect multilingual children’s use of language. Even now that my children are older, breakfast is still a meal when we talk as a family, weaving English and Korean together to communicate in our own familiar way. Mealtimes talks are a testament to how families make language, both verbally and non-verbally.

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Socialisation, identity building and pragmatic development take place in both direct and indirect ways. Children and parents learn by experimenting and constantly testing the waters with their language, and consequently, there will always be metalinguistic discussions to accompany the linguistic experimentation process. Examining family conversations with 2–3-year-old children in Oslo, Norway and Cambridge, USA, Aukrust and Snow (1998) noted that families engaged in three types of metalinguistic talk. Firstly, talk about phonological features (e.g. pronunciation, rhyming), semantic-pragmatic aspects (e.g. word meaning and use) and comparing and contrasting different forms of languages (e.g. oral language, written form, language varieties). The second and most frequent type of metalinguistic talk was discourse management talk, which dealt with metapragmatic aspects of speech, such as the performative dimension of talk, conventions, politeness and turn taking. Finally, deictic talk was used to address previous speech events and the use of direct reported speech in previous conversations.  In multilingual families, metalinguistic talk happens regularly. There is an ongoing need to discuss the meanings of words and their implications. Although one word may have certain connotations in one language of the household, it may have a different meaning in another. Thus, the very nature of a multilingual household engenders metalinguistic talk. Not only do parents challenge their children semantically and metapragmatically, but children also correct their parents, telling them if they have used an unsuitable word or the wrong pronunciation. Multilingual families are always discussing what words mean, whether they are polite or appropriate in the situation, and when to use them, in an even more frequent manner than a monolingual household. For a multilingual household, metalinguistic talk and metapragmatic talk hold the keys to successful cross-cultural communication. 2.2 Weaving a Linguistic Tapestry

The Kiaer family uses a mix of Korean and English to communicate, though how they modulate and attune their language to each situation depends on the context and who is involved in the interaction. Only using one language alone does not make sense for the children and the family. The act of translanguaging is ever-present in their communication. Although the children originally spoke Korean, their English language ability has gradually become more competent since they started going to school, after which English became their stronger language. Yet, their Korean was and is always there with them too. The two languages co-exist, both interacting and contesting with each other dynamically. Our communication frequently includes phrases like ‘Are you 아파 (apa sick)?’ or ‘할아버지 (Halabeoji) honnas Jessie – 알겠어 (algesseo)?’ (You will be told off by granddad, understand?). They start in

Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family  19

Korean but can finish in English or vice versa. The use of 아파 apa (sick) is interesting in that it has an ending that indicates intimacy. Hence, by using this word, the child made her comment more intimate. On the other hand, the verb honnas is originally a Korean verb, yet the child took it as an English word and even applied the third person singular inflection. In the given situation, the child Sarah who used the word honnas did not have any other word she could quickly access to express telling-off behaviour. Although how they mix languages changes, it is true that not only the children but also the entire family develop ways of mixing and translanguaging the languages and cultures we inherited in a way that is most meaningful to us in the given time. It is a bit like weaving their unique linguistic tapestry with whatever semiotic resources they have. Each day they make a new part and it is always different from the piece they made the day before. Some translanguaging patterns remain to this day, whereas other patterns disappear. New forms of translanguaging are constantly introduced and attested too as our linguistic repertoire changes. For instance, Sarah, who is now learning Mandarin at school, often adds some metalinguistic comments on Korean in relation to Mandarin Chinese in our breakfast table talk. She talked about two pronouns in Chinese and how they are similar yet different in Korean. Now that we all have quick and easy access to digital devices, our translanguaging has become inherently multimodal. Children quickly go to Google and find images for a word that they want to use. This trend will only continue. The following sections explore some of the key aspects of my family’s linguistic tapestry. All were seen early on in my children’s lives and were prominent tools for making our communication work. Some have continued to this day, while others have been left behind – for example, my children no longer make English sentences with Korean word order conventions. Below are some of the key aspects that are observed in our family’s use of language. Address terms in the Kiaer family

In Korean society, as well as in Korean diaspora communities, choosing the correct address terms for each other is an essential, but difficult task. It proves particularly difficult when addressing those without a job title. In my family, we address Mrs Jeong as 사모님 Samonim (a polite form of address for a middle-aged woman in Korean but it can also be used to refer to a teacher or a vicar’s wife) because there were no other words that seemed appropriate. Even my husband, Ian, calls her Samonim, to show her the right respect. We could have called her 할머니 Halmeoni (grandmother), but most Korean women are not fond of the term because it has connotations of old age. A vicar’s wife is always called Samonim, and as Mrs Jeong was married to a vicar,

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we chose to call her Samonim. The children also had Korean babysitters, who they called 이모 Imo (aunt). Although they were not real aunties, by calling them Imo, the children showed her the necessary respect and family-like intimacy. As we shall see in later chapters, both Sarah and Jessie often tried to use similar address terms with English people they met who were close to us. When they were young, they thought they needed to use address terms and politeness markers not only to Koreans but to English people if they are adults. This is found in most other KE children. As for me, Korean people from the embassy, schools or at work always call me 교수님 Kyosunim (Professor), regardless of my age. Interestingly, Korean people never call me by my current surname, Kiaer, and instead like to address me by my maiden name, calling me 조 교수님 Jo Kyosunim (Professor Cho). Mrs Jeong, however, calls me 사라 엄마 Sarah eomma (Sarah’s Mum), and she continues to address me in this way, even though Jessie (my second daughter) was born in 2012. Shared words and prosodic accommodation

We begin the weaving of the Kiaer family’s unique linguistic tapestry with Sarah and the first words that she acquired. According to Mrs Jeong’s records, 15-month-old Sarah had learned both Korean words and English words. She already knew various Korean address terms, such as 엄마 eomma (mum), 아빠 appa (dad), 할미 halmi (grandma), 하비 habi (grandad), 사모님 samonim (Mrs Jeong), 언니 eonni (older sister), 이모 imo (aunt), 삼촌 samchon (uncle), 애기 aegi (baby), 친구 chingu (friend) and used these words daily. Sarah also had some English words like mummy, daddy, cat, dog, duck, baby, car, hot, ball in her active vocabulary. As time passed, Sarah’s English vocabulary increased, and she started to notice that many words in Korean and English are shared. The same thing happened with Jessie, too. For example, Korean and English both share a similar pronunciation of the word banana. In this video, Jessie practices the different pronunciations of banana.1 (see Chapters 4 and 5 for more discussion). After learning address terms, my children started to pronounce Korean words in an English way. I found that this happened early on with both of my children. One example is that Sarah started to anglicise her Korean. Sarah asks Ian for some kimchi, but she changes the pronunciation for kimchi, pronouncing it as gimtSi with H*+L intonation rather than gimtSi with L% intonation which she uses in speaking Korean (which you can hear in the sound recording).2 Later, Jessie also went on to use this strategy. When asking for soya milk at the table one day, she said ‘duyu please’, anglicising the pronunciations (see video below).3 It took me a second to understand, but was also humorous and playful on Jessie’s part. This was part of the process of the children developing a sense of Korean, English and Konglish. The acknowledgment of shared vocabulary demonstrates

Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family  21

that the children have come to understand the subtle differences between Korean and English. They are thus able to choose when to use each pronunciation independently, and as a result, increase their command of their linguistic repertoire. English words in Korean word order

Korean and English are linguistically different in many ways, including both verbal aspects and non-verbal aspects (Kiaer, 2017, 2020). Korean is a verb-final language, and the word order is flexible, although subject-object-verb is most frequently used, including in Korean children’s language production. English sentences tend to look something like: ‘I eat food’. Here, ‘I’ is the subject, ‘eat’ is the verb and ‘food’ is the object. Korean follows a different sentence structure, which can be confusing for first-time learners. The Korean sentence order is typically subject-object-verb. This means that the English sentence ‘I eat food’ changes to ‘I food eat’ in Korean. Also, each component in a sentence is marked with a particle, so that the sentence ends up looking more like this: ‘I (subject marker) food (object marker) eat (verb conjugation)’. Grammatical particles are very important in Korean because the word order can be quite fluid and changing. Although the ‘I food eat’ sentence order is correct, it may at times change to ‘I eat, food’ or to ‘food, I eat’. Sometimes the only way to tell which part of the sentence is which is by the particles (or markers) attached to different words (see Joe & Song, 2019). In the case of the Kiaer family, Jessie has often produced English sentences with subject-object-verb word orders, for example, Sarah my bed touch or I no avocado. This pattern appeared when Jessie aged 2 years, 11 months. Gestures

My children first learnt English gestures. When Sarah first went to nursery, she could not speak a word of English. When the head teacher spoke to her, however, she was able to interact with the head teacher in a meaningful English way. For instance, Sarah nodded her head when she was asked a question, smiled at the right moment and answered with a ‘yes’. She responded using English-style interjections and gestures, so I thought she had understood what was said. Later, she told me that she had not understood a thing. Although she did not understand the content of the question, she still knew how to interact in an English way. I laughed at the time, but then soon realised that this is a strategy that we all use when we interact with people whose language we don’t understand or cannot hear clearly. Gestures made up the beginning of Sarah’s English language acquisition. Only once she was comfortable with the non-verbal did her verbal competency increase.

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Non-verbal communication in South Korea is greatly different to that of the UK. While a child might wave cheerfully at a grandparent or elderly adult in the UK, waving to the elderly is often considered rude in South Korea. Instead, they are expected to bow, sit with their legs together and feet on the floor and clasp two hands together around those who are older or of a higher status than them. It is also important not to make too much eye contact, as this may be seen as confrontational. It is common to nod with a polite smile when listening to an elder speak. Comparatively, English lacks such non-verbal elements. Although one may adjust their posture subconsciously according to the addressee, English speakers do not consider explicit politeness rules when it comes to deciding their non-verbal behaviour. Sarah and Jessie both display an awareness of the different nonverbal behaviours required by English and Korean. When they speak Korean with an elder, for example Mrs Jeong, they smile and nod, but also bow and nod a lot. When they speak English, however, they drop such non-verbal behaviours. When they first began to speak English, they absorbed the non-verbal elements of English, such as interjections, gestures and intonation. Only once they had acquired the non-verbal did they start to acquire verbal competency. As such, they employ more enriched non-verbal behaviour when speaking Korean compared to English. This is mostly due to the nature of each language, rather than a lack of awareness or competency. (For more on this topic, see Chapters 4 and 5.) For example, on one occasion, I was speaking to Jessie at breakfast time, when she was 40 months old: Extract 2a

Jieun: 제씨 생일 언제야? [Trans: When is Jessie’s birthday?] Jessie: Shrugs, I don’t know.

Even this short breakfast talk interaction shows how Jessie communicates using multimodal resources. She first uses the non-verbal gesture of shrugging to express that she does not know the answer to her mother’s question, before clarifying this again verbally (Figure 2.1). Shrugging holds multiple meanings depending on whether it is expressed in Korean or English contexts. Between Koreans, shrugging is not commonly used and if it is used, it is considered rude, especially if someone younger shrugs at someone older than them. In Western cultures, shrugging is used to express ‘I don’t know’, without the interpersonal implications that the gesture has in Korea. Jessie chose to respond with a shrug when asked by her mother in Korean. Shrugging was a non-verbal cue that Jessie picked up early on. She uses it even when speaking Korean as part of her translingual repertoire. As we live in a Korean–English household,

Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family  23

Figure 2.1  Jessie shrugs in response to her mother’s question

I knew that Jessie meant no offence, but as a Korean person, Jessie’s choice to communicate with me in an English way could have been perceived as rude. The fact that she chose to use English with me, even though she was better at speaking Korean at the time, could be seen as a bit standoffish, as English simply does not have the same aspects of politeness that Korean has. Pragmatics and politeness

The Korean language is sensitive to the relationship between the speaker and hearer. It is one of the hardest languages to gain competency in because of its pragmatics. Even second-generation diaspora children find it hard to adapt to the complex pragmatics involved with the language. In English, interpersonal relationships have no effect on the composition of one’s utterance. You can say ‘It is raining’, ‘It is two o’clock’, ‘I need to eat’, etc. without knowing to whom you are speaking. This is not the case in Korean. Almost every aspect of speech is attuned to the speaker’s relationship with their speech partner. As I mentioned before, the first hurdle arises from the question of how we should address the person to whom we are speaking. Koreans almost never call each other by first names alone. Instead, we use an appropriate address term. Finding the right term matters even with a stranger right from the beginning of an interaction. This is the reason Koreans ask each

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other’s age only a few minutes after meeting. Sometimes, the questions may continue, covering somewhat personal subjects, such as whether the other person is married or has children. These are questions that nonKoreans may find imposing and overwhelming, but they are necessary for finding the right address terms and making the conversation flow smoothly in Korean. In this way, politeness is the backbone of child language acquisition in Korean. Unlike English, you cannot just insert some polite words. Every word and every movement made when speaking Korean requires consideration of respect and intimacy. Adapting to two systems of politeness was one of the biggest challenges for my children. For example, in this video,4 we see Jessie say to Ian, ‘Cut my egg’, bluntly and without using the word ‘please’. Although she is aware of how to express politeness in Korean, she is not aware of how to do so in English. As Jessie is very competent in Korean politeness, she always uses the polite ending -yo when speaking to me and other Korean adults. Similarly, both Sarah and Jessie know that they shouldn’t speak loudly or too much when interacting with older people in Korea. They smile a lot and constantly nod, finishing their conversations with a nasalised ne ‘yes’ for elders, rather than ung ‘yes’ which is used between friends of the same age. There is a great difference in how children are expected to treat adults between Korean and English cultures, and Jessie and Sarah are always learning how to best negotiate these differences. As we have seen, adjusting one’s methods of politeness is a complex endeavour. A Korean–German child, Naeun, displays politeness switching in a similar manner to Jessie, which I will describe below. Figure 2.2 is a screenshot from the popular Korean reality show, The Return of Superman. The show follows famous fathers as they look

Figure 2.2  Five languages at the table5

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after their young children. One of the fathers is Park Jooho, a Korean footballer. He is married to Anna Park, who is from Switzerland. At the time of this episode, they had two children: a daughter Naeun, and a son Gunho. In the screenshot, Naeun, who is in the middle wearing green, is four years old. Naeun speaks German, Korean, Spanish and English. She speaks German when alone with her mother, Korean when alone with her father, English or Korean when with both her parents and Spanish with her grandma. In the figure above, we see Naeun sitting at a table with her father’s football colleagues. The arrows edited over the clip show that Sergio, who is Spanish, talks to Naeun in Spanish, while he speaks to Jooho (who does not speak Spanish) in Japanese. Then Jooho communicates with Lee Myungjae in Korean, while Myungjae speaks to Richard in English. Meanwhile, Richard speaks to Naeun in German. Although not perfect, each person uses all the languages in their repertoire to make the conversation work. Naeun speaks three European, low context languages, and Korean, a high context language (see Chapter 5 for a discussion on low and high context languages). In Korean, it is common to use informal and casual speech, 반말 banmal, when talking to one’s family and friends, and formal speech, 존댓말 jondaemal, and its related gestures when talking to strangers and those older than you. This, of course, is not the case when speaking German, English or Spanish. Nonetheless, we see throughout the show that Naeun is aware of polite and impolite address terms and the difference in speech levels. For example, Naeun sometimes playfully calls her father by his name Jooho, rather than calling him 아빠 appa (father), as is conventional and polite in Korea. Jooho laughs, but says, ‘아빠 이름 부르지 말고’ appa ireum bureuji malgo’ (‘Don’t call me by my name’). Naeun laughs at this, showing that she knows it is a bit cheeky. At other times, Naeun uses formal speech, jondaemal, with her parents, even though it is most typical for children to speak informally to their parents. She thanks her mum for her food using jondaemal saying, ‘마마 고마워요.맛있어요’. ‘Mama gomawoyo. Masisseoyo’ (‘Thank you, Mama, it’s delicious’). Notably, she uses the polite verb ending, -yo, to her mother who is a learner of Korean. Likely, Naeun wants to look considerate and thankful to her mother for the food, so she deliberately uses -yo. When talking to her father’s friends, or neighbours, Naeun appropriately uses polite speech, and bows with her hands clasped politely in front of her. For example, when leaving her apartment complex with her father, a few neighbours enter the lift with them. Each time, Naeun greets them politely, saying 안녕하세요 annyeonghaseyo (Hello polite), and bowing politely, without prompt from her father. When asked her age, she replies, ‘다섯 살이에요’ ‘taseot sariyeyo’ (‘I am five years old’), using the polite form. Also, when Park Jooho video calls his football colleague and friend, Lee Dongguk, Naeun greets him saying

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‘삼촌 안녕하세요’ ‘samchon annyeonghaseyo’ (‘Hello, Uncle’), without any prompt from her father to respectfully call him samchon (‘uncle’). She also bids him farewell saying, ‘삼촌 다음에 만나요’ ‘samchon daeume mannayo’ (‘See you again, Uncle’). Here, she uses a polite and friendly form of address, with formal speech. However, when Naeun speaks to the camera operators filming at her house who she also calls samchon, she uses informal and casual speech. For example, when she gives them fruit, she says ‘이것 사과’ ‘I geot sagwa’ (‘This is some apple’ informal) and ‘이제 없어’ ‘ije eobseo’ (‘There’s none left’ informal) both without the particle 요 -yo. The difference is likely due to Naeun’s familiarity with who she is speaking to. The cameramen are often in her house, and she has seen them often, so she uses informal speech. She is likely less familiar with Lee Dongguk, and thus speaks to him politely. In this way, we see that Naeun is also able to adapt her language according to intimacy levels. The Korean language is very transparent in this respect: it shows how close you feel to every person, whether you like it or not. Naeun is aware of the complex politeness rules in Korean, even though they do not exist in the same manner in the other languages she speaks. Naeun can fluidly transition between the politeness rules of Korean and the laxer rules of other languages. Thus, we begin to see one way in which a translingual family can work, but as we will go on to see, the patterns of translanguaging differ for each family. 2.3 Translanguaging Competence

In this chapter, I propose ‘translanguaging competence’ to capture and explain young multilingual children’s ability to produce the languages that require different linguistic and cultural adjustments. Multilingual children constantly and systematically manage their multimodal semiotic resources in an innovative, creative and proactive manner to better accommodate speech participants in order to find not only a more socially harmonious, but also a more emotionally and culturally enriched form of communication in each situation. This competence allows them to adapt their language use to the needs of their speech partner(s) and to re-create or re-assemble semiotic resources to increase efficiency and empathy within the communication. Building upon Steven Pinker’s concept of ‘language instinct’, Li (2018) proposed that the concept of translanguaging instinct can explain multilingual individuals’ flexible applications of linguistic features and cues from more than two languages in their interactions. While translanguaging instinct is close to the term translanguaging competence, I am adopting the latter due to its connotation as an innate property of human language, following the conventions of Chomskian linguistics. In general, instinct may be closer to something that is given and does not develop, while competence is something that is both given and develops.

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For this reason, I use competence instead of instinct. Although I use the term competence, the type of competence that I mean is far from the linguistic abilities of the ideal monolingual speaker in homogeneous environments initially proposed in the Chomskian tradition. Moreover, translanguaging competence displays performative functions too. Hence, this competence is the knowledge that could function as competence and performance in the Chomskian sense, and in diverse linguistic environments. Although innate, translanguaging competence is what children, parents and the wider community need to develop and learn together through social interaction and negotiation. It is the competence that is absolutely essential for members in multilingual families. The practice of translanguaging and the development of translanguaging competence is particularly important when the languages and cultures of a multilingual family share less common ground. In this book, I also use a term translingual to emphasise multilingual individuals who creatively and resourcefully mobilise all of their available linguistic knowledge in order to create their own pragmatic, idiosyncratic forms of language. The term multilingual sounds more focused on the individual’s resourcefulness, whereas translingual sounds more focused on one’s management of the resources. In the multilingual family, it is not just children but parents and the wider community who also gradually build up their translanguaging competence and become translingual individuals. The more children engage in complex social interactions, the more they learn to appropriate different linguistic resources. When their given linguistic resources are limited, they can even creatively borrow other’s resources which results in more successful communication. When Jessie was 8 years old, her closest friend was a Chinese–French speaking girl called Eloise who could not speak English for the first several months in Oxford. Jessie was in a French club for a few years. She knew some French words but could not speak on a conversational level. Yet, she had two friends – one of them, Chloé, was bilingual in French and English, and the other girl, Penny, was bilingual in Chinese and English. Jessie asked these two friends to help communicate with Eloise. Jessie’s teacher used Google Translate in the classroom to talk to Eloise. Jessie communicated with Eloise mainly by using non-verbal gestures. By bringing her friends along and borrowing their languages, Jessie was able to bridge the communication gap between her and Eloise. Later, Eloise was able to understand more English, which meant that Jessie could have a basic conversation with her in English. In our ever-globalising society, we cannot assume that everyone will be able to understand each other’s languages without some help. Innovative methods such as were employed by Jessie are also part of a translanguaging competence that we need to live in such a linguistically diverse world.

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Although research about young children’s translanguaging practice is growing, further study is needed to explore how young children use and negotiate pragmatic knowledge and cultural values to develop their translanguaging competence. This book shows how the KE children engage in translanguaging in such a way that they negotiate the differences between Korean and English fluidly and make use of all the languages that they know in a way that works for them. As I shall explore in this book, children engage in translanguaging considering multiple factors, such as the ages of interlocutors, seniority, nationality, the nature of the space (be it private or public) and the intimacy or distance they have in relation to the hearer. In particular, Korea has a ‘high context culture’, whereby social hierarchy matters significantly and affects every interaction undertaken, unlike English (more on this Chapter 5). England has a ‘low context culture’, which means that KE children must negotiate two vastly different cultures every day. In using Korean and English on a daily basis, KE children learn the differences in pragmatics and politeness, using their language in a culturally appropriate manner depending on the situation and person with whom they interact. This ability to mediate and create comes instinctively. I define this as an important aspect of translanguaging competence. All this being said, home is an important place where KE children learn, form and contest their language and identities. As we will see, it is not only children who learn in a translingual environment. Parents also take part in a form of translanguaging to make communication work when each member of the family has different levels of language ability. In this way, the whole family unites in the endeavour to communicate. Thus, translanguaging is an important process that encompasses and unifies the entire family. It is creative, dynamic and unique to each translingual household. For example, in the Kiaer family, Sarah, Jessie and myself interact smoothly, shifting back and forth between Korean and English. We do not do so randomly, however. Instead, we consider the topic, register and with whom we are interacting. When it comes to Korean, contextual information is especially complicated and crucial to process. The Kiaer family children indeed find it hard to make the right choices when it comes to politeness in Korean, as do many heritage children (more discussion of this in Chapters 6 and 7). Yeui (courtesy), is extremely important to Koreans, and the Kiaer family children are aware of this too. As a result, they are highly receptive to the pragmatic and semiotic factors that affect how they speak. The main language that is used when I am with my children is Korean, but when Ian is around, we use English too so that he is not left out. Nonetheless, as we will see later in this book, Ian has learned some basic Korean words through me and our children’s interactions. Hence, language flows not only from parent to child, but flows both ways. When she was

Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family  29

young and Jessie’s English ability was not as developed, Sarah and I mediated whole family conversations to help involve Ian and Jessie in daily discourse. As we will also go on to see, Jessie understood that she needed to try to learn English, and even practised English by herself sometimes. These are all efforts that the Kiaer family had to make to build up their translanguaging competence, and muddle through the ambiguous, unique melange of language that unites the family. The result has been that they have carved out a tailormade method of daily discourse that works exclusively for their family and minimises any misunderstanding. Translanguaging competence is competence that works symbiotically between and beyond languages of a multilingual. It’s not about being fully proficient in multiple languages or achieving total mastery of each and every language, rather it focuses on one’s ability to develop abilities in the different functions served by different languages (Canagarajah, 2011). I often use the analogy of cooking in explaining translanguaging. When making mandu (Korean dumplings), our family uses whatever ingredients that we have left over to fill the dumplings. We also shape them in whatever way we want, without sticking to the traditional Korean, Japanese or Chinese method of making dumplings. What matters is not making perfect Korean, Japanese or Chinese dumplings. What matters is to use all available ingredients and make the dumplings that we all like to eat. Translanguaging is hence a creative improvisation according to the needs of the context and local situation. It is an interactive achievement that depends on aligning one’s language resources to the features of the ecology to construct meaning (Canagarajah, 2011: 4–5). 2.4 Making Meanings: Translingual Collaboration between Father and Daughter

This section discusses how the Kiaer family interact; both as a whole at the breakfast table, and in one-on-one situations. It discusses their use of fillers, interjections, prosody and gestures at different stages of their multilingual linguistic development. It also shows how the parents attempt to make interactive meanings with them through their translanguaging communication. This chapter shows how communal languages, each comprising a set of lexical items and non-verbal expressions, are established in each family. I will also examine the children’s use of interjections and interactional words as well as the communicative functions they serve – both quantitatively and qualitatively. Some of the earliest and most frequently occurring English expressions that children acquire are interjections or interactional words, such as Oh-oh, yeah, yah (with the rising intonation), yuck, oh, and ouch. In the interaction shown in the transcription below, Ian is reading a book with his daughter Jessie, when Jessie was 32 months old.

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Extract 2b: Who is it, and what are they doing? 6

[00:00-00:54] Ian: Ok, what’s happening here? Jessie: Uisa seonsaengnim. Ian: Who’s he? Jessie: Um… Ian: Is he the doctor? Jessie: Yeah. Ian: He’s the doctor, and who’s that? Jessie: Uh… puts finger to mouth. Chingu. Ian: Jessie’s chingu? Jessie: Nods. Ian: Nugu Jessie’s chingu? Who’s Jessie’s friend? Jessie: Uhh… Puts finger to mouth. Points. Ian: The doctor? Is that like Daniel? Jessie: No. Ian: Who is it? Juhn-i? Augustine? Aeba? Who is it, nugu? Jessie: Uh… Daniel. Ian: It’s Daniel. Jessie: Daniel got an ow. Ian: What’s he doing here? Jessie: Puts finger to mouth Uhh... Touches throat. Ian: Checking the throat. Jessie: Yeah. Ian: Touches throat too. Apa… apa, ow, apayo. Sore throat? Mmm? Jessie: Nods. Ian: Ok. Vocabulary accommodation

Ian combines English and Korean forms of communication in a multitude of ways to gain Jessie’s understanding throughout the conversation. The first is by using the Korean words that Jessie uses. For example, in response to Jessie saying ‘chingu’, which is roughly the equivalent of the English word ‘friend’, Ian says ‘Jessie’s chingu?’ This accommodation of Korean serves to ensure understanding. This is particularly evident since the Korean words that he uses are used after Jessie says them. This demonstrates his goal, which is to ensure that she understands what he is asking her and that he understands what she is telling him. Structural accommodation

When Ian does speak Korean, he accommodates the structure of English into the Korean he says. Hence, he follows the subject-verb-object (SVO) word order found in English when using Korean. For example,

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‘Nugu Jessie’s chingu?’ follows the same order as the English sentence ‘who (nugu) (is) Jessie’s friend (chingu)’, although the verb is missing. In Korean, this sentence would be structured with the possessive particle after ‘Jessie’ and the verb at the end of the sentence, as In, ‘Jessie-ui chinguneun nuguya?’ (‘Jessie의 친구는 누구야?), which in English would be ‘Jessie’s friend who is?’ As such, Ian misses out Korean verb finality to accommodate English into the interaction. The other way that Ian accommodates English is by excluding key particles of Korean grammar and the structures that express the relation between speaker and hearer. If we use the sentence above as an example, the topic marker 는neun and particle 의 ui, which indicates possession, are important in forming the structure of the Korean sentence. However, Ian uses neither of these in his sentence. He is also senior to Jessie as her father, which in Korean would warrant the use of the banmal (casual speech) speech style by adding ‘ya’ to the end of ‘nugu’ – i.e. ‘nuguya’. Furthermore, when adults speak to children, they often attach the suffixes -ya or -a to their names, however, Ian does not do that either. Instead of using Korean grammar, he picks key vocabulary from Korean in an attempt to gain understanding from Jessie, while continuing to accommodate English in his sentence structure and cultural expressions (e.g. exclusion of speech styles and address terms). This is a common method of translanguaging. This is not absolute, however. On one occasion, for instance, Ian chose to use both polite and informal speech styles when saying two versions of the same Korean word. He firstly says ‘apa’ to describe the ‘hurt’ throat of the character in the book, and then says apa for a second time adding the polite form -yo ending (apayo). This divergence from Ian’s previous omittance of politeness levels and relationship indicators embodies the very essence of translanguaging, that translanguaging is a communicative practice that is not bound by fixed rules but is instead utilised as a means of bridging gaps in communication as and when they are identified. In this case, the use of multiple speech styles again appears as a means of clarification. It could also be seen as educational; for although young children are allowed to speak informally to their parents, as they grow up, they switch to the polite form. Introducing the polite -yo can be seen as educational for Jessie. Although Ian’s Korean ability is limited, he is aware of certain politeness conventions in Korean, and is thus able to give Jessie cues that will help her learn these conventions too. Prosodic accommodation: Anglicisation and Koreanisation

Anglicisation is used by both Ian and Jessie in their pronunciation of some words, despite saying other words in Korean. Ian pronounces Jessie (제시) in its Koreanised form, following it with chingu, the Korean word for ‘friend’. Jessie has shown knowledge of the word chingu rather than ‘friend’ and is familiar with her name in English.

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Therefore, Ian’s choice to Koreanise Jessie’s name while using the Korean word for friend demonstrates that, from the earliest point in the conversation, his use of Korean serves the purpose of assisting Jessie’s understanding. At one point, when asking who the character in the book is, Ian refers to Johnny as Juhn-i, Augustin as Augustine, and Eva as Aeba, which is the Korean pronunciation of each name. He uses Korean words and Korean pronunciations in order to aid her understanding of what he is saying. This success of Ian’s approach is confirmed when Jessie nods in agreement to Ian’s request for clarification. Similarly, Jessie also tries to engage her father through her own Anglicisation. When Jessie says ‘uisa seonsaengnim’, which means ‘doctor’, she Anglicises her pronunciation. English interjections

Jessie repeatedly uses the English interjections ‘uh’ and ‘um’ while deciding upon her answer. She does not use these when she speaks Korean. Koreans use 음 eum, which is similar to ‘um’ but not exactly the same pronunciation (an ‘oom’ sound rather than ‘uhm’). They also use 그 geu, which literally means ‘that’ and allows for a pause in a conversation, giving the speaker more time to think. Similarly, 어 eo is also used to indicate thinking and is frequently found in Jessie’s Korean conversations with her mother, yet she uses English interjections with her father, Ian. Jessie also attempts to bridge the language gap by using nonverbal expressions, including gestures and sound words. When describing what is happening in one picture, for instance, Jessie says, ‘Daniel got an ow’. ‘Ow’ is a sound made when something hurts. However, ‘ow’ does not replace ‘hurt’, which, rather than describing the sound, describes the state of being hurt. Jessie’s use of ‘ow’ to represent ‘hurt’ therefore gives new meaning to ‘ow’ as its association allows her to bridge communication with her father and convey her intended meaning across to him. Such interjections often serve as a means of clarifying verbal statements and vice versa. Translation as translanguaging

Ian also often uses translation when he is speaking to Jessie, by using words or short phrases in Korean or English followed by their counterparts in the other. For example, on the first occasion he says ‘Nugu Jessie’s chingu? Who’s Jessie’s friend?’ Another time, he asks, ‘Who is it, nugu?’ Yet another time, he asks ‘apa… apa, ow, apayo. Sore throat?’ Sometimes Ian provides the Korean first followed by the English translation, and other times in reverse. These acts of translating appear to be for efficiency – bridging the gap in that it ensures a quick response.

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Non-verbal expressions

Jessie uses non-verbal expressions frequently and purposefully to express desired meanings to her father. Jessie uses gestures, such as pointing to clarify what she is saying and nodding to express her agreement. When discussing a character in the book who has a sore throat, Jessie touches her throat to convey the meaning of hurt to her father. Jessie also repeatedly puts her finger to her mouth when thinking of an answer (Figure 2.3). The latter may not be purposely used to gain understanding, however, similar to her use of English interjections, it still functions as an indicator to her father that she is thinking about his question before answering. Clarification

Clarification is important between the speaker and hearer since they both reassure each other of what they mean and what they understand when their shared linguistic repertoire is limited. For example, Jessie says ‘Daniel got an ow’, which is followed by Ian asking for clarification when he says, ‘What’s he doing here?’ Jessie then responds by touching her throat (Figure 2.4). Ian clarifies Jessie’s non-verbal expression with its verbal translation when he says, ‘Checking the throat’. Jessie then confirms Ian’s statement when she says, ‘yeah’. After this, Ian asks for clarification once again. This time he does so in Korean when he says ‘Apa… apa (hurt, hurt), ow, apayo (hurt) […]’, which is also accompanied by the non-verbal

Figure 2.3  Jessie puts her finger to her mouth while thinking of an answer

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Figure 2.4  Jessie touches her throat to explain to Ian that Daniel has a sore throat

Figure 2.5  Ian clarifies that he understands Daniel has a sore throat by touching his throat

clarification of him touching his throat (Figure 2.5). This is immediately followed by a request for clarification in English within the same sentence when Ian says ‘[…] Sore throat? Mmm?’. This demonstrates considerable clarification being asked for and given, verbally, nonverbally and in both English and Korean.

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Acting out meanings

One final method of meaning making that should be mentioned here is acting out an action. When Jessie can’t explain something, she often acts it out. We saw hints of this in the figures above, but for the purpose of understanding its significance, let us look at a new video. In this video, Jessie tells Ian that she fell over.7 When Ian asks how she fell over, Jessie acts it out rather than explaining it to him. Jessie was 3 years old at the time, and her English was only just developing. During this period, acting out situations was a key method that Jessie and her father would use to communicate. Notably, it is a fun way of interacting that avoids any linguistic struggle on Jessie’s part, and naturally appeals to a child’s penchant for play. All these methods of adapting, accommodating and translanguaging have thus been selected by the speakers to assist the hearer’s understanding, and to do so in a way that the speaker believes to be the most efficient given the linguistic inventory available to them and the potential linguistic gaps that they may be encountering. 2.5 A Typical Breakfast Talk

The Kiaer family constantly makes effort to make communication work. As the last to learn English, Jessie was always trying to use English and communicate with her father when she was younger. She spent a lot of time copying Sarah and following what she was saying (Figure 2.6). She always tried to speak with Ian, even if it did not always work. Sarah plays her part by helping to mediate, although she sometimes ends up answering for Jessie. I acted as the translator, always smoothing things out. I would often say things twice, once in

Figure 2.6  Jessie watching her older sister at the breakfast table

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Korean and once in English, just to make sure that everyone understood. As Ian does not speak much Korean, he is always making an effort to understand what is happening, watching for non-verbal clues and picking out fragments of what we are saying. Thus, communication in the Kiaer household is a very effortful practice, but it is something in which we all engage with energy and determination. Now that Jessie and Sarah are older, things are easier, but it has taken time for us to work out the best ways to communicate with each other. The videos and transcript below are from a family breakfast talk that took place when Jessie was 3 years old. Her English was in its very early stages, and so Sarah and I tried to help Jessie understand the flow of the conversation, which is mostly in English. Extract 2c: The Kiaer Family Eat Breakfast 8

[00:04] Sarah: Can I have five soldiers? Jessie: I want five soldiers! Sarah: 1, 2, 3, 4, oh it’s only four [01:21] Jieun: What did you do yesterday, Sarah? Sarah: I made a mask… of a nice pretty kitten Jieun: When? Sarah: Yesterday Jieun: Where? Sarah: Um, in play group Jieun: What about Jessie, what did you do? Ian: She made a mask too Jessie: We made a mask Jieun: Mask of what? 어떤 마스크? [Trans: What kind of mask?] Jessie: … Ian: Face mask? Jessie: Yes Ian: Did you decorate it? Jessie: Yes Ian: What with? Jessie: Uhh, the paint Jieun: Jessie, yesterday, what did you do? Jessie: mimes painting [03:50] Jessie: 엄마, 그거 Jessie 숟가락이예요. [Trans: Mum, this is my small spoon] Jessie: 근데, 이건 누구 거예요? [Trans: So, whose is this one?]

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Jieun: 아빠 [Trans: Dad’s] Jessie: 아빠 있는데 [Trans: Dad has one though] Jieun: 아빠한테 물어봐 [Jieun: Ask dad] Jessie: Daddy, it’s yours? Daddy, it’s yours? Daddy, it’s yours? Ian: No, that’s yours Jessie: No, my one is this. Daddy, my one is this. Drops spoon, groans. My spoon, Daddy, my spoon! [07:30] Jieun: 맛있어? [Trans: Is it tasty?] Jessie: 맛있어 [Trans: It’s tasty] Jieun: 아빠한테 말해줘야지 [Trans: You should tell dad that] Jessie: Daddy? Ian: Yes Jessie: Delicious [08:04] Jieun: 오늘 뮤지엄에서 장난칠 사람? [Trans: Who’s going to mess around at the museum today?] Sarah: Not me Jessie: Not me [11:23] Jieun: *to Jessie* 아빠한테 바나나 하나만 주세요 큰 소리로 말해봐 [Trans: Ask Dad to give you a banana and say it loudly] Sarah: ‘Jessie say, ‘Daddy, can you give me a banana?’ ‘Daddy, can I get a banana’’ Jessie: *to Mum* Duyu please? Jieun: Duyu? What’s duyu? Jessie: Duyu points Sarah: Soya milk Jessie: 아니, 아니, 우유 [Trans: No, no, milk] Jieun: 아빠한테 말해 [Trans: Tell dad] Jessie: Can I have the milk? Ian: Soya milk or normal milk? Jessie: Normal milk

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[14:54] Sarah: Can I have a bit of honey inside, like you? No, no! Actually, no, because I don’t want it Ian: Yep Jessie: *sings* I am a gummy bear, xxx gummy bear, I am a tiny, tiny little gummy bear, I am a gummy bear, xxx gummy bear, I am a tiny tiny little gummy bear. Ian: *to mum* Are you done? Jieun: Yes. Jessie: *still singing* I am a gummy bear, I am a gummy bear Sarah: *joins in* I am a funny funny lucky gummy bear Jessie: *sings same tune with random syllable sounds* I am a funny funny funny bear, dee dee dee dee, I am a gummy bear I am a gummy bear, I am a tiny, tiny bunny rabbit. Oh, doo doo doo doo.

At the table, everyone has their role. In the Kiaer family, for example, Jieun acts as a mediator, constantly translating for Jessie and Ian, although this has changed since Jessie’s English language competency has increased. Jieun helps to incorporate Jessie into the conversation, speaking to her in Korean so that she can understand easily, and then prompting her to speak in English. Notably, by telling Jessie to say things to Ian in Korean, Jieun avoids telling Jessie what to say in English and pushes Jessie to use her own words to make her meaning clear. In tandem with Jieun, Ian helps Jessie to understand what is being said to her by simplifying questions and providing answers for her to agree or disagree with when she is stuck on what to say. Sarah has many different roles: mediator, teacher, model and competitor. Sometimes, Sarah helps the conversation along, translating what Jessie has said for Ian, or clarifying what Jessie has said when she speaks in muddled English. In this way, Sarah acts as a mediator. There are also instances in which Sarah directly translates Korean and tells Jessie how to say things in English. Hence, she is also a teacher. Often, Jessie directly copies what Sarah has said, and as such, Sarah acts as a model for Jessie to emulate. There are, however, times when Jessie is unwilling to receive Sarah’s help, likely because she wants to speak by herself as much as possible. As such, Sarah is also Jessie’s competitor. Jessie is helped by Sarah and Jieun at the breakfast table. They translate English for her and provide English for her to copy. Sometimes, Sarah dominates the conversation with her confident English, and thus Jessie must try her best to find a turn to talk at the table. As seen in the figure above, Jessie closely observes her sister at the dinner table and tries to emulate her and sometimes compete with her. To gain her turn to speak, Jessie employs language mixing: when she can’t quite remember the word ‘soya milk’, she uses an Anglicised version of the Korean

Linguistic Tapestry of a Multilingual Family  39

word ‘duyu’. At first even Jieun wasn’t sure what she meant by ‘duyu’, but once she had worked it out, it was humorous and endearing. This highlights a key part of translanguaging: it is not just pragmatic, but playful, nuanced and unifies the whole family. Another technique that Jessie used was song. Jessie broke out into song, singing ‘I am a gummy bear’, and then playfully changed it to ‘I am a bunny rabbit’, playing around with the words to a familiar tune. She also used interjections like ‘yah’ (meaning ‘yes’) when the conversation was in English to feel as though she was participating. She notably does not use these kinds of interjections when speaking Korean. Hence, even if Jessie can’t participate in the English conversation happening around her, she can use her own resources, such as English songs, to seek attention and feel as though she is participating. Overall, there was a constant conscious effort made by all family members at the table to make the conversation work. Jieun helped to translate speech into Korean for Jessie and pushed Jessie to try to say things in English, Ian provided English answers to questions that Jessie was unable to answer, Sarah translated Korean into English for Jessie and provided answers to questions for Jessie to copy. Finally, Jessie tried her best to use her English to speak to her dad and used Korean to find out or say what she could not in English. Perfecting each other’s language

We have seen so far how the multilingual family functions organically, as their linguistic abilities develop fluidly and dynamically as a unit. This does not mean, however, that the multiple languages that each member of the family speaks is at a native level. Each member of the family has different linguistic strengths and weaknesses, and so has to manage meaning creation with their given resources. This changes fluidly as each member’s resources develop over time. Translanguaging is not about perfecting everyone’s language use and achieving native status, but instead is about tailoring language use in such a way that suits the specific needs of the family and filling gaps in each other’s linguistic proficiency. Through this imperfect language use, families indeed create languages that are perfect for them. This shows the caring, empathetic aspect of translanguaging that serves to promote the multilingual family’s sense of solidarity. This is a two-way street, where children assist parents in communication as much as parents assist children. The dominant language of the family is also subject to change. For example, in the Kiaer family, when the children began attending school, the language spoken at home shifted more towards English. As we will see in this book, non-verbal interaction may appear to be conducted at a very rudimentary level, however, it is an extremely productive method of translanguaging.

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2.6 Summary

This chapter has introduced the concept of translanguaging competence, and some of the translanguaging strategies undertaken in the Kiaer family. Translanguaging competence has translanguaging instinct as its base but is what people in multilingual families develop throughout their lives together. In the case of the Kiaer family, this means a natural combination of Korean and English. The Kiaer family children seamlessly travel around their languages as if they are borderless. They instinctively consider who they are talking to in terms of age, nationality, appearance, intimacy and so on, thereupon instantaneously deciding how to manipulate their linguistic resources to make each interaction work. As time passes, this translanguaging competency develops, and the children (as well as parents) compute how best to use their linguistic resources as a means to several ends: efficiency, humour, politeness and so on. The process is also innovative. There are no rules, and yet somehow, families find clarity in the ambiguity that they must navigate. As such, each family tailor makes its language practice, in such a way that uniquely works for them. In this way, translanguaging competency is not just about pragmatics and efficiency, but also family unity, and building solidarity and cohesion amongst all members. Notes (1) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual3. (2) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual4. (3) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual5 [12:15]. (4) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual6 [00:23]. (5) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual7. (6) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual8. (7) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual9. (8) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual10.

3 Learning Together: A Case Study1

3.1 Learning and Making Languages Together Translation as co-learning (or together learning) experience

Translation is a daily translanguaging activity that multilingual families experience. Through translation, all members of the family learn together. This means not only children, but adults too. The Book of Rites, a Confucian text, states, ‘students and teachers learn from each other’. In the translingual family, there is no one teacher figure. Whenever we did translation activities, I felt like I was learning from my children as much as they were learning from me. I also realised that learning a language is a process that never ends. Just because I am an adult does not mean that I have finished learning and building my languages; rather, my children and I are all on a continuous journey of learning languages together. The nature of translation goes beyond the verbal dimension and is multi-modal in nature. For instance, my children made use of everything at their disposal, from technology such as smartphones, to physical objects, to make meaningful translation. Over the years, my children and I have worked on translating several Korean Children’s books into English. One of them was Moon Pops by Baek Heena, winner of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2020. The translation also received the 2022 Boston Globe Horn Book Award. When we were translating this book, I got help from my children when translating onomatopoeia in particular. They suggested words like ‘whir-whir’, ‘rattle-rattle’ and ‘hum-hum’. Over the years, I have also given several song translation workshops at primary and secondary schools in Oxford. Even when the students didn’t speak Korean, I explained the meanings of Korean words to them, and they suggested suitable English words. In this way, both parties were able to learn and make meanings together. I believe that translation practice can be one of the best ways of promoting co-learning in which the teacher–student boundary becomes blurred. Taking time to practise translation with multilingual children can be very useful in making heritage language learning fun and worthwhile, both for parents and children. 41

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Children as mediators

In intercultural or immigrant families, children may also make contributions in the linguistic or cultural realms, because children often attain linguistic and cultural competency more quickly than their parents when the family moves to a new country. As children are fast learners, it is not uncommon for them to help their parents. Children can rapidly pick up languages and are exposed to a large volume of linguistic interactions at school. In such cases, children may have to play the role of language broker or cultural mediator for their parents. This can involve tasks such as translating official documents or interpreting for their parents (Guo, 2014: 30). Crafter (2018) discusses how children can play the role of language broker, which he defines as someone who translates or interprets language for one’s family or peers (Crafter & Iqbal, 2020). Child cultural mediation, on the other hand, is defined by Guo as when children ‘exercise their social agency and produce social and emotional values for their parents living in a new land’ (2014: 31). As for concrete examples, a study by Guo (2014) found that in immigrant Chinese families in the UK, the families’ young children served as cultural mediators, helping their parents better understand British culture. The child’s mediating role may differ between immigrant families and intercultural families. For instance, for children in multilingual families where one parent is in a familiar culture and the other is in an unfamiliar culture, children may only mediate for one parent. For some immigrant families, however, children may have to mediate for both parents. For people in intercultural relationships living in an unfamiliar country and culture, it can be an isolating experience, as one may feel nervous about making social faux pas or find it difficult to forge connections with peers. In these situations, children may also provide important social and emotional support for their parents, easing their sense of isolation. Children in families who have moved from a different Western European country to the UK may not need to help their parents at all as these parents may be already able to speak English well and cultural differences are not as pronounced. Yet, more burden will be put on the shoulders of young children whose parents have come from non-Western European countries, such as countries in Asia, as their English ability is often very limited and cultural differences are large. This gives us all the more reason to diversify studies on multilingualism. Translanguaging as a tool for studying mathematics

Often, we place a great emphasis on how we as adults teach our children. We often take a very rigid view in our approach to language acquisition. However, what I have learned from my own experience, particularly through my household communication, is that we learn together. It is a journey that we embark on together every single day. This

Learning Together: A Case Study  43

is particularly true of intercultural families like mine. For instance, I can teach my 9-year-old daughter Jessie basic maths skills, but she and my older daughter Sarah need to help me to understand basic mathematical terms. Thus, when we do maths together, the three of us also partake in translanguaging practice. In fact, Sarah, who studied Greek in Years 8 and 9, has also helped me and Jessie to understand the origin of various mathematical words. We also ask Siri (Apple’s virtual assistant) to find basic information while reading or solving problems. The extract below is from a recording of me helping my daughter Jessie to complete her maths homework when she was 9 years old. The way that me and my daughter translanguage tells us a lot about the benefits of translanguaging practices. The problem is presented below: Question:

My shape has three sides and none of the angels are equal; What is she describing? Circle the answer. (a) Equilateral triangle. (b) Quadrilateral. (c) Scalene triangle. (d) Pentagon. (e) Isosceles triangle. Extract 3a

Jieun: Okay 5번. 아까 했던 거, equilateral triangle이 뭐였지? [Trans: Okay, number 5. We did this earlier, what is an equilateral triangle?] Jessie: It’s like one, two, three are all equal. Jieun: 다 똑 같은 거? 응. Equa가 뭐라고? Equa가 무슨 뜻이라고? 똑같은 거. [Trans: They’re all the same? Yes. What does equa mean? They’re all the same? Yes.] Jessie: Equal. Jieun: Lateral은 뭐라고? Side. [Trans: And what does lateral mean? Side] Jessie: Yeah. [...] Jieun: 그러면 얘네는 아니니까 얘네 둘 아니고. Scalene triangle? [Trans: Okay, so it’s not this one or that one. What about a scalene triangle?] Jessie: Scalene triangle? Is it this? Jieun: 몰라 엄마도. 이거는 question mark. Scalene이 뭔지 엄마도 몰라. [Trans: I don’t know. Let’s put a question mark. I’m also not sure what a scalene triangle is]

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Jessie: Isosceles triangle. Jieun: Triangle이 뭐야? [Trans: What is a triangle?] Jessie: That’s like three thingy. Jieun: 응 three thingy는 삼각형. 세개. Okay? Isosceles 이건 무슨 뜻일까? [Trans: Yes, a three thingy is a triangle. Three. Okay? What does isosceles mean?] Jessie: 몰라. Google it! [Trans: I don’t know. Google it!] Jessie: Siri한테 물어볼래. Siri, what’s Isosceles? [Trans: I will ask Siri. Siri, what’s Isosceles?] Sarah: It’s not EEsosceles - it is AIsosceles! Jieun: Is that 그렇게 발음하는 거야? [Trans: Is that the way to pronounce?] Sarah: Ya. Jessie: Siri, What’s Isosceles? (with the right pronunciation) Siri: Here is what I have found….

The extract above demonstrates why translanguaging is a great tool for learning together. Jieun speaks mainly in Korean, leaving only the mathematical terms in their English forms. This allows Jieun to speak quickly and express herself easily. Even though Jieun needs to ensure that Jessie knows how to say mathematical phrases like numbers with decimal figures and fractions, the most efficient way to teach her is by speaking mainly in Korean and inserting English phrases when necessary. In comparison, Jessie mostly answers back in English. Jessie’s responses are mainly about numbers and definitions of mathematical terms. As she takes maths class in English, and so her homework and maths tests are in English, it is most natural for her to talk about this topic in English. Both mother and daughter have Korean and English in their repertoires, and they choose the languages in which they are most competent in this context. In this way, they can communicate faster and more efficiently. When neither Jieun nor Jessie know the meaning of a mathematical term, Jessie suggests Googling and also asking Siri. Involving AI helpers like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa in human communication, particularly when talking with young children, is quickly growing. In this way, the internet helps us to fill any gaps in our understanding. Sarah, who is learning Greek, also came along and helped by telling us how to pronounce Isosceles. Overall, translanguaging helps Jieun to teach Jessie more effectively. Rather than being a temporary part of communication when Jessie was young, translanguaging has been a great tool for communication that we have used throughout our translingual life.

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3.2 Translanguaging in Mother–Daughter Reading Practice

In the previous chapter, we observed reading practice sessions between Jessie and her father when she was 40 months old. This was a time in which she spoke Korean fluently and little English. The extracts we will look at in this chapter are examples of conversations we had during our lockdown reading practices. Now, Jessie speaks both Korean and English fluently, though proportionally she speaks more English. The books read in these sessions were Yeoni’s Day Out in Seoul by Seung Hyun Ko (2014) and Bee-bim bop by Linda Sue Park (2020). Yeoni’s Day Out in Seoul is mainly written in Korean, while Bee-bim bop is written entirely in English. When we read together, I used English and Korean when necessary to explain the meaning in the books to my daughter, Jessie to accommodate her learning process. We naturally translanguage together, to make communication work for everyone. The first of the two books, Yeoni’s Day Out in Seoul, is a picture book depicting Seoul 100 years ago through the eyes of children living in Changshin-dong, a relatively poor neighbourhood in Seoul (Figure 3.1). The book not only offers the chance to experience a day

Figure 3.1  A page from Yeoni’s Day Out in Seoul

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in historical Seoul but also offers a sneak peek into traditional life in Korea. Although the book is mainly written in Korean, the book itself incorporates translanguaging; the main characters of the book are two Korean siblings and a Western girl, and as each character can only communicate in their own languages, their conversations make use of translanguaging. The second book, Bee-bim bop, is written in English and is about a hungry child helping her mother make bibimbap, a traditional Korean dish. The book illustrates the steps and process of making bibimbap in detail so that even readers who are not familiar with Korean culture can easily understand what the dish is and how it is made. In these reading sessions, mother and daughter read the books together while discussing the pictures and words they encounter. As the following dialogues show, their discussions often made use of translanguaging to arrive at satisfying conclusions. At one point, Jieun and Jessie encounter the Korean word pareutpareut while reading Yeoni’s Day Out. Pareutpareut is a colour term, yet because Korean has a more diverse range of onomatopoeia and colour terms than English, as there is no direct equivalent of the word in English, it is unclear whether the colour that the word refers to is better described by the English green or blue. The word’s literal meaning implies that it refers to something close to blue, yet it is also used to describe green things such as fresh vegetation. Despite the lack of a straightforward translation for this word, however, the mother and daughter worked together by reading and talking to each other in both languages using translanguaging, eventually agreeing that the colour must be closest to turquoise: Extract 3b: ‘Do you know what pareutpareut means?’2

[00:55] Jieun: 파릇파릇이 뭔줄 알아? [Trans: Do you know what pareutpareut means?] Jessie: No. shakes head Jieun: 음 – 파릇이 뭐야? [Trans: Um… what is pareut?] 파란색이 뭐야? 영어로? [Trans: What’s blue in English?] Jessie: Blue? Jieun: 응 파릇파릇한건 Green도 돼. [Trans: Yes, pareutpareut can also refer to something green.] Jessie: Turquoise? Brings a turquoise-coloured pencil crayon 이 색깔? [Trans: Turquoise? This colour?] Jieun: 응 그런거도 돼. You know when new branch comes down – that’s the colour. 그럼 파릇파릇 영어로 뭐라해야되지?

Learning Together: A Case Study  47

[Trans: Yeah, something like that. You know when new branch comes down – that’s the colour. So, what would you say pareutpareut is in English?] Jessie: Mm turquoise?

In the above extract, Jieun does not simply provide Jessie with an English translation and move on, rather, she invites her daughter to engage with her in a collaborative discussion, so that they can arrive at a satisfactory English word together. Research suggests that caregivers often play a crucial role in building a child’s literacy skills (Burchinal et al., 2000). As the more competent speakers, caregivers are able to ‘scaffold’ the child’s learning. Scaffolding occurs when an experienced speaker helps the learner to acquire knowledge independently by providing support tailored to the learner’s level. Even when a young child knows exactly what they intend to verbalise, adults often intervene to provide the necessary linguistic support. However, as can be seen in the excerpts in this section, Jieun and Jessie engage in a discourse where both work together to establish the meaning of the texts. As the mother herself does not know the English translation of pareutpareut, she begins the conversation by asking, ‘Do you know what pareutpareut means?’ in Korean. When Jessie responds that she does not know, Jieun tries to explain the meaning of the word by posing another question: ‘What’s blue in English? By asking what ‘blue’ is in English, Jieun creates an opportunity to activate Jessie’s knowledge of an unfamiliar Korean word in English. The mother then explains that the term pareutpareut also refers to the colour green. The term green is said in English to help the daughter infer the meaning of the target term in a more familiar language. After Jieun gives two consecutive hints, ‘blue’ and ‘green’, Jessie offers turquoise as a potential translation for the word pareutpareut, bringing a turquoise-coloured colouring pencil as a visual reference. Jessie continues trying to refine the translation of pareutpareut through active discussion with her mother. In this case, an exact translation of the word is far from a simple process, however, and a series of questions and answers are exchanged in order to find the exact description of the target word. Although neither of them knows how to accurately explain or define the concept, they employ a diverse set of resources, including real-word objects (the colouring pencil in Figure 3.2), in order to establish a contextual meaning of the word together. In some situations, the mother and daughter may take turns in taking the leading role in their shared learning. A similar collaborative process is also evident in these situations. In the excerpt below, Jieun is explaining a historic term, binyeo, to Jessie while reading Bee-bim bop.

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Figure 3.2  Jessie bringing a turquoise-coloured pencil crayon

Extract 3c: Grandma’s binyeo hairpin

Jieun: 할머니가 뭐 입고 있어? [Trans: What is the grandma wearing?] Jessie: Grey dress Jieun: 한국 드레스? 한복! 머리는? [Trans: Korean dress? Hanbok! What about her hair?] Jessie: With a chopstick clip Jieun: Chopstick clip아니야 이거 비녀라고 불러 [Trans: No, this is not a chopstick clip. It’s called binyeo] Jessie: What’s 비녀? [Trans: What’s binyeo] Jieun: 비녀 is a kind of a hair pin but it’s made of jade. Really precious. Or it could also be silver. 엄마 이렇게 scrunchie 하잖아 근데 할머니들은 옛날에 머리 이렇게 묶어가지고 이걸로 딱 꽂아. 근데 이거 jade나 실버 되게 precious한거야. [Trans: Binyeo is a kind of hair pin, but it’s made of jade. Really precious. Or it could also be silver. You know how I wear a scrunchie, grandmothers in the olden days used this to tie their hair. It is usually made out of jade or silver and is very precious] Jessie: What’s jade? Jieun: Sarah, do you know jade? Jewellery jade like turquoise colour. Sarah, have you ever seen this? Sarah: Yeah. Isn’t it a hair pin or something? Jieun: 헤어핀인데 한국사람들이 한 거 본적 있어? [Trans: Yeah, it is a hair pin, but have you ever seen Korean people wearing it?]

Learning Together: A Case Study  49

Sarah: Yeah, traditional Korean films, like weddings or something. Jieun: 응 맞아. 고마워. 그래서 엄청 예쁘게해. 엄마 할머니, 엄마의 grandma, she never cut her hair. She always 되게열심히 해서 silver hair pin, 비녀 꽂아. [Trans: Yeah, that’s right. Thank you. So, it’s really pretty. My grandmother, she never cut her hair. She always used to wear a silver hair pin.] Jessie: Wait, so she probably had a really big bun. Jieun: Really nice bun and 슉 (gesture). [Trans: Really nice bun and whoosh (gesturing putting in the hair pin)] Jessie: Does it keep the hair? Or just for decoration? Jieun: No, it keeps the hair in shape. Jessie: And also for decoration? Jieun: Yeah.

Here, the mother, Jieun, once again begins the conversation by checking Jessie’s comprehension of the target word, binyeo. Jessie shows her own understanding by identifying the object as a chopstick clip. The mother refrains from simply giving a direct explanation of the term, instead continuing to engage Jessie in the learning process. When the daughter’s understanding seems insufficient, the mother even asks Sarah to share her own experience of binyeo. Although the conversation is mainly between Jieun and Jessie, contributions from other family members can help to enrich the meaning-making process. Both Jieun and Sarah refer to their own experiences when trying to explain the concept of binyeo, and because their experiences are different, this results in a diverse range of contextual cues, motivating Jessie to fully explore the target word. Translanguaging does not function the same for everyone in every situation. Translanguaging can take on different forms depending on the context, topic and who is in the conversation. Each learner may have different understandings of the words brought up during translanguaging literacy practice depending on their culture, language, history and personal experience. The following excerpt shows how Jessie brought her own meanings and associations with some of the images in the books. Extract 3d: ‘They are rich people’ 3

[03:23] Jieun: 이사람들은 누구야? [Trans: Who are they?] Jessie: 이 사람들 rich people! [Trans: They are rich people!] Jieun: Rich people 왜?

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[Trans: Rich people. Why?] Jessie: You can tell by how she’s wearing her handbag, and the suitcase. Jieun: (pointing at Korean characters) 이사람들은 rich 아니야? 왜? [Trans: (pointing at Korean characters) How about these people? Why do you think they are not rich?] Jessie: You can tell by their clothes. They’re not very rich.

In Extract 3d, Jessie perceives the people in the illustration who are wearing Western-style clothing to be rich based on their attire, while assuming the opposite for the Korean characters wearing Korean traditional clothing. When Jieun asks Jessie who these people are in Korean, Jessie begins to answer the question in Korean, later shifting into English when referring to the characters as ‘rich people’ (Figure 3.3). The shift from Korean to English within one sentence illustrates how translanguaging can help us add nuance to our words and express our identity. Jessie uses English when talking about the concept ‘rich’ due to societal stereotypes that associate the English language and Westernstyle clothing with education and wealth. Jessie further elaborates on her reasoning by saying that the attire of the characters she called ‘rich’ resembles the clothing of rich people in real life. Due to her lack of familiarity with traditional Korean clothing, she applies an inaccurate cultural framework to those characters; they are not poor but wearing traditional Korean clothing. In circumstances like these, an adult can correct cultural mismatches and create a learning opportunity to clarify any misconceptions, helping to familiarise the learner with Korean cultural norms.

Figure 3.3  Jessie pointing at ‘rich people’

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The extract below shows Jessie’s awareness of gender and illustrates that translanguaging goes beyond just linguistic understanding. Extract 3e: ‘Why is it just women who wash clothes?’

Jessie: 엄마, 이 사람들은 빨래하고 있고. 엄마, 근데 they’re all women washing clothes. [Trans: Mom, they are washing clothes. Mom, but they’re all women washing clothes.] Jieun: 그러네. 왜 여자들만 빨래를 하고 있을까? [Trans: Yes. Why is it only women who wash clothes?] Jessie: Maybe the boys were working.

The extract above shows one instance in which the book prompted a discussion on a non-linguistic topic. In addition to using translanguaging when defining economic status, Jessie also addresses gender issues in the extract by shifting her language in the middle of a sentence from Korean to English to point out that the characters washing clothes are ‘all women’ in Figure 3.4. Fluid linguistic spaces such as this foster a safe opportunity for exploring these sorts of issues openly. When Jessie shares her observation, it enriches the learning space and allows her to deepen her understanding beyond just language learning. It is important to make the most of such interactions arising from translanguaging, as learners each bring their own unique, diverse experiences. Reciprocating Jessie’s comment, Jieun poses her own question to engage her daughter further on the topic of gender. The mother ensures that her daughter is comfortable in sharing her opinions freely to elaborate further on her existing knowledge.

Figure 3.4  Korean women washing clothes

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It is important for learners to feel comfortable translanguaging. When parents use code switching or translanguaging themselves, their children feel free to imitate. In this case, Jieun’s own flexible language use creates a judgement-free environment for Jessie to shift flexibly between languages. If the parents disapprove of shifting between languages, translanguaging is less likely to occur, however. The speaker’s perceived language competency and the learning atmosphere have also been found to influence the translanguaging process (Martin-Jones, 2000). Therefore, if translanguaging is thought to be unacceptable by adults or peers, bilinguals may not adopt such practices at all. In this case study, Jessie is aware that it is okay for her to comfortably explore all her language resources to communicate with her mother, and therefore engages in fluid language practice to refine her definitions of the target terms. Co-constructing meanings together: Multimodal support

From a translanguaging perspective, it is vital to coordinate multiple skills and resources to create an embodied dimension of learning (Zhu et al., 2017; Zhu et al., 2020). Indeed, a range of multimodal resources were utilised throughout much of our data. The excerpts below show the use of real-world objects, onomatopoeia, and technology as multimodal resources. As we have seen in Extract 3b, where Jessie brought a turquoisecoloured pencil to define the word pareutpareut, Jessie frequently uses objects as references to refine her understanding and knowledge during parent–child translanguaging literacy practice. This is also seen in Extract 3f below, where Jieun, who is more knowledgeable of Korean history than her daughter, is trying to teach Jessie a new cultural Korean term that she is unfamiliar with, manmulsang. The conversation begins with Jieun posing a question: ‘What do you think manmulsang is?’. The question is framed in English except for the target term, as there is no direct translation in English. Jessie responds in English (‘antique shop’) with an inference that most closely resembles her understanding of the target word. The mother agrees with Jessie’s response, while offering additional information about the word (‘It has everything you can possibly imagine’). Another attempt to supplement understanding through multimodal representation was once again seen in the use of an object as a visual reference during translanguaging. In the middle of the discussion, the daughter brings a lamp that looks like the one seen in the book. By bringing a culturally and contextually relevant object, Jessie takes charge of her own learning process. This sense of independence is satisfying, providing motivation to learn more. As she connects her personal experience and cultural knowledge to the task at hand through a multimodal medium, Jessie can interpret the word in a way that is relevant to her own experience. At the same time, Jieun can connect with her daughter’s experiences and interests.

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Extract 3f: ‘What is manmulsang?’

[11:20] Jieun: What do you think 만물상 is? [Trans: What do you think Manmulsang is?] Jessie: An antique shop. Jieun: Antique shop이기도한데, 여기는 없는 게 없어. [Trans: It can be an antique shop and it has everything you can possibly imagine.] Jessie: 여기는 책, 여기는 women’s stuff, music here, lamp (pointing at the picture book). 우리도 램프 있어 (bringing a lamp that looks similar to the one in the book)] [Trans: There are books, women’s stuff, music here, lamp. (pointing at the picture book) We have a lamp here too (bringing a lamp that looks similar to the one in the book)] Jieun: 우리가 있는거랑 똑같네. [Trans: It looks exactly like what we have here.] Jessie: 여기 모자, fan, 안경, globe, net [Trans: Here we have hats, fans, glasses, globes and nets.]

This resembles Kwon’s (2019) findings, which describe the appearance of multimodal devices when parents find it difficult to provide accurate explanations of target words to their bilingual children. In our findings, however, it was the child who took the initiative, using realword objects herself to supplement the meaning-making process instead of relying on the parent for the definition (Figure 3.5). In doing so, Jessie took on the role of language mediator to ensure that the word or concept is accurately translated within the cultural context, rather than passively waiting to receive translated information from the parent. Like the above conversations, Jessie can have a very active role in making meanings during translanguaging literacy practice. The conversation below illustrates Jessie sharing her own knowledge during a discussion on the pronunciation of the word bibimbap. As Jieun poses a series of questions regarding the correct pronunciation of bibimbap,

Figure 3.5  Jessie bringing lamp

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Jessie clarifies the different ways Korean and English people pronounce the word. It is common in translanguaging discussions for both the parent and the child to learn from each other, as they both serve as providers and recipients of information. Regardless of who is the more knowledgeable person in the conversation, translanguaging remains a synergistic process of co-learning. Extract 3g: Pronunciation of bibimbap

Jieun: Bee-bim bop! 비빔봅이야? [Trans: Bee-bim bop! Is it bee bim bop?] Jessie: 아니 비빔밥! [Trans: No, bee bim bap!] Jieun: 왜? 한국사람들이 뭐라고 해? [Trans: Why? How do Koreans pronounce the word?] Jessie: 비빔밥! [Trans: Bee bim bap!] Jieun: 근데 영국사람들이나 미국사람들은? [Trans: What about British or Americans?] Jessie: 비빔봅! [Trans: Bee bim bop!] Jieun: 봅? 그래? [Trans: Bop? Really?]

The below extract is another example of how multimodal resources and technology can be employed to foster greater understanding. While reading the book Bee-bim bop!, the mother and the daughter had a discussion about the word sprouts. At first, Jieun could not understand why sprouts were being used as ingredients in a cooking scene in the book, and she asked Jessie for clarification. When a clear understanding could not be achieved, however, Jieun then asked her English husband, Ian. Both Jessie and Ian thought that sprouts in the book referred to brussels sprouts. Jessie also brought up Google on her mother’s phone to clarify for herself what sprouts referred to. Eventually, mother and daughter realised that the book was referring to mung-bean sprouts. The phone was used once again as a visual aid to assist the understanding of an ambiguous word. Throughout the discussion, the mother and daughter learnt from each other and established definitions for words together, reinforcing the core value of the shared reading. Extract 3h: Sprout Discussion

Jessie: ‘Spinach, sprouts, and carrots – each go in the pan’ Jieun: 너 sprout알아? [Trans: Do you know what sprout is?]

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Jessie: 아니. [Trans: No.] Jieun: Sprout? 콩나물인가? [Trans: Sprout? Are they bean sprouts?] Jessie: No, green sprouts. Jieun: 근데 sprout이 bean sprout이 콩나물 근데 sprouts은 엄마도 뭔지 모르겠어. [Trans: I know that bean sprouts are kongnamool but I don’t know what sprouts are.] Jessie: No, the green sprouts, the Christmas sprouts! Jieun: 그래 그건 brussels sprouts 아니야? 그냥sprout 은? [Trans: Okay, but aren’t they brussels sprouts? What about just sprouts?] Jessie: What’s sprouts? Just sprouts? Ian: It’s the same. Sprouts. Brussels sprouts. Jieun: Brussels sprout을 누가 비빔밥에 넣어. 이상하지 않니? 구글로 찾아볼까? [Jieun: Who puts brussels sprouts in bee bim bap? Isn’t it odd? Should we Google it?] Jessie: (searching on Google) sprouts. Jieun: 다 brussels sprouts? 다 그린이네? 근데 엄마는 비빔밥에 sprout 넣는게 이상한 것 같아. 미국 사람들은 그런가? [Trans: Are they all brussels sprouts? They are all green. But I think it’s weird to put sprouts in bee bim bap. Do Americans put in brussels sprouts?] Jieun: vegetable은 뭐 넣으래? [Trans: So, what kinds of vegetables does it have?] Jessie: It says two carrots, frozen spinach, one pound of mung-bean sprout. Jieun: 아하! 여기 나왔다! 원래는 sprout라고만 했잖아 근데 mungbean sprout는 콩나물 같은 거야. 보여줄게 (searching Google) 봐봐. 콩나물 같지. [Trans: Aha! Look here! It said sprouts in the book, but the recipe shows mung-bean sprouts, which is similar to bean sprouts. Let me show you. Look, it looks like bean sprouts.]

Again, these extracts have no main or default language. The mother and daughter use Korean and English interchangeably, although Jessie tends to speak more in English because she has more lexical resources in English. Furthermore, even though both books were written mainly in one language (one completely in English and one mainly in Korean), they still alternate between languages during their translanguaging discussions, showing that translanguaging still occurs in situations that do not inherently require multiple languages. Oftentimes, the target words remained in their original language during discussions in the other language, without being translated. This language shifting helped

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to foster understanding for both Jieun and Jessie by helping them bridge the linguistic gap between the concept and the form of a word in their less confident language by connecting it to corresponding concepts in their more confident language. Our case study also reveals that translanguaging literacy practice may also become multimodal through the use of sounds, as can be seen in the extract below, which discusses jeoncha (train). Korean is the main language in this exchange, because some of the phrases appearing in the book are historical references that do not readily translate into English. When Jieun asks what jeoncha is, Jessie answers correctly with a Korean synonym (gicha). This shows that Jessie has access to a Korean concept equivalent to jeoncha. In other words, she is able to find a word describing the concept without having to search for the corresponding term in English. An interesting factor to note here is that she adds an onomatopoeia (chika chika) to her answer. Later on, when the mother asks what cheolkuhduck (onomatopoeia of a train moving) means, Jessie again answers with ‘chika chika’. Extract 3i: Train ‘chika chika’4

[04:04] Jieun: 전차, 이건 뭐야? 사람들이 길을 건너가네? [Trans: What is jeoncha? People are crossing the street right?] Jessie: 기차! (makes ‘chika chika’ sound) [Trans: Train! (makes ‘chika chika’ sound)] Jieun: 전차가 다시 움직인다. 철커덕 철커덕. 철커덕이 뭔지 알아? 전차 움직일 때? [Trans: The tram is moving again. Chulkeodeok chulkeodeok. Do you know what chulkeodeok is? When the tram moves?] Jessie: 치카치카 (with wheel gestures) [Trans: Chika chika (with wheel gestures)]

The extracts above exemplify how Jessie makes use of both linguistic and non-linguistic resources to reach the correct interpretation of the word, while sharing her understanding with her mother to crossreference the meaning. Jessie came up with the phrase chika chika but in reality, this is a phrase that she learnt as a baby to use to express brushing her teeth. Chika chika is not normally used to describe the sound of a train, but she used something that she already knew and reapplied this in another situation. Indeed, integrating objects, technology, language and references from personal experience were all prominent tools in the co-learning process. Zhu et al. (2017) compare this kind of translanguaging practice to an orchestra of different instruments working in harmony as players play and respond to each other in a collaborative effort. A range of different systems contribute to the process, and each is as significant as the other. In addition, the

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use of various multimodal resources by a child reflects the full attention they give to the learning process and their ability to work cooperatively with their caregiver(s) to help refine a word’s definition. This dynamic reminds us of Li and Lin’s (2019) description of translanguaging, where they argue that the -ing suffix of ‘translanguaging’ urges participants to focus on the ‘momentariness, instantaneity and the transient nature of human communication’. Hence, the creation of a dynamic learning space through multimodal tools gives rise to an expanded scope of information, while adding an element of fun to help children stay fully motivated and engaged in the learning. Co-constructed meanings

In the reading practices that we have observed above, both mother and daughter partook in multiple meaning-making processes. Knowledge building was a collaborative process between the mother and her daughter throughout, where the mother took a less prominent role than expected. The daughter occasionally took control of the interaction, using her own knowledge and ideas to guide the discussion. Although some steps of the discussion seemed rather odd or irrelevant at times, they demonstrated the spontaneity that an individual can bring to a conversation through their unique cultural and linguistic experiences during translanguaging. Translanguaging literacy was an opportunity for co-learning for both the mother and the daughter. Rather than learning only through the book, the mother and the daughter used the book as a springboard for open, mutually beneficial communication. They worked together to co-construct meanings of various Korean words, learning from one another to improve both their individual understandings and nurture their languages. Table 3.1 illustrates the ways in which they did so. Table 3.1  List of co-constructed meanings Book Title

Term

Mother (Jieun)’s contribution

Daughter (Jessie)’s contribution

Co-constructed meaning

Yeon’s Day Out in Seoul

Pareutpareut

Green, blue, new branch colour

Turquoise (Turquoise- coloured pencil)

Turquoise

Bee Bim Bop!

Binyeo

Hair pin made of jade or silver, Grandma story

Chopstick clip Sarah’s contribution: Traditional Korean wedding

Hair pin

Yeon’s Day Out in Seoul

Manmulsang

Has everything

An antique shop

An antique shop that has everything

Bee Bim Bop!

Sprout

Bean sprout

Green sprouts (Google search)

Mung-bean sprout

Yeon’s Day Out in Seoul

Jeoncha

Chulkeodeok Chulkeodeok

Train Chika Chika

Chika Chika

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3.3 Summary

In this chapter we have seen how a child’s learning is not a one-sided process where an adult simply provides the child with their knowledge; rather, learning can be a two-way process where both the adult and the child may learn from each other at the same time. The extracts we examined have shown how a parent and their child can make full use of their linguistic and cultural repertoires, including multimodal techniques such as technology and visual aids, to collaboratively create meanings together. In immigrant or intercultural families, children may also take the lead in some situations by serving as a cultural mediator or language broker to ensure exchanges go smoothly, while also potentially teaching their parents social norms of their new country. We also saw that translanguaging need not be limited to one caregiver; even a caregiver living in their native country may use translanguaging to co-create meanings with a child. In the pronunciation dialogue, we also saw how the roles we might expect the adult and child to take can sometimes be reversed, with children actively taking the lead to teach their parents. Hopefully, this chapter will encourage readers to rethink how they view children and reconsider what contributions children regularly make to adult society. Notes (1) Parts of this chapter are also presented in Korean as a Heritage Language from Transnational and Translanguaging Perspectives (Cho & Song, 2023). (2) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual12. (3) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual13. (4) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual14.

4 Attitudes and Emotions

Children in multilingual families develop translanguaging competence as they build their complex semiotic repertoires through learning and interaction in different linguistic and social environments both in and out of the home. Linguistic and non-linguistic signs are managed in a systematic yet innovative and creative manner, in order to achieve an efficient yet also emotionally rich mode of communication that is tailored to each situation. Li (2016) proposed that translanguaging instinct is a salient aspect of the everyday lives of multilingual individuals in the 21st century. The multisensory and multimodal process of language learning and language use is at its peak due to developments of technology. Translanguaging not only enables but also enriches communication in multilingual families. In KE families, we will see how translanguaging makes English pragmatically rich. For KE children and their families, translanguaging practice is particularly useful in communicating emotions and feelings. Reactionary words are often used, but KE children tend to simply come up with whatever is most accessible in their lexicon. In my experience, reactionary words are usually Korean. Sarah and Jessie used these types of words in Korean when they were younger, but now they use them more in English. Both Sarah and Jessie, as well as another KE child that I spoke to, Ruby, all feel that they can’t express anger and frustration as well as they would to in Korean. Politeness and attitudinal meanings are much richer in Korean. This explains why my children often add expressions, such as 해요 haeyo (‘do’) or 했어요 haesseoyo (‘did’), to the end of their English sentences. KE children pay close attention to whom they are interacting with, as it is the first step to finding the right address term. Often KE children bring address terms into their language whether they are speaking English or Korean. This is particularly the case when they speak to adults, as they are aware that speaking English cannot convey the proper respect that an elder should be shown, according to Korean culture. This chapter showcases how KE children negotiate the differences between Korean and English through the practice of translanguaging, finding the proper levels of respect and intimacy through choice of languages, pronunciation and address terms. I include some of the interviews from KE children together with extracts.

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We have already seen in previous chapters that KE children do not determine their language use based on their linguistic competence, but instead judge and evaluate each situation carefully before choosing their language styles. The factors that KE children take into consideration are the linguistic competence of their addressee, their relationship to them, the emotional or pragmatic effect they wish to have on the addressee (whether this be assertiveness, solidarity, empathy or sensitivity) and other factors such as age, social hierarchy, gender, nationality and many others. All these factors work together to create the most pragmatically conscious and successful communication in a natural, instinctive way. KE children know that each language conveys different moods and feelings, thus influencing and modulating interpersonal dynamics in distinct ways. It is up to the child to select and produce the language that will most effectively convey their meanings to their conversation partners. The politeness and respect that KE children express is also novel and conforms neither to English conventions nor Korean conventions. Prosody is also modulated by the factors discussed earlier. For instance, children often change the way that they pronounce words to better suit the person to whom they are talking. Children fluidly traverse the languages that they know using all their resources to make meaning. This does not mean however, that they do not know the differences between their languages, or the nuances and cultural customs associated with them. They translanguage creatively, assessing the context so that they speak appropriately. For KE children, this is particularly salient. As seen earlier, Korea is considered a high context culture, and is a society in which social hierarchy matters significantly and is expressed at every linguistic level, unlike in English. By using Korean and English daily, KE children learn the differences, using language in a culturally appropriate manner depending on each situation and the person with whom they interact. This ability to mediate and create comes instinctively yet develops over time. 4.1 Pragmatic Awareness in Young Children

Metalinguistic awareness refers to the ability to understand how language as a system works and to apply features of language logically (Ter Kuile et al., 2011). Metacognitive awareness encompasses the ability to identify phonological and morphological parts of language and skills to use syntactic features and to explain how certain expressions or words can be appropriately used in a speech act. Metacognitive awareness also involves skills to control attention to features of language (Bialystok, 1993). One aspect of metalinguistic awareness is pragmatic awareness, which refers to knowledge about the underlying conventions of language use in a communicative event (Pratt & Nesdale, 1984). In other words, pragmatic awareness involves the understanding of sociocultural contexts

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of a speech act and the relationships among interlocutors, as well as the skills to use appropriate linguistic forms and functions in such contexts (Pratt & Nesdale, 1984). ‘Annyeong’ or ‘Annyeonghaseyo’ (Jessie age 9)

Jieun: Jessie, did you teach anything (Korean) to Alana? Jessie: I taught Alana 안녕, 안녕하세요, 내 이름이 Alana. [Trans: I told Alana hello (informal), hello (formal), my name is Alana] Jieun: Why did you say 안녕 and 안녕하세요? [Trans: Why did you say hello (informal) and hello (formal)] Jessie: Saying 안녕하세요 is respecting and saying 안녕 is to your friends. [Trans: Saying hello (formal) is respecting and saying hello (informal) is to your friends] Jieun: Oh, but Alana wouldn’t understand it because in English they don’t have anything like that. Jessie: Well. Jieun: Would Alana say 안녕하세요 to me? Or 안녕? [Trans: Would Alana say hello (formal) to me? Or hello (informal)] Jessie: 안녕하세요. [Trans: Hello (formal)] Jieun: Why? Jessie: Well, the correct way is saying 안녕하세요 but she might accidentally say 안녕 [Trans: Well, the correct way is saying hello (formal), but she might accidentally say hello (informal)] Jieun: To me? Why? Jessie: Well, normally she’d say 안녕하세요 to people who are older than you but if she hasn’t got that or she forgets then you might just say 안녕. [Trans: Well, normally she’d say hello (formal) to people who are older than you but if she hasn’t got that or she forgets then you might just say hello (informal)] Jieun: Is age the only thing that matters? Jessie: And if, like.. Jieun: I’m really close to Alana, that’s why she may just say 안녕. [Trans: I’m really close to Alana, that’s why she may just say hello (informal)] Jessie: But even though you’re really close, she’s still much younger than you. Jieun: So age is important. Okay. What about to Will? Does Alana have to say 안녕하세요 to Will? Because Will is much older than Alana? [Trans: So age is important. Okay. What about to Will? Does Alana have to say hello (formal) to? Will? Because Will is much older than Alana?] Jessie: Uh, no? Jieun: Then what does she say to him?

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Jessie: 안녕? Because… [Trans: Hello (informal)? Because…] Jieun: But Will is ten years older than Alana. Jessie: Because like, he’s like her brother. Jieun: So if he’s like a brother, you don’t say 안녕하세요? [Trans: So if he’s like a brother, you don’t say hello (formal)?] Jessie: Yeah. She says 오빠! [Trans: Yeah. She says older brother] Jieun: So 오빠, you don’t say 안녕하세요? [Trans: So you don’t say hello (formal) to an older brother?] Jessie: I don’t think so.

In the dialogue above, Jessie demonstrates an understanding of the linguistic influence of honorifics and respect in Korean culture. Jessie has taught Alana two ways of saying ‘Hello’ in Korean – 안녕하세요 annyeonghaseyo (polite/honorific) and 안녕 annyeong (informal). She also notices that Alana may accidentally say annyeong to her mother, even though she is younger. Jessie indicates this because she recognises that this would be incorrect. In this way, Jessie shows a pragmatic awareness of Korean society that requires young people to show respect to older individuals with their language. She also says that, even if someone is close to another person, if they are younger than that addressee, they should still use annyeonghaseyo to show respect. Jessie then notes that Alana does not have to say annyeonghaseyo to Will, who has a relationship to Alana akin to an older brother. Because Jessie thinks Alana should call Will 오빠 oppa (a kinship term for older brother), she does not need to use the formal, respectful annyeonghaseyo. This awareness of sociocultural hierarchies in Korea is one example of the natural linguistic competencies that arises in translingual children: they have a comprehension of the pragmatic necessities of the cultures of both languages that they engage in. Jessie creates and negotiates various notions in Korean to convey the meaning to her Italian–British cousins. This entire process is initiated by Jessie, demonstrating her translanguaging competence. Appearance matters: Speak English-like to English people

Another of our KE target children, Nicholas (28 months), speaks Korean to Asian people, but speaks a style of infantile English to nonEast Asian looking people. Below is an interview conducted with Nicholas’ playgroup teacher. Nicholas always speaks Korean in the presence of our kids and myself. The truth is that he only speaks Korean, and he doesn’t speak a word of English. His parents are Korean too. But there was a time when an

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English person approached Nicholas and us and said something like ‘Hello, Nicholas’. Nicholas used to talk in Korean before, right? But now, all of a sudden, and I don’t know from when exactly, he started to say something like ‘Woooah~!’, making English-like sounds with English intonation when an English person talks to him. Well, I wouldn’t say it was English at all. It was a series of sounds that went like ‘Wouwouooh~!’ He was not joking around but was quite serious. I am not sure, but I think he was around one or two years old. When the English person heard Nicholas, he asked me if he was speaking in Korean. And I said, ‘Not at all! I have no idea what it is’. I guess he thought that he should just make up another new language which was different from Korean. I think that’s what happened. Yes. So, what’s interesting is that he must have thought that he should not use Korean. He chooses language depending on how the person looks. Actually, we have one Chinese friend and when he approached Nicholas, the boy spoke Korean to our Chinese friend.

Nicholas completes a visual scanning, categorising who he is interacting with as either East Asian looking or non-East Asian looking. Accordingly, he chooses the language and communication style that he thinks will have the most success. When he sees someone who looks East Asian, he attempts to communicate in Korean. When he sees someone who does not look East Asian, he attempts to communicate in English, although at the age of 28 months, this only extended as far as English interjections and intonation. This is one way that Nicholas translanguages in the hope of forming an emotional bond with whomever he speaks to. Intention matters: Comforting or asserting

Besides appearance, the child’s intention also matters in their approach to languages. For instance, Jessie has stated that she associates Korean, her mother’s language, with comfort, ease and cosiness, while English is more rigid, forceful and harsh. We shall return to this topic soon. This association is one of the many factors that determine children’s translanguaging behaviours. For example, Jessie may choose to use English in situations where she wants to make assertions, and Korean where she wants to achieve a softer, more empathetic effect. However, even within sentences where Korean words and English words are mixed, many English words are Koreanised and many Korean words are Anglicised to the same effect. This can be seen when Jessie is speaking to her babysitter. As Jessie’s babysitter is not proficient in English, Jessie speaks in Korean and often Koreanises English words to make them more comprehensible. This is an example of a child in a multilingual family making use of innovative translanguaging styles to create an environment that is caring to those with whom they are interacting. Translanguaging, when used in this way, establishes a hybrid linguistic space that is tailormade for the listener, to help them understand exactly

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what is being conveyed in an empathetic and welcoming manner. In this sense, children’s translanguaging competence involves the management of linguistic and non-linguistic resources to produce the best semiotically driven outcome for the listener. It is the ways in which children assemble their semiotic repertoire based on the addressee, and how they automatically and instinctively consider all the factors that are required to produce the best linguistic results. This is also something that is not passed on from parents to children but is acquired naturally by children in translanguaging environments. 4.2 Language Awareness Negotiating address terms

In Korean, address terms are very important, and choosing address terms based on one’s relationship with another person is crucial. Address terms in Korean are based on many factors, including age, nationality, relation to parents and closeness. Below, we will look at selected extracts from an interview that I conducted with two KE children, Nicholas and Alex about how they choose and use address terms. Both of them were 8 years old at the time of the interview. Extract 4a

Nicholas: If she’s like my mum’s close friend or my mum’s relative, I would call them 이모 (aunt) or 삼촌 (uncle). But the problem, like if it’s just a random person, I wouldn’t say yeah… Jieun: Like um how would you say? Nicholas: Like uh not very familiar. Extract 4b

Jieun: Will you call me Jieun or Jieun 이모 (Jieun Aunt) in English? Nicholas: Um, in Korean I’ll call you Jieun 이모 (Jieun Aunt), but English, I’ll call you um, just Jieun because it’s… Jieun: English. Nicholas: *nods* Extract 4c

Alex: Yeah I’d also say Anna even if it was Korean, I’d say Anna 이모 (Aunt).

In Extract 4a, when asked how he would address an older Korean person using English, Nicholas noted that he would only use Korean address terms like 이모 (imo aunt) and 삼촌 (samchon uncle) if the addressee was someone that he was relatively well acquainted with, for example his ‘mum’s close friend’ or ‘relative’, i.e. family members

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or someone familiar with a family member but not in a direct familial relationship with him. He would never do so with ‘a random person’ or someone who is ‘not very familiar’. In two other examples from later extracts, it is observed that there is a certain pattern in how Nicholas and Alex use address terms; they would use both the person’s first name and the address term. While it is common to refer to a person by their first name in English, this is uncommon in Korean, where the addressee would usually be called by their relevant address term. This demonstrates how both Nicholas and Alex are ‘creating’ their own rules of addressing people by leveraging on their competencies in both English and Korean. Extract 4d

Alex: I, if I had to speak to her then I, and she was much older than me, I’d definitely be polite and say 이모 (aunt), Soomi 이모 (aunt). Jieun: Even if you, she’s not really. Alex: Yeah, even if she’s not close, that type of yeah. Jieun: How would you say that, Nicholas? You know. Nicholas: Actually, I kind of decided that for basically, anyone who’s related like related in some way, like my mum’s friend or someone. I call them 이모 (aunt) or like church members, but in English I wouldn’t, it’s just, you can’t call someone auntie something, like in Korean you can call anyone basically 이모 (aunt) that like is your mum’s friend or something, but in English it’s just really weird because in English, it’s like a relative way, but in Korean it couldn’t mean both relative and um like relation of something yeah… Jieun: So it will be quite strange to speak with that person in English and address that person. Extract 4e

Alex: It would be a bit hard to say like an exact translation auntie uncle yeah it’s… Jieun: It’s a bit odd, isn’t it? Like…. Alex: Odd in English. Jieun: Yeah. Alex: In Korean it’s much more normal.

In response to the question in Extract 4a, Alex, with a different view from Nicholas, remarked in Extract 4d that he would also adopt address terms even if the person is ‘not close’ to him, especially if the person was older. Nicholas has decided not to adopt conventions, and rather decided for himself who he would use the address term 이모 (imo aunt) with, specifically his mother’s friends and/or church members. His knowledge of both English and Korean prompts him to assess the translational equivalent of 이모 (imo aunt) in English:

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he noted that there is a difference in conceptualisation between 이모 (imo aunt) and its English translation auntie, where he comments that auntie is a kind of relative and that one ‘can’t call someone auntie something’ to refer to a person of non-familial relation to the speaker. He contrasts this with 이모 (imo aunt), which he says cannot refer to ‘both relative’ and other kinds of relationships, meaning that in his view, 이모 (imo aunt) refers more to those who do not have familial ties with him. On this note, he also comments that using familial address terms in English would be rather strange. Nicholas’ view that there are conceptualisation differences in 이모 (imo aunt) and auntie is also reflected in another extract, Extract 4e, that happens a few minutes later, as Alex notes that auntie and uncle is not an exact translation of 이모 (imo aunt) and 삼촌 (samchon uncle), and it would be odd to use these terms in the same way that they are used in Korean. He also concurs with Nicholas that the use of address terms is much more normal in Korean than in English. Extract 4f

Jieun: So you, do you think you will avoid the situation? Alex: If I had to say it in English, well yeah, I’d avoid it if I had to say like that in English, but in Korean it’s much more normal so it’s not as embarrassing. Jieun: So you, but your friends wouldn’t feel any embarrassed but you because you’re Korean so you may feel embarrassed. Nicholas: I’m I actually call all who like-, people or adults I know 이모 (aunt) or 삼촌 (uncle), everyone, but in English I would never actually do that. Extract 4g

Alex: Uh sometimes I do that with my mum sometimes I call her 엄마 (eomma mum) which is mum but then I speak in English, but I don’t think I’d do that with guests, they might find it a bit weird.

In Extract 4f, when asked if he would avoid addressing people in English, Alex said that he would do so, as he considers it normalised only in Korean, and because of his bilingual upbringing, he would be sensitive to such differences as compared to his friends who would not feel ‘embarrassed’. Nicholas also agrees and says that he would only use Korean address terms with people or adults that he knows but would never address people in English using English address terms. In a later extract, Extract 4g, Alex shares a similar view. He hints that when he speaks in English, he would only use Korean address terms with people he is familiar with, more specifically his mum, but he would not do that around non-acquaintances as he notes that ‘they might find it a bit weird’, insinuating that he has some awareness that terms

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like 이모 (aunt) are not appropriate with people he is not familiar with. He also has awareness that using Korean address terms in an English conversation, or any address terms in English for that matter, with nonfamiliars is somewhat unorthodox. There is No Really Really Polite Culture Extract 4h

Nicholas: It’s fine I mean, I call anyone their name I mean, you don’t need to say like, unless they’re like a teacher or something, I wouldn’t actually address them in a different way. Jieun: Yes, let’s say he’s a teacher. Nicholas: Oh teacher, yeah that’s a different story it means I have to say um yes sir or… Jieun: Okay. Nicholas: Mr something. Extract 4i

Nicholas: Unless you basically specifically say like to the other person, could you call me Mr or Mrs, then I wouldn’t actually do it and I wouldn’t actually mind calling them their normal way because normally because that’s not really any offence in English. Extract 4j

Nicholas: I actually don’t really mind personally, calling even respective, respected people in English just their name because, I actually realised that Korean is actually like formal respected language. Extract 4k

Alex: It, because you realise it’s not much of a problem if you say their name also like it’s quite, with a very polite manner. Jieun: That’s very good. Alex: In England, it’s kind of, there’s no really really polite culture.

In Extract 4h, Nicholas remarks that he would generally address everyone by their name when speaking in English, however, he hints that the choice of address terms, such as Sir or Mr, may be mandated by certain situations such as when addressing a teacher or someone of a different hierarchical status to him. Extract 4i further highlights his awareness that calling people in ‘their normal way’ would not generally lead to any adverse consequences, and he would only use address terms if the addressee specifies the need to do so. This is further emphasised in Extract 4j, whereby he would not mind ‘calling even… respected people in English’ by ‘just their name’. He contrasts this in the next sentence with how formalised Korean is. In Extract 4k, Alex echoes the same view

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as Nicholas, noting that in English, addressing people by their name is not an issue, only as long as it is done in a ‘polite manner’, and he adds that ‘there’s no really really polite culture’ in England where he lives, insinuating that linguistic politeness is not really foregrounded in English. Therefore, politeness is achieved through mannerisms, rather than through language in English. Extract 4l

Alex: When I speak like, um, polite Korean, I usually feel much more polite than I am speaking in English because you can say everything more politely in basically every word you say, because you can end it with 요 (-yo) and all words have basically a different polite way of saying it. In English, you can say, maybe a word at the beginning to make it all polite, but it sounds just much more polite if you say each word so politely because you put some effort into… Jieun: So, if you want to be really polite with someone then you, and she can understand both languages, you choose Korean? Alex: Yeah, to be polite, yeah. Extract 4m

Nicholas: Yeah, I definitely think Korean’s a more formal language so um yeah so even if I, if it’s an old like person who could speak both languages, I’ll speak in Korean to respect them more and also to, um, because they’re older and like, live more like, that’s the Korean way like, I should, they say, Koreans say you should respect all the people more so yeah yes, I speak in Korean and do all those 존댓말 (polite speech) things.

In Extract 4l, Alex remarks that speaking to him in Korean makes him ‘feel much more polite’ than speaking in English because Korean has the linguistic resources to directly mark politeness, as he mentions that politeness is indicated in Korean by ending words with 요 (-yo), and that one can choose the polite forms of words if needed as ‘all words’ in Korean have a ‘different polite way of saying’. As such, he would choose to speak Korean if he wanted to convey politeness. In the final extract, Extract 4m, Nicholas also concurred with Alex that he would ‘speak in Korean to respect’ the addressee more, especially if it is an older Korean person. Despite having access to both Korean and English, he is also somewhat bound by Korean politeness conventions when dealing with people from a more traditional background. He insinuates that the social expectation that Koreans ‘should respect all the people’ is foregrounded in interactions with such people and therefore, he is compelled to ‘speak in Korean’ and use honorifics. They become aware of subtle linguistic differences, e.g. how the same word has different pronunciation forms, which can also be considered a type of translanguaging competence.

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Ruby’s conflict resolution

An interview with Ruby, aged 15, sheds some light on how KE children are aware of the inherent differences between Korean and English and how they negotiate the potential conflicts that could arise: Transcript (Abridged)

Jieun: 한국말이랑 영어랑 비교했을 때 어떤 것 같아? What do you think about it in general? [Trans: What do you think about the Korean language compared to English? What do you think about it in general?] Ruby: 한국말 했을 때는 더 좀 부드럽고 아니, it’s more polite. 내가 슬프고 화가 났을 때 영어 할 때 더 표현할 수 있어요. [Trans: I think Korean sounds more soft or it’s more polite. When I’m sad or mad, I can express that better in English.] […] Jieun: 우리는 지금 한국말로 말하고 있는데 sometimes 그런 게 있어? 영어로 말하면 kind of feels a bit rude? [Trans: We’re speaking in Korean right now; do you think speaking in English kind of feels a bit rude?] Ruby: Uh 솔직히 um 어른들 한테 이렇게 영어가 좀 더 disrespectful 같아요. 그 영어에서는 존댓말 없잖아요 ‘안녕, 안녕하세요’ 이런 거 없잖아요. 누가 ‘hello’ 하면 ‘hey’라고. 그래서 한국 사람이면 한국말 쓰고, 그 한국 사람이 나한테 영어 먼저 써도 난 아직 한국말로 대답해요. [Trans: Uh to be honest, um I think using English to elders is more disrespectful. Honorific system doesn’t exist in English. There is no such thing as ‘annyeong’ or ‘annyeonghaseyo’. If someone says ‘hello’, you say ‘hey’. So, when a Korean person speaks in Korean, I respond in Korean, but I continue to reply in Korean even when that person speaks in English to me first.] Jieun: 아 그래? 영어로 말해도 한국말로 해야 될 것 같은 kind of hidden pressure있어? [Trans: Oh really? Do you have some kind of hidden pressure to speak in Korean, even when the other person is speaking in English?] Ruby: 그런데 그건 나만 같은데. It seems more respectful. [Trans: Yeah, I think that may be just me, but it seems more respectful.] Jieun: 한국에서 한국 사람들이랑 얘기할 때, 존댓말 이런거 힘든 것 있어? [Trans: Do you find anything difficult when speaking to Koreans? Like honorifics?] Ruby: 한국에서 가면 할머니한테 아니면 이모들한테 조금 더 신경쓰죠. 그런데 가끔 이렇게 잘못 말할 수 있으니까 말 그렇게 많이 안해요. 뭐 just the basic. [Trans: Yeah. When I visit Korea, I am more careful around aunties and my grandma. Just in case I say something wrong I don’t speak much. Just the basics.]

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Jieun: It’s not easy. 그렇지? [Trans: It’s not easy right?] Ruby: 네 그리고 한국에서는 내 나이 같은 사람 없어서? 그래서 편하게 말할 사람이 많이 없어요. [Trans: Yeah, and there is no-one around my age. So, there aren’t many people to talk comfortably to.] Jieun: 그럴 수 있겠다. 한국 사람들은 friends 조금 틀리 잖아? [Trans: Right, and the concept of ‘friends’ is a little different in Korea.] Ruby: Over here, we don’t really mind how old you are. 그 Rebecca 처럼 two years older잖아요. 그리고 언니라고 불러야 되는데 그런데 한국은 그거 신경 쓰고, 아니면 그 사람이 기분 나쁠 수 있으니까.. 조금 더 나이 많은 사람들이랑 조금 더 불편하고 사람들이 나보다 어리면 they feel uncomfortable. [Trans: Over here, we don’t really mind how old you are. Rebecca is two years older, so you’re supposed to call her eonni (older sister) and Koreans care a lot about those address terms. You can offend someone if you’re not careful. So, I would feel more uncomfortable with elders and people younger than me could also feel uncomfortable with me.] […] Jieun: Josh한테 오빠라고 안 하지? [Trans: You don’t call Josh oppa (older brother)?] Ruby: 네. 학교에서 half-Korean 사람들 있는데요. 그런데 여기에서도 한국에서는 자연스럽게 오빠 언니라고 부르는데요 여기에서는 그 뭐, 어 뭐죠? You know when you use 오빠 to flirt with older boys. 그래서 older 사람 오빠라고 부르면 flirting 처럼 말하는 것 같아서.. [Trans: Yeah. At school we have half-Koreans and we call them oppa (older brother) or eonni (older sister). But you know you use oppa to flirt with older boys. So when you address older people by oppa, it’s like flirting.] […] Jieun: 만약에 Josh아빠 부를 때 Josh 아빠 아니면 삼촌이라고 해? [Trans: If you were to address Josh’s dad, would you call him Josh appa (dad) or samchon (uncle)?] Ruby: 우리는 그냥 Josh senior라고 불러요. [Trans: We just call him Josh senior.] Jieun: 아! 그러면 Sarah’s dad 이렇게 불러? Ian 이렇게? [Trans: Oh, so you call him Sarah’s dad? Or Ian?] Ruby: We call him Ian. Ruby: 그런데 한국 사람 아니니까 삼촌이라고 부르면 우리가 조금… 이상.. [Trans: Yeah, because he is not Koreans if we call him samchon (uncle), it would be a little awkward.] Jieun: 그러면 Gracy 네 아빠는? Adam? 어떻게 불러? [Trans: What about Gracy’s dad? Adam? How would you call him?] Ruby: Adam 삼촌? [Trans: Adam samchon?]

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Jieun: 아 그렇구나. [Trans: Oh, okay.] Ruby: 네 그리고 솔직히 얼마나 친한지 그렇게 it depends. 솔직히 모르겠어요. Mary 이모라고 부르고, Joan 이모라고 부르고. [Trans: Yeah, and it honestly depends on how close you are. I don’t really know. I address Mary and Joan as imo (auntie).] Jieun: 그러면 만약에 Esme 가 갑자기 Ruby 아빠한테 Charles 라고 부르면 어떨 것 같아? [Trans: How would you feel if Esme called your dad Charles?] Ruby: Esme 는 그렇게 안 부르는데 그런데 내 아빠 ajussi라고 불러요. 안나는 우리 부모님이랑 좀 더 친해서 이렇게 앞에서 부를 수 있고. 엄마는 이모라고. 솔직히 얼마나 친한지 이렇게 it depends..한 것 같아요. [Trans: Esme doesn’t call him that, but calls my dad ajussi (sir). Is closer to my parents so she can use that term. She calls my mum imo. But it all really depends on how close you are to the person.] Jieun: 그러면 만약에 Gracy아빠 딱 봤는데 불러야해, 그러면 Adam! 이렇게 안 하지? 이상하지? [Trans: So, if you were to call Gracy’s dad, you wouldn’t say Adam right? Would that be awkward?] Ruby: Uh 이상하기보다는 it seems rude. 많이 말 안 하니까. 자주 안보니까 갑자기 이름을 부르면 조금. 그리고 나이도 다르고. [Trans: Uh, it seems rude rather than awkward. We don’t talk much and calling him by his name out of the blues is a little…and also the age difference.]

Ruby, who is several years older than the young children previously discussed in this chapter, describes an issue common for KE kids: she used to be much more confident speaking Korean when she was younger, and now she has forgotten words or uses Konglish to resolve the problem. Nonetheless, she notes that English sounds too strong and tries to speak Korean to certain Korean people, even if they may have spoken to her in English. If they are younger than her, or half Korean, she may speak to them in English, but with elders, she tends to speak in Korean. She also avoids calling the Korean parents of her KE friends by their first name, using terms such as Gracy-ui appa (Gracy’s Father) to address other parents. She differentiates between Korean and nonKorean people, calling the non-Korean parents of her friends by their first names, rather than by an address term, like 삼촌 samchon (uncle). Address term negotiation happens for all KE children, but it differs from person to person and habits can change over time. If Ruby is having an argument with her mother, she speaks Korean, and naturally uses the polite register (see Chapter 6). In this way, it seems that Ruby is aware that Korean sounds most respectful to Korean people, while English may seem harsh or even rude. She deliberately chooses to build up interpersonal relationships in a Korean way when the right

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context presents itself. As such, Ruby translanguages in a way that shows care towards Korean people and to interact with them on the same bandwidth. Despite Ruby’s awareness of the difference in connotations between speaking Korean and English, when it comes to knowing the specifics of politeness rules in Korean, she does not have such a defined idea. She is not sure exactly when to use -yo , citing that it comes naturally. Regarding other polite words and forms, she does not always know or remember to use them. Overall, she cannot quite define the differences and characteristics that necessitate polite speech, so she relies on instinct. As such, we begin to see how KE children are not always completely confident with Korean politeness rules, and how they may have to rely on instinct alone to avoid conflict, without knowing for sure if they are correct or not. Ruby also discusses the differences in communication that she has felt when going to South Korea. She states that going to Korea can be difficult for her. She does not speak much when she is there, just using some basic Korean phrases. I have observed this in my own children too, who mainly say ‘yes’ and nod when spoken to in Korea. Not doing much is actually a way to ensure that their relatives will think of them as polite, as speaking too much can be seen as rude in Korean culture. Ruby also remarks that she is encouraged to speak English, as Korean people want to hear her English accent. Notably, she mentions that, in England, she is friends with children older and younger than her and she does not use 언니 eonni (older sister) or 오빠 oppa (older brother) to address her older friends. She even mentions that oppa is seen as a flirty term. Originally, oppa was purely an age sensitive term, but alongside the success of the K-wave, the term has taken on a new meaning. Oppa is a term to refer to a boyfriend outside of Korea, and so Ruby sees it as ‘flirty’, because of the influence of the K-wave. Ruby mentions that her friend Esme calls her father 아저씨 ajussi, which is a term that Koreans would never use to refer to a friend’s father because it creates an atmosphere that is less intimate and respectful. However, Ruby’s friend innovated this term to show intimacy towards Ruby’s father. In comparison, eonni is an expression of close intimacy, rather than just an age sensitive term, so Ruby does not use that address term often either. Ruby mentions that she has found it hard to make friends in Korea. Hence, we see a different perspective: Ruby’s experience of making KE friends in England, without having to use respectful address terms and language with them, makes it difficult for her to make friends in Korea. Overall, being multilingual and operating in multicultural settings is a difficult process for a KE child. They have to appease the desires and worries of their Korean parents by speaking Korean with the right people, at the right time and in the right situation. They must try their best to use polite speech and the correct address terms. For a child who

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has grown up outside of South Korea, achieving South Korean ideals of respect does not come so naturally. Nonetheless, Ruby’s interview demonstrates that KE children too are aware of cultural differences and thus try their best to do the right thing at the right moment. 4.3 Switching Accents to Accommodate Others

KE children are aware that they have attained two different systems of pronunciation. They use translanguaging to switch between the two accents, according to the emotional and attitudinal context of each interaction. In Chapter 2, we briefly explored prosodic accommodation when Jessie Anglicised the pronunciation of the Korean word for soya milk. Here, we will take a look at another case of prosodic accommodation. When making use of all of one’s language resources, and switching between multiple languages, problems with pronunciation may arise. As we will see below, though one might have changed from one language to another, the pronunciation may lag behind during the switch. This is particularly common when loan words exist between the two or more languages. Extract 4n (Jessie age 9)

Jessie: You know how sometimes you say a Korean word and then say rest in English, and then accidently use the wrong accent? Jieun: 어떻게? [Trans: How?] Jessie: Like when I say ‘Ko-re-an’, it’s in a Korean accent, like when you say, ‘eom-ma’ [mum] and ‘ab-bpa’ [dad] instead of saying ‘eomma’ [mum], and ‘abba’. Jessie: And you say ‘OM-MA’ [mum] and ‘AB-BPA’ [dad], and ‘COO-KKIE’ Jieun: So that’s Korean accent, yeah? Jessie: Yeah, well we split the words. Jieun: Split the words? 그 게 무슨 뜻이야? [Trans: What does that mean?] Jessie: I don’t know. Well sometimes you split the English words, like ‘COO-KKIE’, not ‘cookie’. Jieun: Why do you speak like that? Jessie: Well, because you know, sometimes, I want to get the right accent for Korean, then I want to switch back into the English accent, and I get muddled. Jieun: You get muddled? Jessie: Yeah, between two different accents. Jieun: So – can I have an example? Jessie: So, like ‘KO-REA’, and ‘COO-KKIE’, not cookie, and Korea. [Note: ‘코리아 ko-ri-a’ the word boundaries reflect the Korean orthographical syllable boundaries]

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Jieun: 그래서, ‘COO-KKIE’라고? [Trans: So, you say COO-KKIE?] Jessie: Like ‘COO-KKIE’, but they don’t necessarily do it like we do, they say, ‘COO-KKIE’, ‘cookkie’, a little bit faster than we say it. But we say, ‘COO-KKIE’. Jieun: 너 미래랑 어떻게 말해? [Trans: How do you speak with Mirae?] Jessie: I speak normally. And I never think about the accents. Jieun: 그럼 누구랑 말할 때 액센트를 생각해? 엄마랑 누구? [Trans: So, when you talk to someone, do you think about accents? For example, with me or whoever] Jessie: Whenever I’m switching between two languages Jieun: Which language? Jessie: Korean and English. Jieun: So, you think about accent when you switch Korean and English? So, what is the accent? Jessie: Hmm, it’s the way you say a word in a particular language. Jieun: So Korean accent는 뭔데 [Trans: So, what is the Korean accent?] Jessie: Give me a word, any word, cookie Jieun: 할머니 [Trans: Grandmother] Jessie: hal-meo-ni Jieun: English accent는? [Trans: What about the English accent?] Jessie: For example, ‘cookie’ and ‘쿡키’; ‘cookie’ is similar to ‘쿡키’, it’s the same word but in Korean it breaks the word up a tiny bit [Trans: For example, ‘cookie’ and ‘kukki’ (the Korean loanword for cookie); ‘cookie’ is similar to ‘kukki’, it’s the same word but in Korean it breaks the word up a tiny bit] Jieun: 그럼 뭐 이런 거 컴퓨터? [Trans: So, what about the word ‘computer’?] Jessie: 컴퓨터? Computer, so Korean’s more specific about the letters – 컴-퓨-터, like in spelling you sound out 컴-퓨-터 [Trans: keompyuteo? (the Korean loanword for computer) Computer, so Korean’s more specific about the letters – keom-pyu-teo like in spelling you sound out keom-pyu-teo]

Korean and English syllable structures have fundamentally different underlying principles. Kiaer and Ahn (2021) state that these differences form one of the defining characteristics of Korean English and are audible in spoken Korean and visible in the Korean orthography of English words (2021: 142). The Korean writing system, hangul, is a phonemic alphabetical system that is written in syllable blocks. Although

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syllable boundaries do not always exhibit perfect correspondence to their orthographic surface forms (e.g. 먹어 [mʌ.gʌ]), Korean speakers are conscious of the syllable boundaries within words. Although both English and Korean are consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) languages, that is, languages that allow consonants in the syllable-final position, English allows consonant clusters in the syllable-initial and syllablefinal positions. If an English word with a syllable-initial or syllablefinal consonant cluster enters the Korean lexicon, the Korean language typically inserts the phoneme ɯ to ‘Koreanise’ it, e.g. ‘dress’ → ‘드레스’ [tɯlɛs*ɯ deu-re-seu]. In the interview above, Jessie shows that she has the meta-linguistic awareness to know that Korean syllable structure behaves differently than English syllable structure. For example, she notes that in Korean, the word ‘cookie’ would be pronounced in two distinct syllables – 쿡 (kook) and 키 (ki), whereas in English, it is spoken more fluidly, without such a strong delineation between syllables: cookie. This reflects the orthography of the word in each language. In English, the syllable structure is [ku.ki] which lends itself to a weaker medial -kpronunciation. On the other hand, in Korean, the syllable structure is [kuk.kʰi], which lends itself to a stronger medial -kk- pronunciation. The syllable-by-syllable consciousness is expressed by Jessie, despite not being entirely aware of the orthographic rules of hangul. This emphasis on syllable boundaries is not as strong in English. She applies this same logic when asked about ‘컴퓨터’ (computer), saying that in a Korean accent, she tends to break up the word into three distinct syllables, going as far as to spell out each syllable 컴 (keom) 퓨 (pyu) 터 (teo), however, in English, these syllable boundaries are less strong. This points to an interesting quality about Korean: phonology is inextricably linked to orthography, where syllable boundaries are key in surface phonetic realisations. In English, orthography is more fluid, and syllable boundaries are less pronounced. Not only does Jessie show awareness of this linguistic fact, but also has self-awareness in her ability to recognise when a shift is taking place. Jessie understands that when she is speaking in English, her English accent permits her to be less concerned with stressing syllable boundaries, which she is forced to do when speaking in Korean. This shift has both conscious and subconscious elements. Jessie says I want to get the right accent for Korean, and then I want to switch back into the English accent, and I get muddled. The accent switching causes some linguistic confusion. Jessie indicates that she naturally conforms to the syllable-oriented Korean style of pronunciation when speaking in Korean, and the more fluid English style when speaking in English, despite her conscious recognition that she must make a shift. Jessie assesses her accent because she wants to be able to accommodate different people. When speaking to her close KE friend Mirae, Jessie

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doesn’t have to think about her accent. However, when talking with her mother, she tries to be more careful, even though it can be difficult. As such, accent selection is about relating to others emotionally and communicating in a caring way. 4.4 Korean vs. English – Comfy vs. Oomphy

Translanguaging competence also encompasses an awareness of the differences in feeling between two or more languages. In accordance with the sentiments and emotions associated with each language, children choose who they want to speak to in which language. In doing so, they shape their interpersonal relationships through the medium of language. As such, knowing the different emotions connected with each language is an integral part of translanguaging competence. Below, we will see how Jessie views English and Korean differently, for several reasons, and how she sees English as ‘oomphy’. Extract 4o (Jessie age 9)

Jieun: 애들이 영어를 한국사람 말하는 것처럼 말하면은 어떤 느낌이야? 한국사람처럼 영어 하면은 이상해? [Trans: How do you feel when kids speak English like a Korean person? Is it strange?] Jessie: Well, when I’m talking to a Korean person in English, who else are there? Is it just one to one? Yes, it’s a bit weird because they can speak Korean, I can speak Korean. Wait, what language do they speak more fluently? Jieun: English Jessie: Well then it doesn’t really feel weird because I’m speaking my fluent language Jieun: What is your fluent language? Jessie: Well, I live in England, so I speak more English Jieun: No Korean? Jessie: Well, I speak less Korean, but if I was in Korea, I would speak, well I wouldn’t speak any English unless daddy was there Jieun: 만약에 한국말로 말하- do you think anything that 한국말로 말하면 더 좋은 게 있어? 영어로 말하면 더 힘든 거 한국말로 말하면 더 좋은 거 그런 거 있어? [Trans: If you speak in Korean- do you think anything that is better to say in Korean? Is there something that is harder to say in English and something better to say in Korean?] Jessie: Sometimes. Jieun: Like what Jessie: I’m not fluent in Korean, but I’m fluent in English, and also I’m learning more English and learning less Korean which means I don’t, and if I was living in Korea and learning in Korea, I would learn more Korean and less English which means I would be fluent in Korean

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Jieun: 한국말로 말할 때 영어를 말할 때 어떨 때 더 polite한 거 같애? [Trans: Which seems more polite, speaking in Korean or speaking in English?] Jessie: Who am I speaking to? Jieun: 엄마하고 얘기할 때 [Trans: When you speak to me, your mum.] Jessie: I think Korean because… Jieun: 왜? 엄마랑 말할 때 한국말 더 좋아 왜? 엄마도 영어를 잘하잖아 [Trans: Why? Why do you prefer speaking in Korean with me? I also speak English well.] Jessie: I know, but I think it’s because I’m more used to saying 엄마 Jieun: ‘엄마’ 말고 엄마랑 이야기할 때 한국말이 좋아 뭐 좋아? [Trans: Not just calling me ‘mum’, but when you speak with me, do like speaking with me in Korean or what?] Jessie: What am I doing? In maths, because I can understand more words, I can say division in English, but I don’t know the word in Korean Jieun: 한국에 대한 이야기 할 때는? [Trans: What about when we talk about Korea?] Jessie: When we’re just three of us, I feel more comfortable speaking in Korean, but it depends on what I’m doing. If it’s maths or a subject, and I’m learning things about that subject, I feel more comfortable speaking in English because in school we don’t learn the word in Korean, and I don’t know how to translate that word Jieun: 엄마랑 말할 때 한국말 더 좋다고, 왜 [Trans: Why do you like speaking with me in Korean better?] Jessie: When we’re not doing any subject, just casual, sometimes I don’t know the word in Korean, so I switch into English Jieun: 그냥 말할 때 뭐가 좋아? [Trans: What about when we’re just talking generally?] Jessie: Just the three of us? Korean. Jieun: 그럼 한국말로 말해봐 [Trans: So, let’s talk in Korean] Jessie: 지금? [Trans: ‘Now?’] Jieun: 한국말로 얘기하면 엄마랑 어떤 느낌이야? [Trans: When you speak Korean with me, how does it feel?] Jessie: 좋아요 [Trans: I like it.] Jieun: 영어로보다 말하는 거보다? [Trans: Even more than speaking in English?] Jessie: 우리 세명 한국말 더 좋아요 [Trans: For us three, I prefer Korean.] Jieun: 왜? [Trans: Why?]

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Jessie: 왜냐면 그냥 우리 다 코리안 알고 근데 아빠는 있으면 [Trans: Because we all know Korean, apart from Dad.] Jieun: 영어 말하는 거보다 한국말이 더 좋아 우리 셋이하고 말하면? [Trans: So, you prefer speaking Korean over English when its us three?] Jessie: 한국말로 못 얘기해요 [Trans: I don’t know how to say this in Korean?] Jieun: OK say in English Jessie: It feels more comforting Jieun: What kind of feeling you have when you speak in Korean? Jessie: I feel more comfortable speaking in Korean because English is more oomphy, like more enthusiastic. Yeah, and also when we’re like just having a general chat, not like doing a subject or anything, when we’re just doing a chat, I feel more comfortable in Korean because it’s not as enthusiastic, however if someone started the chat in Korean, then I would also speak in Korean because before the person started to speak in Korean Jieun: 우리 셋은 다 한국말도 영어로도 말하잖아 근데 너는 한국말 더 좋다고 그랬지. 왜 그런지 조금 얘기 I want to understand why do you like speaking in Korean. You know like writing you can express your feeling; how do you feel when you speak in Korean. [Trans: All three of us speak Korean and English, but you said that Korean is better. Tell me why…] Jessie: Give me a sentence any sentence Jieun: I like honey Jessie: They tend to use the word really a lot. Like I really like honey, or I really dislike honey like you’re saying what you like what I don’t like, you’re really putting a lot of stuff into, and Korean, they speak more softly than in English.

Jessie also shows some interesting self-evaluations of her feelings speaking Korean and English. She indicates that she is more comfortable speaking in English when the conversation is casual, and not about any of her school subjects, which require more technical vocabulary that she has not learnt in Korean yet. Jessie feels that English is oomphier and more enthusiastic. In English, people tend to use more impactful words to drive a sentiment home, such as really, whereas in Korean, statements are made more softly. Her feeling of comfort when speaking Korean may also be linked to her mother, whose native language is Korean. To feel a sense of comfort and security with her mother, she prefers Korean. She feels that English is perhaps more intense than Korean, which is more comfortable to speak, especially when in company with her Korean mother and sibling. When her English-speaking father is present, she is more inclined to speak in English. This points to an element of solidarity. In the presence of Korean speakers, she enjoys speaking in Korean, because it creates a sense of unity in language. When a nonKorean speaker is present, Jessie is more inclined to speak in English,

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the language that unifies all members of the group. The interesting point here is the sense of ‘belonging’ and ‘association’ that comes with language. Because Jessie attends a school in English, she associates English with the technical aspects of her classes, noting words such as division when discussing mathematics. When thinking about English, she indicates a sense of belonging to her wider social circumstances, including her school life, and associates it with discipline and structure. On the other hand, when thinking about Korean, she indicates a sense of belonging to her close family, who speak Korean. This separation is significant in the way she relates to both languages and plays a part in her feelings towards them. It is no surprise that feelings of comfort arise when she feels closer to her family when speaking Korean, and more intense feelings arise when speaking the language of her wider social setting. 4.5 Summary

This chapter shows the innovative use of translanguaging in expressing the emotions and attitudes of KE children. As we have seen, there are many factors that KE children are aware of when they translanguage: pragmatics, pronunciation, prosody, addressee–speaker relationship and the unique sentiments that accompany each language. KE children consider each language’s social conventions and connotations. They also try to maintain the correct pronunciation in each language, even when they are switching instantaneously between two or more languages. Multilingual children are considerate of the addressee, so they may employ prosodic accommodation to help the addressee understand, if needed. They also consider their relationship with the addressee to decide which language(s) to speak and how to address the other person. Past studies have tended to look at translanguaging as an individual skill that is employed to navigate the unique linguistic environment that one finds oneself in. In this chapter, I add that translanguaging is a way of caring for the people around you on a broader level. It allows KE children to accommodate the needs of all the people around them. As such, it creates a space in which multilinguals feel emotionally secure. This means that translanguaging is more than just a linguistic achievement, it is about inclusion and solidarity too.

5 Politeness Matters

Language choice matters hugely. This is what I have observed in my own interactions when interacting with Korean people outside of Korea. Overseas Koreans or the Korean diaspora, particularly secondgeneration individuals, find it hard to tune into Korean politeness. Yet, they still feel pressure to use some Korean expressions in order to show respect and solidarity with other Korean speakers, particularly so when the other speaker is senior to them. Choosing to speak in English could imply that the speaker is avoiding hierarchical relations and achieve a level of equality between speakers. Further, layers of attitudinal meanings in Korean are mostly nuanced rather than functional, and therefore are untranslatable in English. This is why Koreans prefer talking in Korean when they can speak both Korean and English fluently. Many Korean words too have nuanced meanings that are not easily translatable in English. A simple example is the English word ‘friend’. In English, this word is not age sensitive at all, but 친구 chingu, the Korean word for friend, is extremely age sensitive, so much so that it can only be used towards friends who were born in the same year, and sometimes even the same month. Belonging to the same school, and even the same class at school, is usually an important factor as well. I have a cousin who is five months younger than me, and if I had gone to school with him, then we would be able to behave as chingu. However, because we didn’t go to school together, our relationship was confined to our family hierarchy, in which I was older and therefore required his respect rather than friendship. Subsequently, him calling me by my name was unthinkable, and instead he called me 누나 nuna (older sister), and he has done so until this day. Indeed, in Korean thinking, this kind of order and respect based on age differences can be considered as ingrained in our linguistic DNA. Many KE children are exposed to this aspect of the Korean language early in childhood. In particular, if both parents are Korean this value is emphasised more, as many Korean immigrants believe that this part of Korean identity is incredibly important. KE children must navigate the different ways politeness is expressed in Korean and Englishspeaking situations based on whom they are speaking with, and in what situation. This is particularly challenging due to the differences in social expectations amongst Korean and English speakers, which means that

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sometimes the ways in which KE children interact with others can be interpreted in different ways. For instance, in interactions with their Korean families, KE children may be quiet and not contribute much to the conversation apart from nodding attentively. This could be because the child has little to say, or because they do not fully understand the ongoing conversation. In this situation, Korean families may appreciate their non-verbal gestures as a polite contribution to the discussion, and even prefer this interaction over talkative children who are more fluent in Korean language yet lacking polite gestures. By contrast, in an English-speaking family, children are less restrained by social etiquette and are encouraged to speak more freely. In this case a child’s verbal contribution may be more greatly appreciated as a sign of genuine enthusiasm and interest in the conversation. Thus, KE children face the challenge of expressing politeness in the appropriate way cross-culturally and cross-linguistically, as Korean has complex hierarchical levels of politeness, which contrast significantly with English. This chapter will explore this, in a discussion of the differences between verbal and non-verbal communication in Korean and English. 5.1 Defining Politeness

According to Lakoff (1990: 34), politeness is a system of interpersonal relations designed to facilitate interaction by minimising the potential for conflict and confrontation inherent in all human interchanges. Watts (2003) described politeness as a polished behaviour relying on social conventions, which are socially institutionalised and evaluated. Its main motivations are keeping a cooperative social interaction and avoiding unnecessary conflicts. These social conventions can be vague, however, and speakers must use their own judgement to work out how polite to be in each situation. Politeness theorists Brown and Levinson (1987) created a model detailing this decisionmaking process by explaining how speakers (of any language) calculate what level of politeness is required in any specific interaction. They proposed that there are three major variables that factor into our decisions: distance, power and degree of imposition. Distance can refer to a difference in age or to the social hierarchy. Power refers to the relative positions of speakers within an existing power structure, such as a company hierarchy or a student’s year group in school. Degree of imposition refers to how imposing the listener will find an utterance. For instance, when asking a close friend to give up their weekend to do them a favour (with a high degree of imposition), more politeness strategies will be employed than would be in an ordinary conversation (with a low degree of imposition).

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High context culture

In his 1959 book, The Silent Language, Edward T. Hall proposed categorising all cultures as either high context cultures or low context cultures in order to explain their different communication styles. In his framework, high context and low context cultures have different ways of forming relationships and communicating with others. High context cultures are defined as those in which pragmatic contexts are important to the production and reception of signs and language, while low context cultures are defined as those in which the underlying contextual environment is far less significant, and meaning is created and negotiated more explicitly. In high context cultures, communicators rely more on a shared cultural code, where meaning is communicated implicitly through shared cultural assumptions. This shared cultural code is less salient in low context cultures, where communicators say what they mean more directly. This distinction allows communicators in high context cultures to communicate more economically; they can convey their meanings with fewer words and non-linguistic signs because shared cultural understandings help convey part of the meaning implicitly. According to Gudykunst et al. (1988), communication in high context cultures is indirect, ambiguous, harmonious, reserved and understated, while in low context cultures, it is direct, precise, dramatic, open and based on feelings or true intentions. Many Asian cultures, such as South Korea, Japan and China, are considered high context cultures, while the US and European countries, such as the UK, France and Germany are considered to be low context cultures. Hall and Hall (1990) list countries from highest to lowest context as follows: Japan, Arab countries, Greece, Spain, Italy, England, France, North America, Scandinavian countries and German-speaking countries. The shared cultural code in high context cultures, like South Korea, Japan and China, may manifest in a solid social hierarchy and set behavioural expectations. Through layers of indirect communication, one must figure out when to act, what to act and how to act based on the unspoken cues that are culturally coded and interpreted often using only one’s instinct. In Korean culture this instinct is valued greatly, and there is even a term for it, 눈치 nunchi. Like the Western concept of ‘emotional intelligence’, nunchi refers to one’s instinctive ability to know what others are feeling and what they need, however, uniquely nunchi often involves sensitivity to relational dynamics and strategies for addressing what others are feeling or need with these dynamics predominantly in mind. The goal is ultimately to give people what they need, without seniors losing face in the process, and it is all in the aid of maintaining ansim ‘peace of mind’ in Korean society (Kiaer & Kim, 2021). Since much of the Korean language, etiquette and ethics is designed to create and sustain ansim (De Mente, 2017), nunchi can be considered a

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fundamental component of the Korean language and can be considered fundamental to KE children’s languages and their social survival. High context cultures are also typically associated with an emphasis on tradition; they are very stable, unified, cohesive, and slow to change. In a high context culture, people tend to rely on their history, their status, their relationships and a plethora of other information, including religion, to assign meaning to an event. [Low context] cultures typically value individualism over collectivism and group harmony (Nishimura et al., 2008). The concept of high and low contextuality also has implications outside of how we speak. For instance, Koreans tend to be less likely to perform outward displays of emotion. Additionally, according to Hofstede (1980), people from high-uncertainty avoidant cultures (i.e. high context cultures) have a lower tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity, which expresses itself in higher levels of anxiety and energy release and less tolerance for groups with deviant ideas and behaviour (1980: 395). In the case of Korea, the roots of its high context culture have been explained by its historic Confucian traditions and values, which allow interlocutors to save face wherever possible (Lim & Choi, 1996). In general, high context cultures develop through hundreds of generations of interpersonal communication and interpersonal relationships modulated by economic, religious, existential, cultural and social factors. In high-context cultures, like Japan and Korea, the good functioning of society is dependent on the solid social hierarchy that underpins them, and communication is vital to maintaining this social hierarchy. Causing offence through language threatens this social hierarchy, and therefore, indirect methods of communication which minimise the potential for offence are the norm. Politeness in Korean: Highly hierarchical

Politeness in Korean works on a different scale from politeness in English. Being polite when speaking English does not require us to change our language at a fundamental level. Although there are words specifically associated with politeness, such as please, thank you, pardon and excuse me, these are few and are lexical rather than grammatical in nature, meaning polite and non-polite sentences are formed based on roughly the same grammatical rules. Instead, a large part of what English speakers consider politeness consists of considerate non-verbal behaviours such as asking a guest if they would like any refreshments, avoiding taboo subjects or offensive language in conversation and asking about the other person in small talk. In comparison, politeness in Korean happens at a very fundamental level. Politeness depends on hierarchy in Korea, meaning that the appropriate way to speak and act is always changing depending on the

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hierarchies between speakers: how you speak depends on who you are and who you are talking to. These hierarchical relationships are encoded into the language grammatically, to the extent that it is impossible to avoid specifying a certain hierarchical relationship between the speaker and the hearer; it is impossible to hide one’s attitude towards the addressee. Being more polite can create distance between speakers, however, meaning that one must constantly decide whether to prioritise respect, to avoid causing offence, or intimacy, to build a closer relationship. One of the English expressions that always stuck in my mind was ‘after you’. This simply means to let others go or do before oneself, putting others first. This is a sort of politeness that I can imagine in England. In a Korean context, this won’t work. Koreans will think of the elders or seniors first rather than just others arbitrarily. Politeness in Korea also serves to maintain yeui 예의 (Confucian etiquette), involving primarily paying proper respect to one’s seniors or elders. Respect based on hierarchy and order is the key concept in Korean politeness, in contrast to the emphasis on being considerate in English politeness. When I used the text-searching tool Sketch Engine (www. sketchengine.eu) to find some collocated words regarding politeness in English and Korean, I found that, in the case of English, some key words were courteous, helpful, friendly, while the Korean counterpart for ‘polite’, 공손 gongson (恭遜), was mainly associated with key words such as 말투 maltu and 말씨 malssi, which can both be translated as ‘speech attitude’ and ‘speech style’. The collocations for English give us a certain sense of what politeness means in English; words such as respectful, helpful, courteous, pleasant, considerate and friendly illustrate that politeness in English refers to kind and thoughtful behaviour towards others. On the other hand, the Korean collocations include words like filial piety, honorifics, senior, speech styles, bow, meek and serve. The Korean collocations imply a greater emphasis on order, hierarchy and respect, in contrast to the focus on considerate behaviour in English. Additionally, a Google Images search for the word 공손 gongson (politeness) showed similar results. Most of the images show the clasping hands gesture that is considered an expression of submissiveness in Korean culture. Honorifics are not unique to Korean, however, and similar systems can be found in many other East Asian languages. However, Korea’s system of politeness is unusually complex, even among these languages. It has been said that it may well be that no language on Earth has a more finely differentiated system of honorifics (Lee & Ramsey, 2000: 224). The fine differentiation in honorifics serves to send messages about the relationships between speakers and how interlocutors see them, establishing in-groups and out-groups, hierarchical boundaries, and interpersonal intimacy (or the lack thereof).

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In the next section and throughout this chapter we will take a close look at Korean honorific systems, focusing on the different types of honorifics, speech styles, address terms and non-verbal honorifics. Each of these elements is a jigsaw piece helping to form the complex honorific system of Korean. 5.2 Honorifics and Speech Styles in Korean

Honorifics are parts of speech that can be used to indicate respect for another person. There are two types of honorifics according to Brown (2011). The first, hearer or addressee honorifics, are used to honour somebody you are speaking to directly. The second, referent honorifics, are used to honour somebody who is not present in the conversation. Address terms also interact with both kinds of honorifics (Lee & Ramsey, 2000: 238), as we will discuss later in this chapter. Hearer honorifics are the most common type of honorific as they concern the speakers themselves in the present. These are formed by using different sentence endings, which combine to create different speech levels, or styles. Speech styles express the social ranks between interlocutors through language (Lee & Ramsey, 2000: 239). First- and second-person pronouns and address terms also form part of the hearer honorific system. We will not delve too much into honorifics here, but they often take the forms of particles -께 -kke, -께서 -kkeseo , verb endings -ㅂ니다 -bnida, -시요 -siyo, -세요 -seyo and specific polite forms of verbs, i.e. 들다 deulda to eat instead of 먹다 meokda to eat. Speech styles in Korean

When forming sentences in Korean, one must first choose which speech style to speak in. Each speech style features different sentence endings and grammatical features, meaning that speech styles affect even the most basic sentences. These styles are used to indicate levels of formality and respect, and this is one reason politeness is so important when speaking Korean; there is no way to avoid it. Most scholars agree that there are six main speech styles, or levels (Yeon & Brown, 2011: 17): Formal styles (a-d)

(a) (b) (c) (d)

formal style semiformal style familiar style plain style

Informal styles (e-f)

(e) polite style (f) half-talk or intimate style

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The formal style is used when speaking to those of superior status or age in situations requiring great respect or decorum. This can include public speeches, presentations or reports to superiors. This style is also used to show extra respect to elders in less formal settings. Members of the military also often use this form when speaking to those of higher rank. The polite style is also used to those of superior status or age but is much more commonly used than the formal style. This is the style typically used between strangers, and is also used when speaking to close friends, acquaintances or family members who are older than oneself. The semiformal style and the familiar style are now rarely used in modern Korea but can still be heard in certain settings. For instance, these styles are used by adults towards lower-ranking adults that one is not close to. They allow a measure of distance to be maintained while showing less superiority than less polite styles. Half-talk, or banmal, is used between very close friends, and by seniors to juniors (with negotiation) or adults to children. Plain style is like half-talk, but it is typically only used towards children. The six styles are much more complex than our brief explanations imply, however, and the pragmatic meanings and implications of each form are varied and subtle. Koreans also tend to think of speech styles in terms of formal and informal, or high and low, rather than by sorting them into six different categories. Two styles: banmal and jondaemal

Lee and Ramsey (2000: 251) write that, today, when Koreans talk about speech styles, the most common contrast is between banmal, ‘informal, intimate speech’ and jondaemal, which, roughly translated means ‘polite speech’. Thus, the informal half-talk, or banmal, and the polite –요 (yo) form have come to be the twin pillars of the speech-style system of modern Korean (Lee & Ramsey, 2000: 260). This difference between high form and low form, or formal and informal styles, is a sensitive one that is frequently discussed by native speakers of Korean. It is also important to remember that speech styles are not static. As a relationship between two people evolves and their relationship or relative social status changes, they may need to change the speech styles they use to talk to each other. For instance, when two people first meet, they will typically use the polite ending –요 -yo , even if they are the same age. Yet, once they become closer to each other, they will often start dropping -yo to create a more intimate, close relationship. Sometimes, only the senior of the two people (in terms of age or status) will change the speech style that they use, or both parties will adjust their speech, depending on the level of intimacy they want to achieve. This process is subtle and requires mutual agreement and negotiation. In fact, suddenly shifting to a casual speech style when talking to a superior can create tension and conflict, as it can seem like disrespect. Such shifts

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have even been reported to spark violent fights, as is often reported in Korean news (Kiaer et al., 2019). Because of the complexity in how politeness should be expressed in Korea, Korean children cannot learn how to speak purely from copying what they hear. They must learn to understand from an early age that their verbal and non-verbal patterns should be different based on whom they talk to and interact with. It may be literally a case of adding Korean politeness markers to the end of English sentences, such as -요 -yo, -해요 -haeyo, or -허세요 -haseyo. For many children, this approach is an easy fix. When they speak they combine English and Korean, depending on their vocabulary, and use 해 hae when they speak to their younger cousin or haseyo when they speak to their auntie or grandmother. For example: (a) 이모 Imo / 이모 할머니 Imo-halmeoni – 그거 너무 geugeo neomu – creepy – 해요 haeyo (Auntie/Auntie-grandmother – that is very – creepy – *polite marker*). (b) I am too hungry – 해 hae. (I am too hungry *informal/intimate ending*). (c) That’s too bad – 해요 haeyo/ -하세요 haseyo  (That’s too bad – *polite marker/very polite marker*). However, for some children, speaking English without the addition of address terms and polite speech markers is unavoidable, since it takes time to acquire the various speech styles, and they may not have learnt them yet. Because the interactional repertoire that KE children can be exposed to is limited, is it not easy for them to properly understand and master the complexity of politeness in Korean. In The Return of Superman, the children are aware that they should be polite and use specific address terms and the -yo form when speaking to the serving ladies in the restaurant.1 However, they did not use the polite form when speaking to each other or their father. Sarah and Jessie, both of whom learned Korean as their first language, learned to use -yo around 19–20 months after birth. They started to use -yo when they were interacting with my parents. Yet, interestingly, both of them never used -yo when they were talking to their elder cousins or other friends in the Korean community in London. When they were using -yo to grandparents and Mrs Jeong, they sometimes used -yo but not all the time. This is also found in ordinary Korean communication. If a Korean person feels close to a person, particularly close family members, they will use the right address terms but sometimes drop -yo to indicate intimacy. Yet, in other cases, they use -yo as a rule of the thumb. It is interesting that they hardly drop -yo when they talk to my father, whereas they often drop -yo when they talk to my mother. For those who they feel distance or strictness from, they never drop -yo.

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Word choice: yes to peers or yes to seniors?

In Korean, there are multiple ways to say yes, the most commonly used words being 응 ung and 네 ne. Ung is used in between friends, or by a person with a higher social status, while ne is used by an individual with a lower status to a senior. Thus, each word shows different levels of respect, and is used with different address terms and grammatical structures to reflect the social hierarchy. In The Return of Superman, Bentley says 응 미안 eung mian (‘yep sorry’) to his father Sam who is originally from New Zealand but often speaks to his children in Korean.2 Sam replies saying 에, 뭐라고 해야 돼? e, mworago haeya dwae? (‘Eh, what do you have to say?’). Bentley then tries responding 어 eo, which could be seen as an even more informal way of saying yes than ung. Sam tells Bentley 아빠가 화났을 때 뭐라고 하라고 했지? 네 해야지 appaga hwanasseul ttae mworago harago haetji? ne haeyaji (‘What did I tell you to say when daddy is angry? You should say ne’). Even in this multicultural KE family, the child is corrected to make sure he knows what attitude he should have towards his father in particular settings, as even though they share a close relationship, the parent must be respected. The significance of using the right ‘yes’ is also because making positive statements is also important hierarchically in Korean, which is largely because collectivist societies require agreeable, helpful behaviour. As such, positive statements are another form of translanguaging through which speakers can express hierarchy and bridge the gap between English and Korean even while speaking English. For example, statements like ‘Yes’, ‘I like this’, ‘Let’s do this together!’ ‘Can I help you with that?’ are positive, as opposed to negative statements such as ‘No’, ‘I don’t like this’, ‘Leave me alone’ or ‘I don’t want to help’. Positive statements, like politeness markers, are a requirement when speaking to seniors and are thus important considerations made in translanguaging.  How to address others: Address terms and second person pronouns

As mentioned earlier, when speaking to somebody in Korean, one must also always decide how best to address one’s speech partner. Another common practice used to respect hierarchy or simply to express respect within English conversation is the avoidance of using ‘you’ or someone’s name, both of which are rude in Korean except among close intimates. Often Koreans will replace the word ‘you’ or people’s names with Korean address terms, such as the respectful term 선생님 seonsaengnim, meaning ‘teacher’, which is used more broadly than just to teachers despite its precise definition, or the respectful, yet intimate term 언니 eonni, meaning ‘older sister’, which is used by a younger female to an elder female, and is just not restricted to use between siblings.

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There are also suffixes like -님 -nim that can be added to people’s names, which is a comfortable method of addressing non-familial carers, such as imo-nim (auntie-nim).  Although Korean grammar textbooks often provide simple lists of these address terms for different kinds of relationships, finding the proper address term for a situation is a more complex, contextual issue than these simple lists imply. The rules for when a certain address term should be used are not fixed, and certain people may feel differently about the appropriate address term for a given situation. Finding the right address term usually requires negotiation for Koreans. When meeting somebody for the first time, one might begin without a particular address term, using polite styles. After this initial stage, one might ask about one’s speech partner’s age or background, as mentioned before, in order to feel out the relational dynamics. Then, after these negotiations have settled and the correct address term and hierarchy have been worked out, proper conversation can begin. One wraps up this first conversation by choosing the appropriate ending markers and prosody to consolidate the relationship with the speech partner again. This is not limited to face-to-face communication, but it also occurs in virtual communication and texting. We will discuss some important Korean address terms in the remainder of this section. The first category of address terms we will discuss is the secondperson pronoun, i.e. the equivalent of the English ‘you’. Unlike English, Korean does not have a universally acceptable second-person pronoun. The second-person pronouns that do exist in Korean serve mainly to denote levels of intimacy and power, like speech styles. Which pronoun is used often depends on the speech style being used (Kiaer & Cagan, 2022). Second-person pronouns can be generally divided into the same 6 categories as the speech styles summarised previously: As shown in Table 5.1, more formal styles of speech do not allow for the use of second-person pronouns and titles are used instead. This reflects the attitude in Korea that referring directly to one’s speech partner is very personal and intimate and is therefore reserved only for situations where such an interaction is socially appropriate. Names are therefore not used nearly as often as in English (Kiaer et al., 2019; Kim, Table 5.1  Speech styles and their roughly corresponding second-person pronouns Speech style

Correlating second-person pronoun (subject)

1. Formal style

None (or gesture, often using two hands)/title 

2. Polite style

None (or gesture, often using two hands)/title

3. Semi Formal style

당신 dangsin

4. Familiar style

자네 jane

5. Half-talk or intimate style

너 neo /name+vocative particle (a/아, ya/야, i/이)

6. Plain style

너 neo /name+vocative particle (a/아, ya/야, i/이)

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Table 5.2  Kinship terms in Korean Father

Mother

Older brother

Older sister

Younger brother /sister

Aunt

In-laws

Male

아버지 abeoji ‘father’ 아빠 appa ‘daddy’

어머니 eomeoni ‘mother’ 엄마 eomma ‘mummy’

형 hyeong

누나 nuna

Name + -아/-야a/ya

고모 아버님 gomo abeonim (father’s sisters) ‘father-in-law’ 이모 imo (mother’s sisters)

Female

아버지 abeoji ‘father’ 아빠 appa ‘daddy’

어머니 eomeoni ‘mother’ 엄마 eomma ‘mummy’

오빠 oppa

언니 eonni

Name + -아/-야a/ya

고모 어머님 gomo eomeonim (father’s sisters) ‘mother-in-law’ 이모 imo (mother’s sisters)

2003), which prefers them when addressing others. Because names are rarely used, middle-aged and older Koreans, who spend less time with parents and intimate superiors, often report that they rarely hear their own given names used at all. Within families, a strict and complicated system of kinship terms is used. As with English, mothers and fathers are referred to as such, but each other family member has an assigned title as well. Names are only used towards younger family members; otherwise, a title is used. These kinship terms also depend on age and gender. Table 5.2 shows how age and gender affect Korean kinship terms: Older siblings may also be referred to with a kinship term alongside their name. For example, a younger brother may say, 철수 형 Cheolsu hyeong, or 민희 누나 Minhui nuna. When parents or older siblings call the names of their children or younger siblings, they almost always add the vocative particles 아/야/이 a/ya/i after the name, depending on the context and whether the name ends with a consonant or a vowel. Even twins address each other with these kinship terms, depending on who was born first. Kinship terms are so important in Korean society that their use extends outside the family as well. For instance, the term 오빠 oppa is a family term for an older brother used by girls, however, it is also used outside the family structure by girls as a friendly term used towards older boys in the same school or who were brought up in the same village. The following is an interview I had with a Japanese–English speaker who lives in the UK. What we see is that Korean and Japanese, although very similar, have noticeable differences when it comes to expressing interpersonal relations. According to my British–Japanese interviewee, in the British Japanese community, the use of address terms can vary depending on how integrated individuals are in the diaspora, their age and family atmosphere; however, generally, there is not a great diversion from social rules followed in Japan. Older children, and young adults of a similar age (yet not necessarily the

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same age) who are close often refer to each other by their first name. This may be due to greater flexibility and freedom granted from living in the UK. However, when addressing adults such as a friend’s mother or family acquaintance, the honorific suffix san (-さん) would be added to the family name (e.g. Yamamoto-san). -san is one of the most used suffixes and is used to show respect. -san is used between adults, regardless of any age gap, to show more intimacy. -san may also be added to the first name instead of the family name. In general, if a person has a non-Japanese family name, the -san would normally be added to the person’s first name (e.g. Becky-san, rather than Smith-san). Additionally, sensei (先生) ‘teacher’ is commonly used even in diaspora communities by a student to a teacher who is Japanese. Among marriages (including intercultural relationships), a couple may refer to each other as (first name)-san as a way of showing respect to each other, including when they talk about their spouse to others. However, this varies from couple to couple. Older children and adults, often call young children (particularly of primary school age) affectionately by their first name, with the -chan (-ちゃん) suffix added to girl’s names, and the -kun (-くん) suffix added to boy’s names. Young children of the same age may also use these suffixes to address each other. Due to the complexity of addressing a person in Japanese, individuals who are less knowledgeable about Japanese culture may avoid using direct address terms in their speech to avoid making a mistake. Due to the nature of the Japanese grammar structure, this can be done rather naturally. However, the way a person is addressed is deemed less important among children and young adults (particularly when they have a close relationship) and, in this case, addressing one another is based on personal preference as well as politeness. If a foreigner or individual not used to Japanese language and culture makes a mistake, it is often not taken as a serious offence. There is also some flexibility in her family, as she calls her brother ‘James’ shō-chan’ (将ちゃん) when speaking in English or, even though he is her brother and not sister, -chan is a more affectionate way of addressing someone so can be used in this way, or also as a nickname when speaking in Japanese. But with most other family members, such as cousins, regardless of age they all call each other by first names except her eldest cousin who is called -chan by all the younger cousins. As seen above, although polite address terms are not necessary in standard English, they are still used by those with Japanese heritage. Referring to a person in the correct, polite way is particularly important when speaking to a person who requires more respect (such as someone significantly older). While these suffixes are not entirely necessary when conversing with other Japanese individuals in English, in most cases it would likely be preferred – particularly regarding people that do not know each other well and are not very close.

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5.3 More Than Words

The Korean honorific system is not only made up of verbal elements like speech styles and address terms, but non-verbal gestures and behaviours are also essential to convey appropriate politeness and respect. Although the non-verbal aspects of Korean honorifics have not been explored or codified as thoroughly as verbal honorifics, they cannot be overlooked in our examination of the Korean honorific system.  The field of non-verbal communication is rarely discussed, particularly within the context of Asian languages. This is not to say that there is no research on the subject, however. In one early study, Kendon (1988: 132) explained that, while words must follow a standard set of rules according to syntactic norms, gesture can be used in a much more general, less regulated sense. McNeill also supports Kendon’s argument that gestures are fundamentally different from language (1992: 19). Wharton (2009: 153) also addresses the distinction between gesture and language, arguing that gesture can be communicative, refuting contemporary arguments to the contrary, provided that the gestures are both salient and relevant. Knapp et al. (2014: 448–456) describe non-verbal communication in terms of communicating intimacy and dominance. Their study assumes that showing dominance rather than subordinance in social situations is always desirable, yet while this may be true in a Western context, East Asian culture often requires interlocutors to take a position of deference, which can be distinguished from either dominance or subordinance. For interlocutors in an East Asian context, non-verbally communicating deference is often an important face-saving act (Brown & Levinson, 1987). In a Korean context, deferential gesture is almost inseparable from the honorific system, making gesture an essential part of the pragmatics in any interaction in Korean. The deferential gesture system comprises bowing, nodding, posture and gaze, among others. Although these gestures are not formally defined or standardised, they virtually always accompany honorific and deferential interactions, to the extent that their absence would be conspicuous and may undermine the politeness function of verbal honorifics. In fact, gestures are so expressive, that even when speaking politely in Korean, non-verbal gestures can completely undermine what is being said if they are misaligned (Kiaer, 2020). Korean gestures are vastly different to the gestures of Western regions (Kiaer, 2017), so even when speaking in English, the meaning of gestures also needs to be considered. Gestures are often employed following Korean cultural norms because of the conflicts that can arise otherwise. Skinship is an ideal example. The young touching the old can be offensive in Korea, with elders allowed to pat or touch, but juniors expected generally not to. Employing polite gestures can be particularly

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beneficial to children who are not yet fluent in Korean, because even when they speak in English, use of deferential gestures can improve the tone, reducing the neutrality that is the source of much of the conflict encountered when speaking English.  Physical acts can also be used as a form of politeness. For example, to refuse something is one such act, which in Korean also expresses hierarchy, since juniors are usually expected not to refuse seniors. This act then becomes a form of politeness when a child behaves agreeably, not refusing regardless of their preference, because it ultimately has the same meaning as using haseyo or haeyo (polite sentence endings). The acceptance of whatever has been offered, with or without verbal language, and even while speaking English, could be considered polite. A commonly observable example of this, especially within familial settings, is when seniors encourage juniors to eat, even after they have announced that they are full, or have expressed dislike of a particular ingredient. The senior may even place an item of food in the junior’s bowl or encourage them to eat a particular dish out of the many that are laid out on a typical Korean table. The junior will then warmly submit to this request, acknowledging the hierarchy between them by doing so. It is one of many small but highly effective expressions that essentially ‘keep house’ in families in line with the Confucian ideology. These in turn, in bilingual and bicultural families become important aspects of translanguaging developed to appease the Korean part of their heritage.  Speaking less and not speaking when adults are talking is also a tool that can be employed to express that a child knows their place in Korean hierarchy, regardless of whether the conversation underway is in Korean or English, and so can also be considered translanguaging. This expression of juniority clearly shows a child knows their place, and is another quick fix, rather than speaking informally in banmal or even speaking in English. In fact, for this reason, it has generally been believed better to avoid speaking in English if possible, and that doing so is rude because it appears as a refusal to express the attitudinal meanings that are vital in the Korean language, which are largely relied upon to make complex inferences about one’s social environment. It is a matter of social survival, in which one has a mutual responsibility to maintain harmony, and so must quickly come up with the best strategy for communicating in each situation without conflict. To learners of Korean and other Asian languages, the presence of these gestural honorifics may pose challenges to becoming pragmatically effective communicators. Cultural differences also often create problems for accurately sending and understanding gestural cues. Even when looking at only a single type of gesture, like nodding or bowing, the complex nature of gestural honorifics in a Korean context is very clear. In the following section, we will briefly explore nodding and bowing in an East Asian context. 

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Nodding and bowing

Nodding and bowing can be complicated and multi-layered in East Asian contexts. In Korea, nodding or bowing must accompany all greetings, as well as expressions of thanks, apology, appreciation, humility and deference. A given conversation may include dozens of small bows, in addition to deeper or longer bows at the beginning and end of the conversation. Bows send an important message about interlocutors’ relative positions in the social hierarchy and their relative seniority; however, it is even common for the senior to bow slightly in most interactions. This can certainly be interpreted as intentional, meaningful communication, but there are also often cases where this is involuntary. For instance, Korean people are sometimes seen bowing during phone conversations, where their bows can obviously not be seen by the other party. Researchers have had different interpretations of the role of head movement in conversation. Maynard (1987) suggests that the main purpose of head movements such as nodding and bowing in Japanese is related to turn taking. However, Kim (2015) breaks away from traditional notions of back-channelling and turn taking and points out some of the pragmatic roles of head movement in Korean. He notes that head movement most often occurs with expressions of emotion and is used to sympathise or empathise with other speech participants. Kogure (2007) shows how in a Japanese context, nodding creates a sense of harmony in conversations. McClave (2000) points out how speakers are exceptionally sensitive to head movement and its meaning during conversation. Kita and Ide (2007) also discuss how nodding and aizuchi (the Japanese term for affirmative sounds made intermittently throughout a conversation) function in the context of social relationships, by examining corpus data and previous studies to explore their usage and frequency of occurrence. The authors point out that nodding and aizuchi are more flexible in Japanese than languages like English. Although gestures like these may seem subtle, they invisibly help to guide interlocutors to navigate conversations smoothly. Using these gestures skilfully is complicated and requires a deep understanding of hierarchies and contexts, and can pose extra challenges to learners, though they are essential to successful communication. Coordinating verbal and non-verbal attitudes

Non-verbal elements work alongside verbal elements, and research must account for both rather than studying each in a vacuum. Honorific expressions of all kinds, verbal and non-verbal, must be carefully chosen at every level of discourse in order to present consistent attitudinal meanings, such as respect. If an utterance contains contrasting attitudes,

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the utterance can seem less sincere. For instance, the expressions shown below in (a) are used to show respect from a junior’s perspective, while the expressions shown in (b) are used between equals, such as friends of the same age and family members. If expressions from different groups are mixed, the utterance becomes sociopragmatically incoherent as in (1) and (2). In (1), the vocative particle -야 -ya indicates the speaker’s seniority over the hearer, -세요 yet contradicts that pragmatic expectation, making the entire utterance sound strange. In (2), contrary to (iii), the respectful suffix 님 -nim indicates the hearer’s seniority over the speaker, yet the verb 와 wa is a casual, non-honorific form, contradicting this pragmatic expectation and making the sentence sound strange. (a) Expressions used by a junior to a senior (i) Honorific suffixes: -님 -nim ‘dear’, -시 -si ‘the subject honorific suffix’. (ii) Formal or polite speech styles. (iii) Non-verbal expressions: nodding, bowing or slight bending, clasping hands, indirect gestures such as hedging expressions (e.g. scratching the head). (b) Expressions used between equals (same-age friends and family members) (i) Vocative particles – 아/야 a/ya (ii) Address terms and second person pronouns: Second person pronouns are quite difficult to choose unless the two parties have a close relationship, as in family. (iii) Casual or half-talk speech styles (when negotiation is made). (iv) Non-verbal expressions: patting, straight back, nodding, bowing or slight bending. (1) Jina-ya, shop-e o-seyo. J-casual shop-to come-polite ‘Jina, please come to the shop’ (2) Jina-nim shop-e wa J-respect shop-to come (casual ending) ‘Jina, please come to the shop’ To capture how one should coordinate verbal and non-verbal expressions, I have proposed the multimodal modulation hypothesis, which explains the need for consistency in attitudinal expressions below: The core linguistic ability found in human communication is to be able to modulate or attune/orchestrate different levels/modes of information in a harmonious way, sensitive to the socio-pragmatic needs of each situation. If conflicting or inconsistent meanings are communicated, the communication will become socio-pragmatically inappropriate, insincere, unreliable, or convey humour or sarcasm (Kiaer, 2020: 93).

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Kiaer’s multimodal modulation hypothesis proposes that honorifics are multifaceted and involve a huge range of variables, of which nonverbal honorifics are just one. All these variables, including speech styles, address terms and non-verbal honorifics, must show consistency. For instance, if one begins with an honorific attitude implying a relationship where the hearer is superior to the speaker, the speaker needs to maintain this attitude throughout. Otherwise, the utterance may appear unnatural or sarcastic, due to the clashing semantic and pragmatic content of the message. In this way, politeness must be realised at all levels of an interaction; one’s verbal and non-verbal inputs work together like an orchestra to build a harmonious whole, with a richer total meaning than the sum of its parts. 5.4 Multilingual Politeness Language choice and power dynamics

For multilinguals, choosing which language to speak is not a neutral decision. One’s choice of language can also influence the meaning of what one is saying. One example of this is politeness. Often, different languages have vastly different ways of encoding politeness in speech, and what may sound polite in one language may sound too casual in another. This is especially true for Korean and English. Korean features a vast array of politeness strategies, both verbal and non-verbal, while these are more limited in English. Because there are fewer politeness strategies available in English, a Korean–English bilingual may feel like they sound too impolite even when speaking politely in English. On the other hand, some bilinguals may find speaking in English freeing precisely because it requires fewer politeness strategies. Choosing which language to speak is not just a matter of linguistic competence, rather, it is a complex decision involving one’s identity, as well as the power dynamics and relative status of speech participants. What motivates multilinguals to choose one language over another in a situation? In order to find out, I interviewed parents, teachers, grandparents and carers. I found a diverse range of reasons for choosing a language. For instance, many Korean–English parents said that they preferred to talk to their children in Korean due to their belief that their child’s Korean identity is more important than their English identity, so they should be able to speak good Korean. For parents of KE children who are both Korean, this preference was even stronger because they felt pressure for their child to be seen as a good Korean child in the eyes of their grandparents. Some of the children felt that they should practise Korean to speak to their parents, because their parents’ English skills were not good enough to speak fluently with them. Speaking Korean was also encouraged by the Korean heritage schools that some of the children

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attended. On the other hand, some of the children felt more comfortable speaking English, and so resisted their parents’ attempts to speak Korean with them. We will discuss these issues more in Chapters 6 and 7. Politeness is important in Korean–English homes, and one’s language choice also factors into how politeness works. Some heritage speakers of Korean strongly feel that they should use address terms and avoid using first names towards elders even when speaking English. The following comments are from interviews with a Korean American professor in the US and a Korean woman living in the UK, respectively (Kiaer, 2020): I have lived in the US for 40 years, but I can’t use Professor Song’s first name, although we speak mainly in English. I need to call him Professor Song. Otherwise, he will be seriously offended. (Korean American professor in the US) I couldn’t use my father-in-law’s first name for a long time. I had to call him David’s Dad for a while. He was almost 50 years older than me. I couldn’t call his first name. They thought it was weird and felt distant, so I finally called him Paul, but it was very difficult at first. (Korean woman living in London)

The two interview excerpts show the clash in cultural values of politeness for multilinguals and those with mixed heritage. It can be difficult to reconcile one’s linguistic instincts in different languages. Integrating Korean politeness into one’s English speech can sound unnatural, yet it can be hard for KE speakers to abandon their linguistic instincts from Korean completely. Mixed heritage speakers must balance their clashing cultural and linguistic repertoires carefully, in a difficult process of orchestration. Sometimes, one’s attitude can seem different depending on the language that one is speaking. This is because patterns of communication that may be standard in one language may be meaningful through the lens of another language, or vice versa. For instance, when those with Asian linguistic heritage speak English, English speakers sometimes interpret their behaviour as unusually shy or reserved, or even disengaged or uninterested. This problem is likely due to differing cultural norms, however, as silence is often understood as a virtue in East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, particularly for women (Kiaer & Kim, 2021). The same is often true in the other direction too, as we observed in our interviews with KE speakers in London. Another parent echoed this, saying I lose my authority when I speak in English because they speak better English than me. When they speak in English, they sound aggressive. In other words, while speakers with East Asian heritage may sound unusually reserved when speaking English according to English speakers, they may in fact sound too aggressive in the eyes of their East Asian parents.

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Address terms

Finding the right address term is not always easy, both for Koreans living in Korea, and for heritage and diaspora speakers. In a way, being outside of Korea can be freeing, as speakers may feel less pressure to conform to standard use. However, the clashing cultural norms at play in a mixed heritage environment can also make the decision of which address term to use even more complex at the same time. This is illustrated in the following clip showing a conversation between a Canadian–Korean wife and her husband.3 In the clip, the Canadian–Korean wife refers to her husband with the second-person pronoun 너 neo, which sounds quite shocking to Korean ears, as can be seen by the fiery font used to subtitle the utterance (Figure 5.1). In Korean society, it is seen as shocking to call one’s husband neo as it sounds too disrespectful, even if the wife is older, particularly due to traditional Confucian principles where a wife always shows respect to her husband. Korean viewers will consider this very shocking but will also understand it is due to her heritage as a Canadian– Korean who was not born and raised in Korean society. KE children must negotiate address terms when speaking either language. The following extracts from an interview with KE child Sarah show how she feels rude referring to older non-Koreans without address terms, featuring the address terms: 삼촌 samchon (uncle), 이모 imo (aunt) and 할아버지 harabeoji (grandad).

Figure 5.1  Fiery subtitle used by a Korean TV show to show how shocking neo (너 ‘you’ casual) is when used to refer to one’s husband

Extract 5a4

Ian: Sarah, who did you meet- who did you listen to in the car? Who phoned me in the car? Sarah: Um, I think it was Michael samchon (uncle). Ian: Yeah, and what did he say he was doing? Sarah: Um, he was fishing.

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Ian: He was fishing, wasn’t he? Sarah: Yeah Ian: And who is, who is Abby’s dad? Sarah: David samchon (uncle), yeah. Ian: Um and... what did you do in camping? Sarah: : Um...go on in the bouncy castle. Ian: And who did you do that with? Sarah: With my friends Ian: With your friends, who’s looking after you at the time? Sarah: Alice imo (auntie) and mummy. Ian: Alice imo (auntie) and mummy? Wow, okay and who took you to the films today? Sarah: Harabeoji (grandad) dan-dan Extract 5b

Ian: When you speak to Cara’s mum, what do you say? Sarah: Hannah imo (auntie). Ian: You couldn’t just say Hannah. Sarah: Yes, Ian: Why not? Sarah: It’s rude. Ian: Josi’s mum - who is not Korean. How do you call her? Sarah: Josi’s mummy. Ian: You don’t call her by her name? Sarah: No.

These extracts show Sarah’s innovative use of Korean and English kinship terms in tandem to address her family friends, according to the situation. For instance, in the extracts she says both David samchon (uncle) and Josi’s mummy, utilising kinship terms in both languages. In neither case does she use their first names, because it is rude. The following extract, from an interview with Sarah’s sister Jessie (then 5 years old), shows how the clashing cultures at play for mixed heritage speakers can result in speakers challenging the standard usage of certain terms. In this case, the term in question is 언니 eonni, which is a respectful term meaning ‘older sister’. Extract 5c

Jieun: Why don’t you call Sarah eonni? Jessie: I don’t really because we’re in England. Jieun: But are you going to call her eonni if you go back to Korea? Jessie: Yeah. Jieun: But you didn’t last time. Why don’t you say eonni? Jessie: Because last time Sarah wasn’t with me, it was just me and you. Jieun: But I know that even so you don’t want to call her eonni, why?

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Jessie: Because I should get some respect too. Jieun: Huh? 뭐라고? [Trans: Huh? What do you mean?] Jessie: Because Sarah, I have to call eonni. Jieun: Eonni is respect? Jessie: Yeah, so why don’t I get respect? Jieun: Because she was born earlier than you. Jessie: Exactly, but the second person should also get some respect. Jieun: So, you don’t want to call her eonni because it’s respect? Jessie: Yeah. Jieun: OK, then why should Mirae then call you eonni. Jessie: She doesn’t have to. Jieun: Do you like for her to call you eonni, or are you okay with her calling you… Jessie: I don’t really mind, but I should get respect from the older person. Jieun: OK, so you don’t want to call her eonni because you also want respect? Jessie: Yeah.

Jessie shows that she associates the word eonni (older sister) with respect. Jessie feels like this is unfair, and possibly an imbalance of power. She expresses that she shouldn’t have to show respect to Sarah just because she is older, and that she is just as deserving of respect. However, when asked about whether Jessie likes being called eonni by Mirae, Jessie’s cousin who is younger than Jessie, she shows approval of the term. The term of address is clearly related to power dynamics in a relationship. Jessie wants to stay in the superior position where she is respected but at the same time, she does not wish to show respect to her older sister. Comparatively, Sarah likes being called, and referring to herself, as eonni, as is shown in Figure 5.2.

Figure 5.2  Sarah’s letter to her cousin

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As a member of a multilingual family, Jessie demonstrates how cultural values can clash. In Korean culture, age is the most important determiner of respect, and younger people almost always show their respect to older members through their use of language, whether lexically (through address terms), or morphologically (through honorific suffixes). Although older people may be respected in English society, this is not socially obligatory, and the English language encodes respect linguistically to a lesser degree than Korean. As such, Jessie holds the more Western belief that people do not deserve respect simply because they are older than us. Therefore, to Jessie, eonni (older sister) is both unnecessary and implies that Jessie is not worthy of the same respect. Disagreeing with the use of these respectful terms would be far more difficult in Korea, as such terms are woven into how society functions. However, KE mixed heritage speakers are sometimes able to challenge the consensus and come to their own decisions on how language should work. Multilingual gestures: Waving or bowing, that’s the question

Difficult linguistic decisions apply to gestures too. For instance, greeting somebody with a wave is standard in Britain, but would be rude in Korea. In the following interview extracts, Jieun asks Jessie (then 9 years old) about how she greets older Korean and British people and why. Jessie explains how she greets older people differently in Korea and England: Extract 5d: (Abridged)

Jieun: 이모 할머니한테 한국에 가서 인사할 때 어떻게 하니? [Trans: How do you greet an aunt or a grandmother?] Jessie: Um, bows 안녕하세요. [Trans: Um, bows hello] Jieun: 응, 그렇게? 그러면은 영국에서, 영국에서 할머니, 영국에서 음, 할머니 만나면, 영국에서 뭐지? 옆집 할머니 만나면 어떻게 인사해? [Trans: Yes, like that? Then, how about in England? Grandma in England? Um in England, when you meet grandma, how do you greet the grandma next door?] […] Jessie: Um waves hello. Jieun: 응. 이렇게 말하는 거는 한국, 영국에서는 손 흔들고 한국에서는 이렇게? [Trans: Yes. So, you talk like this in Korea, and wave in England, but what about waving in Korea?] Jessie: 아니, 음, 배꼽 해요. 한국에는. [Trans: No, mm, you bow in Korea.]

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Jieun: 그럼 한국에서 그러면 배꼽 인사 안 하면 어때? 어떻게 돼? 그냥 손 흔들면 안 돼? 한국에서? [Trans: Then what if you don’t bow in Korea? What would happen? Can’t you just wave in Korea?] Jessie: 손 하면 어, 우리는 영국에 있어서 음, we also are young, so we won’t get told off. But, umm 이모 said that waving is not very polite in Korea. But we live in England, and we are used to doing waves. So, we won’t get badly told off. Cuz we arrived in Korea for the holidays so… [Trans: Waving, oh, we are in England mm, we also are young, so we won’t get told off. But, umm Auntie said that waving is not very polite in Korea. But we live in England, and we are used to doing waves. So, we won’t get badly told off. Cuz we arrived in Korea for the holidays so…] Jieun: Sometimes is it confusing? Jessie: Yeah. Jieun: 언제 confusing 해? [Trans: When is it confusing?] Jessie: Um, someone who isn’t that old, I don’t know them very well, and um, like 이모’s friend whom I don’t know, if I’m supposed to bow like this or waves hello like this. [Trans: Um, someone who isn’t that old, I don’t know them very well, and um, like auntie’s friend whom I don’t know, if I’m supposed to bow like this or waves hello like this.] Jieun: I see, so when you don’t know how, do you not do anything or like……. Jessie: Uh, I say 안녕하세요 to the person, but I don’t do any action with my hands or bows 이렇게 or, yeah. [Trans: Uh, I say hello to the person, but I don’t do any action with my hands or bows like this or, yeah.] Jieun: 음, so 아 그러면 영국에서도 그럴 때 있어? 영국에서는 do you have any problem like a, um waving hands? [Trans: Mm, so, oh does that happen in England? In England, do you have problems like, um waving hands?] Jessie: Uh, no, because waving hands is perfectly normal in England. Jieun: That’s right. That’s very normal, 근데 영국에서도 한국 사람들 만나면은 어떻게 해? 할 때 이렇게 해야 돼? 영국에서 한국 사람. [Trans: That’s right. That’s very normal- but what do you do when you meet Koreans in England? Do you have to do the same for Koreans in England?] Jessie: Uh, depending on my who else is with me. Jieun: 그럼 영국에서 만났는데 배꼽 인사해야 되는 사람이 있어? 영국에서도? [Trans: Is there anyone you may need to bow to when you greet in England? Even in England?] Jessie: I’ve never had to do it before, because um they never tell me to do it. Jieun: 근데 한국에서는 한국에 가면은 배꼽 인사해야 되는 거 맞지? [Trans: But you have to bow a lot when you go to Korea, right?]

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Jessie: 어. [Trans: Yes] Jieun: 어, 누구, 그니까 어, can you, kind of, think about people who you, you may need to do 배꼽 인사 in 한국? [Trans: Yes, who, so uh, can you, kind of, think about people who you, you may need to bow to in Korea?] Jessie: 이모 할머니. [Trans: Aunties or grandmas.] Jieun: 응. [Trans: Yep.] Jessie: Umm, um, 할머니 친구. [Trans: Umm, um, grandma’s friend.] […] Jieun: 신 교수님은? [Trans: What about Professor Shin?] Jessie: 신 교… [Trans: Professor Shin…] Jieun: 신 교수님 professor 신, 잘 몰라? [Trans: Professor Shin, Professor Shin, you’re not sure?] Jessie: Um I’ll, I can’t really remember how I, because the last time I saw her was in Oxford, so I didn’t do 배꼽 인사. [Trans: Um I’ll, I can’t really remember how I, because the last time I saw her was in Oxford, so I didn’t bow] Jieun: 응, 만약에 그러면은 엄마 친구들, 만약에 professor 엄마 친구들. [Trans: Ok, then what about my friends, my professor friends.] Jessie: Uh, where am I? Jieun: In Korea. Jessie: Um……. Are they older than you? Jieun: Like me. Jessie: But, older than you, or younger than you? Jieun: 엄마 선생님, 엄마 선생님. [Trans: My teacher, my teacher.] Jessie: And they are in Korea. Jieun: 응. [Trans: Yep] Jessie: 어, 배꼽 인사. [Trans: Oh, I would bow] Jieun: 만약에 엄마보다 어리면? Someone junior to me? [Trans: What if she’s younger than me? Someone junior to me?] Jessie: Well, um, I wouldn’t do any action, I will just say 안녕하세요. [Trans: Well, um, I wouldn’t do any action, I will just say hello].

This conversation between Jessie and her mother shows that Jessie consciously considers how best to greet elders in Korea and England

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according to different cultural standards. These decisions extend to her non-verbal and verbal expressions alike. Elders in Korea must be greeted with a bow, while a wave is standard in England. Jessie recognises this, explaining that she employs different greetings depending on cultural and interpersonal contexts. She states that greetings employed in the wrong cultural setting would be either unnecessary (bowing in England) or inappropriate (waving in Korea), potentially causing offence. Since bowing is used as a polite gesture to show respect for seniority in Korean culture, Jessie shows higher interpersonal sensitivity when greeting Koreans. When her mother asks which gesture she would use when greeting a Korean, Jessie asks her mother for more context before answering. When asked about greeting a British person, however, no further information is required; she consistently answers waving. When discussing how to address a Korean person, Jessie asks about their rank in the social dynamic: who is older, and if they are older or younger than her mother or any other family members present. She also asks where the interaction takes place, whether it is in Korea or England. If the interaction takes place in England, this can allow Jessie to step outside of rigid Korean norms for non-verbal gestures, even when speaking to Koreans, providing an opportunity for translanguaging to take place. When she had insufficient information about the interlocutor’s age or status, Jessie was confused as to whether to bow or wave. In these cases, when speaking to Koreans, she explains that she sometimes opts out of non-verbal expressions altogether, relying upon polite verbal expressions only. This cultural sensitivity can also be seen as a form of translanguaging, since even in her inactivity, her goal is to bridge the cultural gap by avoiding non-verbal expressions rather than risking causing offence. Jessie’s decisions about whether to bow or wave demonstrate how she cross-culturally adapts her expressions to suit the cultural context, depending on the environment and the culture of those present. This also applies to more flexible cultural contexts. For instance, when Jessie met Professor Shin in Oxford, she did not perform a 배꼽인사 baekkobinsa which is a formal 90-degree bow performed with hands clasped in front of you to show respect. The expressions that she selected were of a more trans-cultural nature because of the flexibility granted to her by being in England rather than Korea. 5.5 Summary

In this chapter, we have taken a broad look at how politeness is communicated both verbally and non-verbally. We have also looked specifically at how politeness is produced in English and Korean, and briefly in other languages like Japanese. We have also seen how politeness works

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to smoothen social interactions in these languages. We have examined the non-verbal behaviour associated with politeness in more detail, and how these function alongside verbal modes of communication multimodally to create a coherent meaning. Finally, we have also inspected how multilinguals and mixed heritage speakers produce politeness in their language and non-verbal behaviours, and how they navigate the complex and contradictory cultural standards at play in their multilingual, multicultural environments. Navigating politeness can be challenging across languages. Multilingual individuals, particularly children, learn to adapt and create their own ways to bridge the differences through translanguaging practice. As seen up to this point, children don’t navigate purely linguistic matters but also must consider multiple social factors to reach the ideal language. Notes (1) Triplet – born in 2012 – March – but filmed 30 November 2014; https://tinyurl.com/ multilingual15. (2) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual16. (3) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual17. (4) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual18a.

6 Talking with Parents

Children can also help their parents adapt to a new culture. From my own personal experience, I often hide behind my children when I am first presented with social situations. I am not always sure whether I should hug or kiss English people goodbye. Juggling intimacy in these contexts is very difficult at times. I want to be friendly towards my friends’ husbands, but I would typically nod or bow to bid farewell to them in South Korea. If I offer a handshake, I’m worried that I look formal and distant. Most of the time, I end up saying goodbye through eye contact and letting my kids and husband do all the kissing and hugging. By the time they finish, it’s time to go anyway. Just as Jessie is unsure of when to bow or wave when interacting with Korean people, I find it hard to know exactly how to greet and bid farewell to friends. My children guide me and buy me some time to decide. As a result, they naturally provide assistance to help me negotiate cultural differences. This is symbolic that this chapter is not only about children learning from parents, but parents learning from children too. Another example of this is that, although I understand the ways in which English and Korean sound different, and I have even written a book to precisely talk about this very issue, English pronunciation is still difficult for me at times (Shin et al., 2012). This is where my children step in to help me. In one audio recording that I have collected, I was speaking to my children about a rhubarb dish that my husband had made. Rhubarb is one of the words that I find particularly hard to pronounce because in Korean, the English sounds /l/ and /r/ are both represented by one sound /l/ written in hangul as ㄹ (Kiaer & Ahn, 2021: 143). Upon hearing my pronunciation, my children began telling me how to pronounce rhubarb properly. They said the word slowly, syllable by syllable, in the same way that adults often teach children the pronunciations of words. My children enjoy the feeling of linguistic competence that comes from being able to teach pronunciation to an adult. This has happened many times over the years. I feel they help me linguistically just as much as I help them. The focus of this chapter will be how children and parents interact together and assist each other on a daily basis. The resulting divide created between children and their parents can appear quite definitively. Growing up in a different society to one or

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both of their parents, children may have different values and standards from their parents. This means that compromises must be made for the family to get along, but this is often easier said than done. Conflicts may arise both in a linguistic and cultural sense, between mother and father, or between parents and children. At home, family members experiment, negotiate, concede and create a dynamic, ever-changing system of co-existence that suits each individual, but this takes time and deliberate effort. 6.1 Mother Tongue? Parents’ Tongues?

Parents play a crucial role in children’s language acquisition. In English, the word mother tongue has been commonly used, as it has in many other languages. The meaning of the phrase is vague, perhaps denoting one’s first language, or maybe one’s native language (a problematic term within itself). In such a multilingual time, it seems perhaps that this term has become unsuitable because of its singularity. The term mother tongue too becomes unsuitable as there are many different sources from which children learn languages, and children may have more than one language that could be considered a mother tongue. Even if the term mother tongue represents a child’s first language (L1), what becomes of the other languages they learn at the same time? Young children may be speaking a range of languages at the same time with an unclear L1. Take, for example, Naeun, whom we discussed in Chapter 2. Both German and Korean could be considered her L1. Language acquisition is not a singular one-on-one process, but a plural process with figures other than just the mother playing key roles. Naeun learnt German from her mother, but Korean from her father, so could Korean not be considered her mother tongue? Here, the terms L1 and L2 appear problematic. As Dewaele (2017) has explored, the labels L1 and L2 encode the ideas of native language vs. non-native language, where L2 is an umbrella term encompassing all non-native languages in an insufficient, overly broad manner. Dewaele suggests that LX is a more appropriate term to describe non-L1 languages, because it eradicates the sense of hierarchy that emerges with L1 and L2. LX avoids generalisation and does not specify which language is the L1. Complexity of mother tongues

Defining one’s mother tongue can be a complex matter. In the video clip below, from The Return of Superman, Sarang and her mother, Shiho, converse about what they want to do that day.1 Sarang grew up in a household speaking Japanese and Korean, and then she moved to

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Hawaii and began speaking English too. Now, her family mix the three languages together. Which language can be considered Sarang’s mother tongue is thus unclear. While Shiho is not fluent in Korean, she uses Korean words when she can, and scatters the words in her conversation with Sarang. Sarang responds in English to her mother, despite speaking Japanese to her mother and both Japanese and Korean to her father when she was younger. As Sarang and her mother are now living in an English-speaking region, Shiho may be trying to consciously include both of Sarang’s heritage languages in her conversations with Sarang, so that Sarang does not forget both languages as she learns English. Shiho (mother): 사랑은 오늘 뭐 하고 싶어? [Trans: Sarang, what do you want to do today?] Sarang: shrugs shoulders Mother: 테니스? [Trans: Tennis?] Sarang: shakes head Mother: サラン何かしたいことないの？ [Trans: Sarang, don’t you have anything you want to do?] Sarang: I don’t know Mother: 왜 몰라요? 自分のしたいことがわかんないの？ [Trans: Why don’t you know? Don’t you know what you want to do?] Sarang: Cos I don’t know Mother: いっつもじゃん。사랑, 매일매일 I don’t know, I don’t know. [Trans: You’re like this all the time. Sarang, every day [all you say is] I don’t know, I don’t know.] Mother: そしたら엄마가 하고 싶은 したいやつでもいいの？ [Trans: Then is it alright to do something mummy wants to do?] Mother: 엄마는 あそこ行きたい물놀이 할거야. 물놀이 물놀이. [Trans: I want to go there, I’m going to play in the water. Play in the water. Note: Here it seems like Shiho was trying to say 엄마가 하고 싶은 것 해도 돼/해도 괜찮아? (Can we do what I want to do?) But she switched half-way through the sentence as maybe she couldn’t figure out how to say this quickly in Korean.] Mother: 쌍둥이 覚えてる？쌍둥이?2 [...] スーパーマン見たら어떤 기분이에요? [Trans: Do you remember the twins? The twins? … How do you feel when you watch The Return of Superman?] Sarang: Oh my god… I don’t know. Mother: なんで I don’t know なの？ それ流行ってんの？ [Trans: Why [are you saying] I don’t know? Is that [phrase] trending?]

In this conversation, the pragmatic choice would be to speak in Japanese, which is the language with the highest shared proficiency, but Shiho chooses to use English, Japanese and Korean to build solidarity

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with Sarang. Thus, we see translanguaging being used to achieve solidarity and identity. This is perhaps counterintuitive, as Shiho’s Korean proficiency is low, so this choice goes against efficiency. Shiho, however, makes this choice to assert their multilingual solidarity. Sarang’s actions (shaking her head, shrugging her shoulders, and giving vague answers like I don’t know) are viewed by both her mother and the programme narrators as an act of 思春期 shishunki, 사춘기 sachungi (puberty). Her responses are not seen as respectful ‘normal’ manners a child should have when conversing with a parent. 6.2 Family Language as Social Practice

The ways in which families negotiate multiple languages have been explored in detail by Zhu (2008), which looks at the complex relationship between social interaction and sociocultural values. Zhu uses samples of conflict talk between parents and children in Chinese diasporic families in the UK as evidence to explore and analyse how code switching occurs in conversations between different generations. The paper presents how conflicts are meted out using code switching, how ideas, such as personal values and identities, are negotiated in the process of bilingual interaction and how the very nature of being bilingual creates new family dynamics and values. Zhu highlights how speakers of different generations use English and Chinese in bilingual conversations selectively and strategically, crediting certain attributes to their use of each language. I build upon this research, looking at how diverse the language systems employed by KE families are, and how parents and children in KE encounter and resolve intercultural conflict. Zhu has also looked into interculturality and seeks to contribute to this field by investigating how different generations of diasporic families negotiate their sociocultural values through interaction. Zhu focuses on the use of address terms by Chinese diasporic families living in the UK. The author considers language socialisation to be more than merely transferring social and cultural values from one generation to another, instead viewing it as a means of changing social and cultural values. Therefore, Zhu does not just look at language as a reflection of sociocultural ideas, but as something that informs them. Zhu looks at the use of Chinese and English by the older and younger generations of families, discussing older generations’ use of English pronouns and address terms as a they-language, with younger generations viewing English as a we-language, and how both generations employ address terms in either English or Chinese selectively in order to portray their feelings regarding family values (based in either their Chinese or British cultural heritage). I add to this, considering how KE children negotiate Korean politeness rules carefully, despite their partial belonging to

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English culture, which does not have such defined or strict rules. I also examine the differences that Korean parents feel there are between speaking English and Korean, and how this translates into their children’s conceptions of the two languages. In this way, we begin to see how not only multiple languages, but their related cultures too, must be deliberately, creatively and carefully combined for a multilingual and multicultural household to work. Universally, parents are concerned with making sure that their child learns politeness. Shoshana Blum-Kulka (1990) has explored this. In her study, Blum-Kulka examines the expression of linguistic politeness in family discourse at the dinner table for a total of 35 Israeli, American and American–Israeli families. She finds that, even though the dinner table is an inherently informal setting, politeness is still crucially important. She examines the use of metapragmatic comments in the process of pragmatic socialisation of children at the dinner table. Her findings demonstrated that all households placed importance on maxim violation (the violation of the four Gricean maxims). American households placed a lot of deliberate emphasis on turn taking, and Israeli families concentrated on correcting behaviour. In relation to the study of children’s language acquisition through social interaction, Blum-Kulka highlights the significant ways in which adults adapt their language and mediate politeness and directness when talking to their children, as well as how the use of metapragmatic comments varies according to culture. In this chapter, I will also look at politeness as a key theme, but I will consider how all parties must make concessions in their expectations of politeness to avoid conflict within and outside of the family. The mother’s role

Mothers play an important role in KE children’s education. Education fever is strong in East Asia. Many parents send their children to several hours of extra private tuition every day. Just as the desire for young children to learn English in East Asia is strong, the desire for KE children to learn Korean is also strong among KE families. I interviewed 80 KE children who attend a Korean Saturday school. Around 80–90% of the children had Korean parents and the rest had mostly Korean mothers and English fathers. Only a few had an English mother and Korean father. The majority answered that it was their mother who had the idea to send them to study at a Korean Saturday school. More specifically, the survey shows that the main stakeholders in deciding whether a child attends Korean heritage classes are members of the direct family (parents 49.06%) and, more specifically, mothers (37.74%), although a small percentage are also self-motivated to study Korean (7.55%). Parents’ and teachers’ opinions can have a huge impact on how children view and craft their identity.

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One family I interviewed had to leave home at 6am every Saturday to attend a Korean school in Chessington. This was a demanding commitment, but the mother woke up at 5am to make gimbap before the journey each week. Being able to send her daughter to Korean school meant a lot to the mother who was Korean, while her husband was British. For many Korean and Japanese diaspora communities, language schools hold great significance as a place parents can send their children to not only learn their heritage language but also their heritage culture, which is embedded within a classroom and the wider school structure and community. The daughter I interviewed could not understand her mother’s enthusiasm for the school, however, she was happy to wake up early each Saturday morning as she got the chance to see her Korean friends and speak to them in a mixture of Korean and English. While younger children often had fewer complaints regarding their parents’ language policies, a difference in opinion can develop between children and their parents as the children grow. Language and identity

Parents wish for their children to be able to speak Korean not only for purely communicative reasons. Language and identity are perceived as going hand in hand by parents. As we will see below, many Korean parents maintain that their children should learn Korean simply because they are Korean, though some are flexible. Parents want their children to at least know that they are Korean, and language is one of the most common ways to achieve this. Below are some responses to the question ‘How well do you think your kids should speak Korean?’ from a Google Jamboard session that I ran in 2021 with KE parents in Europe. • I always stress that my child speaks Korean because she is Korean. Of course, right now, her Korean is not as good as her German, but as she grows older, I believe she can improve her Korean on her own if she wants to be better at it. Until then, I’m trying to teach her. • I always tell my child that they need to use the Korean language as a Korean person. My child has been going to a weekend Korean school since kindergarten for almost eight years now. The reason why I sent him to a Korean school in Germany is because I want him to speak and write in Korean. I hear that going to Korean schools on the weekend can ease the stress of children feeling different in German local schools on the weekdays, as they feel like they look different from others, even though they were raised in Germany. • My children’s first language is Korean, but they think in Spanish or French. They are currently going to a French school. I was able to teach Korean to my first kid without any problem, but I had to spend quite some time convincing my second son as he did not want to at first. I convinced him to learn by telling him that he looks Korean, and he

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is, in fact, Korean, so other people will expect him to speak Korean. ‘If so, won’t it be useful for you to speak Korean?’, I said and although he doesn’t seem to be convinced 100%, he goes to Korean language school. • My children are 7 and 4 so they cannot decide for themselves yet what their identities would be between Spanish or Korean. […] One thing I was most scared of was if I would be able to empathise with my children when they consult me about their identities. I am teaching them Korean now to help them make a more informed decision for when they need to choose nationality in the future rather than for the sake of teaching one other language to speak. • I feel I should teach them Korean so they can communicate with me more effectively, but there aren’t many chances for them to interact with Koreans. They essentially have me only. So even if I teach them the language, I doubt that they will be able to express subtle nuances and emotions. What’s comforting is that Korean culture and content like Squid Game are becoming more popular so my children will want to learn Korean on their own. • I think I may come to an age as I get older when I would not want to speak in English or another language to talk with my daughter, Sarah. So, I always talk in Korean with her. For me and for Sarah to understand me, I think we should always speak in Korean. No one response has exactly the same reasoning, but they all suggest a common theme of wanting their children to acknowledge themselves as being Korean. Hence, learning Korean moves beyond the basic facets of communication, and into a more complex matrix of identity politics. The importance of learning heritage language and culture is evident from parents of KE families who are keen to send their children to Korean school. The section below will further deal with the interplay of language and culture. 6.3 Diversity in Family Language Practice

Each multilingual family has its own language practice. This practice is uniquely adapted to the needs of the family and is constantly being reworked and developed with each interaction. Family language practice is influenced by parents’ ideals for their children’s life trajectory and parents’ expectations for family interaction in the household at present. The home is a safe space where nothing is set in stone. Parents and children have the space to experiment with communication, and everyone can voice their opinions on whether it is working or not. Below, I will examine the language practices of two KE families, Lauren’s family, and Cara’s family, both families comprising a Korean mother and British father. Despite the similarity in their composition, the language practice adopted by each family varies greatly.

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Lauren’s family language: Including dad too

Below we will look at the language practice employed in Lauren’s house. In this household, the mother is Korean, and the father is British. They have two children. Lauren is the oldest sibling. She has one younger brother. Transcript

Mother: In fact, my kids used to not be very good at English. I don’t know when, but Lauren started to realise that her father did not understand Korean. Actually, I would say that she knew this right away. After this realisation, Lauren didn’t use Korean with her dad even though she did not know the words she wanted to say in English. Jieun: I see. Even if she could not speak English well? Mother: Yes. So, Lauren started to pick up English very quickly because she kept talking to her dad. Jieun: May I ask how old Lauren is now? Mother: She is four years old. Jieun: Four-years-old? Mother: Yep. Four-years-old, in international age. Jieun: But looking at Lauren, I think she speaks much better English than Korean. I mean, really, that’s what it feels like. […] Mother: Uh... Let me see. I remember you telling me that Lauren’s case is kind of special. The usual progress of learning two languages goes like this: the kids first start learning Korean, and then come in touch with English and face challenges. After some time of learning English at school and with more practice, the kids get to know the language. However, Lauren has started learning both Korean and English almost at the same time. Jieun: Oh. Is that so? I see. Mother: Yes. I think it’s because of Lauren’s good relationship with her dad. Yes. Jieun: And Lauren’s dad always speaks in English? Mother: Yes. […] Mother: Yeah. I take care of my youngest son most of the time, so right now he understands a lot of Korean and simple English words, like Stop it!, but he would not be able to understand more sophisticated instructions like how to do something. […] Mother: The thing is, I also want to teach Korean to my kids, but it doesn’t work out when their dad is present. Of course, I need to speak English too. Otherwise, my husband will be alienated from the family. Jieun: Yeah, I can see that. Mother: But I heard that some wives speak Korean regardless. Jieun: Even when the husband is present?

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Mother: Yes, even when the dad is right there with the family, but my husband doesn’t like that at all. Jieun: Ah, so you mean some people speak in Korean to their kids even when the dads are around, and they don’t understand the language? Mother: Exactly. My husband doesn’t understand when I speak in Korean. Jieun: Yeah. Mother: That’s why he asked me not to speak in Korean when he is around. Jieun: I see. Well, he will be isolated if he cannot be part of the conversation. Mother: Sure. So, now that we talk more in English, the words we use are more and more English and less Korean. So now even I just speak in English, especially in circumstances when kids cannot recall a word or understand Korean. Jieun: Naturally. I guess the portion of English will grow bigger in their speech. Mother: Yes. Right. Now I am the only person who speaks in Korean at home. Because of that, our family is leaning towards using English more at home. When we get up in the morning, we naturally speak in English, like Mummy, I want breakfast, and I’m hungry. But we don’t usually say baegopayo (I’m hungry). It’s rare.

KE children often begin learning Korean first. Then, as they come into contact with English, primarily through schooling, they gradually begin to learn English, until it becomes their dominant language. Lauren’s family differs from this trend, however. Although Lauren was at first more competent in Korean, she quickly became competent in both English and Korean, and by the age of four, she was better at English than Korean. Lauren’s English language proficiency was due to her family’s unique language practice. Lauren’s father cannot speak or understand any Korean, and thus he speaks English at home, and the rest of the family talk English when he is around. Lauren’s mother points out that Lauren became aware that her father could not speak or understand Korean at a very young age, and thus she stopped speaking Korean to him. Through spending a lot of time with him she began to speak English proficiently. In comparison, her younger brother spends more time with his mother, and thus his Korean is better than his English. In most KE families, the oldest child speaks Korean most proficiently, but this is not the case in Lauren’s family. Relationships with parents instead play an important role in maintaining language proficiency. What is notable about this household is that they deliberately speak English together so as not to exclude the father from the conversation. Though the mother would like her kids to learn Korean well, she refrains from speaking to them in Korean when their father is present. The father has also requested that they speak in English when the whole

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family is together, so that he will not feel alienated or isolated from the conversation. This has resulted in the mother using English more and more often, particularly in cases where her children don’t know or understand a Korean word. In this way, all parties of the family are trying to make the languages in the house work for everyone. This household does not view language acquisition as taking priority over creating a unified and inclusive household. This is not to say that what other households are doing is alienating, but that in this particular household, speaking solely Korean can have that effect. Because of the potential of alienating the father, Lauren and her mother choose to speak English to create the kind of family dynamic that they wish to have. Though the mother wants to speak more Korean, she also compromises and uses English with Lauren when she cannot understand Korean. In this way, Lauren’s family have created a unique language practice that satisfies all the wishes of each family member and makes the best sense considering each of the family members’ particular linguistic needs. Christopher and Cara’s family language: A £10 reward

In comparison to Lauren’s family, Christopher and Cara’s family adopts a completely different language practice. Cara’s family adheres to the trend of KE children learning Korean to a proficient level first and then English after. The father does not speak Korean, like Lauren’s family, but interestingly, he urges his children to speak Korean, even creating some activities to encourage them to use their Korean. Transcript

Dave: It really depends on, like, we are trying to get them to speak Korean at least. We’re trying to get them to speak Korean, but it’s a hard-fought battle. We have got to having points where we actually have afternoons of just speaking Korean or have a couple of hours where you’re only allowed to speak Korean and we pay them for it. Jieun: Oh really? And you are happy for them to do that? You don’t speak Korean, do you? Dave: No, no. But that was my idea, trying to get them to speak better, their second language. So, we’ll do like maybe an hour or half an hour some days, other days we’ll do like a whole afternoon. Like we had one time where we did, I think, it was a full day of Korean. We started at £10 and if they spoke any English, it got reduced. It became very competitive, like Christopher saying, Cara Spoke English! No, I didn’t! Jieun: Fantastic, I think that’s very good. Dave: So, the dominant one is English. It’s taken, I think, like Christopher is more adventurous so he quite likes speaking in Korean, and he will speak with Hannah in Korean more than the other two. Anna and Cara are bit shyer, so they are more reluctant to do so because

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it exposes their failings, but since we’ve been doing these days over the last 6 months or so, we’ve been having these days of doing Korean, they’re all becoming a bit more confident with their Korean, so slowly over time it’s picking up. They all understand it, so Hannah speaks to them in Korean, they all understand it, no problem. It’s just them actually vocalising it which is the issue. It’s just practice. Jieun: So, you’re happy for them to speak Korean even if you don’t understand everything? Dave: Yeah, I don’t mind. It gives me peace and quiet. Jieun: How much Korean do you understand? Dave: Very little. So, you know, it’s cold, I’m hungry, it’s snowing… Very basic, I pick up occasional words here and there. Jieun: Do you think it’s important for them to learn Korean and for them to be able to speak Korean? Dave: 100% Jieun: Why do you think so? Dave: Because… um… a couple of reasons, partly because it’s their heritage. It’s 50% of their make up is Korean, and I think it’s important for them to be in touch with that as much as is humanly possible. I would love for them to go over to Korea at some point, spend some time there, study there, and understand it. I think also with their future with regards to business, being able to understand not just two languages but two cultures, is super important in how they are able to communicate with people, if you can understand and communicate with people in a Western and an Asian way, have both the understanding of the top-down hierarchical and plus you have the face. You’re able to manoeuvre in business much better than you would do than if you just have a one-dimensional approach to business. For the future, it’s important. […] Jieun: Like Sarah and Jessie, I know they (Dave’s children) were first exposed to Korean, and then immersed into English. Did your parents or your brother find it okay? Dave: […] In those early days, it was difficult for me as well because I didn’t actually have a relationship with the kids. It wasn’t until they hit 4, that I could actually have a serious relationship with them because they only spoke to their mum. But I accepted that because that was the only way that they were going to have the language, so I sucked it up, but with regards to actually having a real relationship with the kids, I had to kind of wait until later. I think my mother probably found it quite hard at the beginning too. […] There was sacrifice at the beginning.

The father expresses the importance of being in touch with one’s heritage. His children are half Korean, and he believes that they should honour that as a family. He wishes to make sure that his children can not only understand, but speak Korean fluently, and thus he devised a challenge for which the children were only allowed to speak in Korean

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for an allotted period. He offered them a monetary prize to encourage them to speak Korean. They would start at £10 and every time they used English, the sum would diminish. Dave notes that these challenges have helped his children not only to be more fluent in Korean but to also become more confident when speaking the language. Dave’s reasoning for creating the challenge is that it is important to be in touch with the other half of their heritage by immersing themselves in the language and that it would be a valuable skill being able to understand not just languages, but two cultures, especially because they have grown up in a Western society. He gives the example of being in business, where learning both Western and Asian methods of communications would help them navigate business situations better, giving them a multidimensional perspective. Dave concedes the challenges of a bilingual household. He admits to not being able to connect with his children initially, as they only spoke in Korean until the age of 4. His side of the family also found it difficult to communicate with the children. However, he viewed this as a necessary sacrifice so that the children could have the language. He expresses his content regarding the fact that his children are able to express themselves in Korean with confidence. Dave is overall very positive towards the language-learning environment of his household, and he encourages his children to speak Korean whenever they can and embrace the cultural aspect of it. Hence, Cara and Christopher’s family have created a language practice that has also involved sacrifices and negotiations. In the long term, this language practice has served the family well. The father felt strongly that he wanted his children to speak Korean, and the mother, who is Korean, would have wanted her children to speak Korean too. To achieve their goal, the father had to give up having meaningful communication with his children for the first few years of his life as a father, and both parents have worked to incentivise their children to speak Korean. After the children began to speak both Korean and English competently, the parents felt that they had succeeded in creating a multilingual household that honours both cultures in the house. No one household is the same

As evidenced in the interviews above, there is huge diversity in family language practice, even when the composition of Korean and English parents is the same. Cara and Lauren’s families demonstrate that multiple combinations can work to create a unified household. Family language practice is affected by an array of factors: ideals, longterm goals, interpersonal relationships, closeness and so on. Families negotiate these factors to figure out how multiple languages and cultures can co-exist in a manner that suits both parents’ hopes for their

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household environment. Each household designs a unique practice that is dynamic and always being negotiated and re-evaluated. There is no right and wrong when it comes to family language practice. Each family considers their own needs and wishes, and thus creates their family language in accordance. Our secret language

Within my own family, Ian faced some difficulties in communicating with my children at a young age, just like Dave did. Ian and Jessie relied on body gestures a lot in the beginning to aid communication. However, knowledge of multiple languages can also unite parents and their children in other situations. When Sarah was five years old, we were in a coffee shop near SOAS University. In the toilet, we saw a small mouse. We talked to the owner quietly, explaining what we saw before returning to our seats. We continued to talk about what we had just seen in Korean, so nobody else around us understood what we were talking about. We were wary of the owner feeling uncomfortable or getting irritated if we continued talking about it in English – it could also drive away customers who could hear our conversation. Yet, we still wanted to talk about it. In this experience, it felt like we had our own secret language. We could rely on this language to share something purely between ourselves and establish a sense of solidarity while allowing us to be able to talk freely in the presence of others. 6.4 Relations Matter

KE children learn to shift between polite -yo speech styles and casual banmal speech styles from a young age. They make the switch between formal and casual speech according to the situation. This may encompass set factors such as age or status but may also depend on the context. For example, a child may switch to the polite -yo form when being scolded by a parent, when they would usually speak in the casual form in daily life. This shift can be a sign of children feeling safe with the interlocutor. KE kids gradually explore different interpersonal relations and the use of politeness, although it takes time for them to fully understand the complex array of nuanced meanings. Overall, they learn the differences between the two forms and when to shift between them, as a failure to do so could harm their relationship with the addressee. In particular, KE kids know that they should not shift forms with their carers or teachers, no matter how close they are with them. However, how strict each family is about the use of -yo varies from household to household. In particular, I have noticed from my surveys and interviews that intercultural couples tend to be more relaxed about hierarchy and the use of associated verbal and non-verbal forms of

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politeness. Korean parents are much stricter about raising their children to know 예의 yeui (courtesy). No matter the type of household, KE families tend to send their children to Korean Saturday schools. Korean Saturday schools not only teach Korean language, but also Korean yeui. The motto of the biggest Korean school in Chessington, UK is: • Ye 예 (Propriety): to regard elders with deference and maintain a proper living. • Chung 충 (Loyalty): to devote mind and body to one’s country and remain loyal. • Eun 은 (Gratitude): to recognise one’s indebtedness and gratitude towards their teacher. • Hwa 화 (Harmony): to live harmoniously with neighbours, as well as camaraderie. Language innovation and relations

KE families often use -yo in a different manner to monolingual Koreans. For example, it is interesting to note that even when KE children speak in English, they add the Korean phrase 제발요 (jebalyo, please) to the end of their speech when asking their parents for a favour, as is shown in the following examples. Jessie: 엄마, Could I have the Sylvanian? Please – 제발요 (jebalyo) [Trans: Mum, Could I have the Sylvanian? Please – please] Sarah: Mummy, Can Phoebe have a sleepover – 제발요 (jebalyo) [Trans: Mummy, Can Phoebe have a sleepover – please]

Here, 제발 jebal means please, and 요 yo indicates politeness. The use of the phrase in this way is not shared by monolingual Koreans, rather, it is an innovative use of mixed language by KE children, including my own, within their communities. The innovative use of this Korean phrase, after stating a request in English, arose from the lack of a means to express this level of politeness when using English alone. ‘Please’ does not express enough politeness in KE children’s eyes. Therefore, even if a child says something along the lines of ‘please could I…’ they feel the need to add a translanguaging element to the end of their request. To me, English seems like a vacuum language; it doesn’t reflect the relation between each party involved in the conversation (including the speaker, the listener, and the subject) and it also does not reflect the speaker’s attitude. By contrast, in Korean the particles at the end of a verb add a complex dimension of meanings. Jieun: Did you not know where we were? 몰랐어? [Trans: Did you not know where we were? Didn’t you know?]

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Jessie: 몰랐쟎아. 그래서, I was worried. [Trans: I didn’t know, did I. That’s why I was worried.]

In this example, Jessie is using banmal (casual speech) as well as English to me expressing a sense of intimacy and closeness, which would not necessarily be as apparent if English alone was used. Jessie uses an emphatic ending 쟎아 jyanha, which gives a strong sense of ‘Of course I didn’t know!’, as if Jessie is repeating something obvious that her mother should have known. Said to any other Korean person in Jessie’s life, this phrase would sound very rude. Because Jessie and I have a close mother–daughter relationship, Jessie can express her frustration freely. Such emphatic sentiments would not be encoded into the grammar of English in the same way. Cultural conflicts: When my kids speak in Korean, they are like lambs

Too much emphasis on order and hierarchy can lead to conflict. Modern families living in Western countries tend to emphasise a friendly relationship between children and adults. Shoshanna BlumKulka (1990) has noted that American parents tend to place a high level of emphasis on their children’s independence and equality amongst all family members, treating them more as an equal than an inferior. Comparatively, my data highlights that many KE families, particularly those in which both parents are Korean, believe that authority and hierarchy matter. Consequently, they look for a certain kind of verbal and non-verbal behaviour when at home. Below are some responses that I obtained from Korean parents in interviews that demonstrate this: • When my kids start speaking in English, we can’t share deep things – or emotions. • When my kids speak in Korean, they are like lambs, but when they speak in English, their tones become aggressive. • I lose my authority when I speak in English because they speak better English than me. • When they speak in English, I don’t feel 정 jeong (affection). • I feel distant and disconnected because my child speaks in English alone. • When they speak in English, they sound aggressive. I don’t want them to speak in English to me. The above responses demonstrate that Korean parents notice a distinct lack of yeui (politeness) when their children speak in English. Two responses note English as seeming to be ‘aggressive’, two note not being able to assert authority in English and two note the difficulty of sharing emotions in English. It is these differences between Korean and English that can lead to conflict, not because of which language is used, but because of the cultural contrast encoded into the language.

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Similar conflicts were apparent in an interactive talk that I held on Jamboard with Professor Kwangok Song in October 2021. We collected responses from five parents who lived in Germany, two from France, one parent from Spain, one from Nigeria, one from Luxembourg and one from Georgia. When asked about the difficulties of children being bilingual, I obtained the following responses: • The tone of his voice is completely different when he speaks Spanish rather than Korean. I think that language definitely dominates how a person thinks and reasons. • It was very strange to see my 10-year-old son speak another language. In fact, I was shocked. When he speaks in Korean, he sounds amiable, and he talks like a baby. I think it’s because he mostly uses Korean to talk with his mum and dad only. When he uses other languages, his voice changes completely. I have also frequently noticed that both Sarah and Jessie sound more docile and less assertive when they speak to me in Korean than when they speak in English. This kind of difference in how speech sounds based on tone, pitch, as well as the syntax, has been noticed by most other parents whom I have spoken with on different occasions. Through the interviews, we can gain a broader perspective about Korean heritage families. Some responses also provided insight into speaking Korean outside of the home, and how it was perceived: • I speak Korean all the time, but there were times when my kid spoke to me in Spanish when we were out in public and people stared because I was speaking a foreign language. • When we first came to Spain, my kid did not like speaking Korean in public places, like subways and buses. My voice tends to be loud and when he feels like my voice is getting louder, he switches to English as he understands that my Spanish is slow and, well, not good enough. After going through that experience several times, I just communicate in English if we are in a public place where other people can hear us. The reason he asked to speak in English in public is that when we speak Korean, other people don’t understand what we’re saying and they glance at us. I mean, personally, I’m not ashamed to speak Korean just because other people stare at me, but...well, I think my kid feels that way. • When a child speaks multiple languages, people go wow – that’s cool, right? I think the pressure to impress when you hear such things makes you speak less. It may be that you don’t speak every language at native level, so you don’t want to embarrass yourself. I hope, though, that multilingual children can feel confident with an attitude like ‘Yes, I can speak three languages’ as they become more fluent in their languages.

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Although cultural conflict may arise between parents and children due to linguistic factors, it is not only the differing natures of the two languages that may cause conflict, the environment in which they are spoken contributes to this conflict as well. In the first two responses above, we see that children may be embarrassed by their parents speaking a different language in public and thus may deliberately speak back to them in a different language, even though they would not do so at home. In comparison, the third response demonstrates the pressures children may come under to speak two languages and how such pressure may result in internal conflicts for the children. They can’t really understand English

The KE children that I spoke to often assume that their parents do not speak good English, when in fact they live and work in England, so they are fluent in English. Take for example, Jack who was born in 2006. In an interview conducted with 10-year-old Jack, we see that he has a flexible strategy for with whom he speaks which language. Transcript

Jieun: Do you want to speak English or Korean with your parents? Jack: Korean Jieun: Why? Jack: Because they can’t really understand English as well as me, and it just feels right. Jieun: But your mum and dad speak very good English? Jack: Yeah, but I don’t think they recognise my speaking. Jieun: Or is it something else, like when you speak in English do you feel it’s a bit rude to Mum and Dad? Jack: No. Jieun: How do you feel different when you speak in English or speak Korean? Jack: No difference. Jieun: When you speak with Ben or Anna, how do you want to speak? Jack: Korean. Jieun: Why? Jack: Because Ben understands Korean better. Jieun: What about Anna? Jack: English. Jieun: Why? Jack: Because we’re both used to English because we go to school and yeah… Jieun: Do you think there are any words that Korean has but English doesn’t have? Jack: No.

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Interestingly, Jack does not feel that speaking English is rude, contrary to some of his KE peers. Instead, he thinks pragmatically about language. He calculates which language he should speak according to the addressee. Situations with both his mother and father equal speaking Korean, as do situations with both his siblings, Ben and Anna, but with just Anna the interaction equals English, rather than Korean. Jack assesses all the information he has about the person he is speaking with and thereupon decides which language is most suitable. He adopts a flexible strategy to make the most out of each interaction. This process demonstrates the essence of translanguaging competence as deployed by a multilingual child. This is just a snapshot of how Jack is translanguaging at the age of 10 years. As his family’s language proficiency grows and changes, Jack’s translanguaging has inevitably changed and adapted too. Now 16 years old, Jack finds it difficult to interact with me, as he uses less Korean on a daily basis. He feels pressured to speak Korean to me, so as to be socially appropriate with me. As a result, he is more reserved now, much like I have observed in many KE teenagers who are interacting with Korean adults. I fight in Korean with my mum

Much as 10-year-old Jack showed strong awareness about which languages that he would speak to which member of his family, 15-year-old Ruby also has awareness of which language she should speak and when: Jieun: 엄마하고 말할 때 한국말로 꼭 하는게 있어? 꼭 한국말로 해야 될 때가 있어? [Trans: Is there a circumstance when you need to speak in Korean? Like when you’re speaking to your mother?] Ruby: 둘 다 싸울 때. [Trans: When we’re arguing.]

Ruby feels that it is most appropriate to speak Korean to her mother if they are having an argument. Ruby feels that it is unfair to speak in English during an argument, as her mother’s English is not so good. Thus, it is only fair that they both speak Korean in Ruby’s eyes. In comparison, Jack asserted that he would always speak Korean to his parents, as he felt their Korean was stronger than their English. This reminds us that while KE children have similarities in their approach to translanguaging, each child has their own language habits. The different choices that children make may in part be down to their family’s choices as a whole, too. If a family uses a lot of Korean at home, then it makes sense that their child would always speak to them in Korean. Conversely, if a family does not speak much Korean at home, then children may choose to speak Korean only on standout occasions, such

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as arguing. Children have a lot of agency over how they choose to use translanguaging, although there are outside factors that are influential. Thus, children individually make their own language choices to navigate communication in their everyday lives. 6.5 Summary

In conclusion, no one family’s linguistic environment is the same. Each family member has their own goals and ideas, based heavily on their identity and how they wish it to be expressed. From Korean parents wanting their Korean children to learn Korean language and 예의 yeui (politeness), to British parents wanting to have a good relationship with their children, but also wanting them to belong to and understand Korean culture and language, a bilingual household is a special place where lots of decisions need to be made. Families try out different combinations of language use and strive to come to a point where the language used suits everyone. Parents compromise and sacrifice. Meanwhile, children learn to navigate different cultures, assessing each situation and translanguaging accordingly. Children become naturally sensitive to the nuances of each language, and deliberately choose which language they speak to avoid conflict. As a result, children are also able to smooth over cultural conflicts that parents may encounter by telling their parents what to do or buying them some time to make their own decision. Parents provide the primary environment for children to build up their linguistic structure and develop their linguistic tapestry. Through interacting with parents initially, children learn how to interact, negotiate, and build relations. Despite the term ‘mother tongue’, a child’s father, relatives, and carers all play an important role in forming their languages. This happens not only when children are learning a language at an early age, but also throughout their lives. They are constantly negotiating, discussing, and building their identities in a unique manner according to the stage of life in which they are. When talking with parents, children are in a safe space where they can experiment with language. Parents and children learn together to make meaning in the best way for the family. It is never perfect, and conflict is inevitable, but the family works together creatively to resolve issues and satisfy the values of all parties. Notes (1) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual19. (2) Shiho refers to the triplets who featured on the same show by how they are known in Korea (쌍둥이 ssangdungi), instead of calling them the triplets in Japanese (三つ子, mitsugo).

7 Talking with Grandparents, Wider Family and Carers

Grandparents and carers in the wider community play a major role in children’s learning of language and culture, especially in their early years. Grandparents, in particular, have a great desire to be connected, and so are influential in children’s language acquisition – both their heritage language(s) and translanguaging develops through the cultural conflicts that occur frequently in interactions with grandparents. Many KE children have one set of grandparents living close to them and the others far away. Local British grandparents and wider family inevitably spend more time with the children and so they help the children to navigate their languages greatly. Even though one might assume that grandparents living far away may not influence their grandchildren so much, technology enables them to have regular encounters with their grandchildren in virtual spaces. Many KE families take long holidays to Korea, where they can afford it, allowing for an intensive immersion experience. For KE children, learning about translanguaging and negotiating cultural identities involves pragmatics and politeness. However, there has not been a great deal of work on the roles of grandparents in children’s language acquisition, nor on the roles of the wider family or carers. This chapter will discuss how KE children interact with these interlocutors, especially grandparents, and how they learn about their languages and cultures in the process. Pragmatics and politeness will be given much due attention, because of the importance of these aspects of communication to KE children. There has been little written about translanguaging between children and grandparents and wider family, although it is possible to find works, such as Nakamura and Quay (2012), which discuss the role of grandparents in children’s language acquisition. Grandparents and carers in the wider community play a major role in children’s learning of language and culture, especially in their early years. As such, understanding the role they play in the language acquisition of children in bilingual, bicultural families is very important. Interactions with grandparents facilitates an immersion into the cultural and historical contexts of Korean heritage. 125

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There are increasing representations of cross-cultural families onscreen as of late.1 Many are based on true stories and written and directed by the protagonist in the story, making their depictions rather realistic. Such films tend to focus on familial relationships, as well as issues of conflicting cultures and identities and how second-generation immigrants learn to negotiate this. Lee Isaac Chung’s Korean-American film Minari (미나리) (2020) highlights the conflicts that arise between grandchildren and their grandma because of cultural clashes. The film centres around the Yi family, who have moved to Arkansas in the hopes of setting up a Korean produce farm. When Mrs Yi’s mother comes to stay, the parents do not make any attempt to mediate the cultural differences between the grandmother and their children. Instead, the children are expected to adapt to their grandmother’s Korean ways. The youngest son in the Yi family does not interact with his grandma according to standard Korean politeness forms, as he has grown up in America, so he does not know how to behave before his grandmother. However, as his grandmother is the oldest member of the family, she can do no wrong in the eyes of David’s strict parents. Because his grandmother sits at the top of the hierarchy, David is expected to follow his grandmother’s lead, without inconveniencing her. Thus, when any conflicts arise, David will always be the one at fault in his parent’s eyes. Having grown up in America, David cannot immediately understand the cultural differences between himself and his grandmother. In one scene, David and his elder sister, Anna, are out for a walk with grandma. As they reluctantly trail behind her, they complain in English that she does not behave the way that they believe a ‘real’ grandma should (Figure 7.1). David lists how she should act as a ‘real’ grandma, but none of his criteria are culturally relevant to Korea. Grandma is completely oblivious to this. In fact, she turns to the children smiling at one point and says, ‘You like grandma? Haha, thank you!’ Grandma’s statement shows that

Figure 7.1  Anna and David complain that grandma isn’t a real grandma, unbeknownst to grandma

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she believes the children like her and are talking about this, unaware that they are not enjoying her company at all because of their cultural differences. However, while grandma appears unaware in this scene in Minari, in reality senior Korean family members also experience conflicts and feel disconnected from their grandchildren because of the language barrier and cultural differences. Although my children and my mother get on very well, one of the issues that still arises between them is related to hierarchy. My mother insists that Jessie call Sarah eonni (older sister) to uphold Korean hierarchical norms. Jessie, however, does not agree. Hierarchy according to relations becomes invisible in English, and this is the reason for which Korean people in general feel very uncomfortable when using English. This issue causes a lot of intergenerational conflicts among Korean diaspora. 7.1 Maintaining Heritage Languages

Maintaining heritage languages in immigrant families is not an easy task. As KE children grow up many are decreasingly exposed to the Korean language and culture, until they eventually stop speaking Korean. In one interview with a Korean grandmother, Mrs Kim (aged 72) stated: They all used to speak Korean, but they don’t speak Korean anymore. They understand me, but don’t speak to me in Korean. These days, my three grandchildren don’t speak in Korean at all. Cara used to speak in Korean, but she hardly speaks Korean to me. The two boys don’t speak Korean at all. I feel disconnected from them. I wish they could speak Korean just a little bit.

KE parents often try to retain the services of Korean babysitters and childminders. The amount of time that young children spend with carers is significant, and often more than the time that they spend with their own parents, so a carer speaking Korean can contribute significantly to children maintaining competence in the language. A carer speaking another language can even be a hindrance. For instance, William, a Singaporean child whose mother is Korean, and father is Australian, was looked after by a childminder from the Philippines. Consequently, William started to speak Tagalog, and eventually did so more than he spoke Korean or English. In my family, a Korean lady, Mrs Jung, was employed as the children’s childminder. She helped to maintain the children’s Korean language competence. To connect with Korean family

The desire of second-generation immigrants to learn their heritage language is well documented, and there are some commonly identified reasons for them doing so too. For instance, in Zhu and

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Figure 7.2  Reasons for KE children wanting to learn Korean

Li’s (2016) study on Chinese families in the UK, four main factors were identified among families that have maintained their heritage language: (1) the grandparent factor; (2) desire to return to their place of origin; (3) future prospects and opportunities for their children; and (4) dissatisfaction with life in the UK. My findings (Figure 7.2) were similar to the top three reasons given by KE children for wanting to improve their Korean language skills: (1) to have conversations with relatives/family in Korea (22.50%); (2) being Korean in heritage and/ or nationality (18.75%); and (3) the ability to converse with Koreans in general (8.75%). The findings of Jean Mills (2001) in a study of bilingualism in conjunction with culture and identity were also similar. Through semistructured interviews of 30–50 minutes in length, Mills conducted interviews with third-generation school-aged Asian children who spoke Punjabi, Urdu and/or Mirpur and were born and educated in England. Her study explores the participants’ attitudes and feelings towards each of the languages that they speak, the expectations placed upon them by themselves and others to maintain their languages and how their use of language links to their sense of identity and religious and cultural belonging. Mills’ study discovered that all the children interviewed wished to be proficient in both English and their inherited Asian languages. When asked about why they wanted to speak their inherited languages, all cited the maintenance of bonds with family and communities. In this way, Mills demonstrates that family bonds remind children of their duties and obligations to learn their inherited languages. This results in children with a sensitivity to social context and the feelings of others. Mills demarcates this as contextual fine tuning undertaken by children with strong interpersonal skills. She begins to uncover the complex relationship between language and culture, where

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Figure 7.3  Sarah’s Hangul mnemonic chart

children negotiate their identity and use of language in home and school environments for which the languages used vary. The Kiaer family use hangul as one of the tools by which their children can stay connected with their Korean heritage, as it enables communication with Korean family members and friends, whether this be in the form of letters, postcards, emails or instant messages. Although Sarah and Jessie do not have perfect Korean spelling, it is still an important tool that allows them to connect with their family in South Korea. Figure 7.3 shows a mnemonic chart drawn by Sarah, comparing hangul graphemes to their nearest English equivalents. Hangul matters a lot to heritage children’s families and KE families. Being able to engage with hangul is an important factor in establishing a Korean identity, as understanding hangul is just as important as understanding spoken language to Korean people. Figure 7.4 shows a postcard written by Sarah using hangul. The spelling of most of the words is wrong. For example, she spells 고마워요 gomawoyo (thank you) as 고마여오 gomayeoo. However, it is easy enough for any Korean speaker to work out what she means. For the Korean side of the family, Sarah making the effort to use hangul is a sweet gesture which helps to build common ground and solidarity between them. To engage with Korean popular culture

As the Korean Wave reaches further into communities, with its increasing number of fans and newly acquired mainstream popularity, it is not only foreigners who are seeking to learn about Korean language

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Figure 7.4  Sarah using Hangul to write to Korean family

and culture as a result. Even second-generation Korean immigrants are motivated to learn Korean in order to engage with Korean popular culture. K-pop is just one of the popular culture products to have a major influence on KE children. Life Goes On (BTS)

Like an echo in the forest 하루가 돌아오겠지 아무 일도 없단 듯이 Yeah, life goes on Like an arrow in the blue sky 또 하루 더 날아가지 On my pillow, on my table Yeah, life goes on like this again

This is part of BTS’s song, Life Goes On (2020). Fifteen-yearold Beth sings this song. She is a K-pop fan. Her parents are Korean, and they live in North London, where Beth was born. She doesn’t normally speak in Korean and has forgotten much of what she learnt in her early years. She doesn’t want to speak in Korean either, in fact she thinks that she sounds a bit stupid when she does. However, she feels positive about singing BTS songs, and this song, because some of the lyrics are in Korean and some in English, and she feels good about her knowledge of Korean – particularly hangul. BTS gives her a reason for keeping up with Korean. As the song shows, there is not much separation of Korean and English. Then, in some cases, the desire to learn heritage languages comes from a combination of many reasons.

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For example, in an interview with Louise, she explained that her reason for learning was to ‘reconnect with my roots, I want to be bilingual. I like consuming Korean media and communicating with family. I like shopping on Korean websites. I don’t want people noticing that I grew up abroad when I am in Korea. I like getting complimented on my fluency’. 7.2 Cultural Activities

Cultural activities, such as cooking or tai chi, can enhance intergenerational bondage. Emine Çakir (2014) argues that cooking, for instance, can enhance intergenerational bonding, encouraging tolerance and acceptance cross-culturally between family members. Dumpling making on the Lunar New Year’s Eve is one such cultural activity. It is a popular East Asian tradition, celebrated in China and Korea alongside several other regions. Traditionally, the whole family would come together at home and spend the evening wrapping dumplings together before eating them at midnight to celebrate the new year. Due to their shape – like the ancient gold and silver ingots and the sacks which were once used to carry them – dumplings are often considered to be a symbol of wealth and good fortune in East Asian cultures, and so eating them at the stroke of the new year was intended to herald good luck and fortune in the year to come. This tradition continues to be a crucial aspect of family bonding and in exerting the culture of one’s ancestral home for Asian families living both in and outside of East Asia. Although, in a multilingual and multicultural family, not everyone always agrees on which cultural activities to carry out and how. Together, children and parents negotiate a lot. Be it regarding names, holidays, foods or cultural activities, conflicts may arise in a manner unique to the multicultural household. This is exemplified in Zhu and Li (2013), in which they record the interaction of a Chinese mother and British-born Chinese son disagreeing about what to eat for Christmas dinner. The son is adamant that they should eat turkey because it is the tradition, but the mother thinks turkey is tasteless and would much rather eat fish, dumplings or roasted duck instead. While the mother argues that they do not need to follow British traditions as they are Chinese, the son argues that they are British Chinese, so they should still follow the traditions. Multilingual families must constantly negotiate and renegotiate with each other due to varying conceptions of identity and belonging. Although dumpling making is an incredibly popular New Year’s Eve tradition in most East Asian countries, this was not the case for my family back in Korea. However, now living in the UK with a predominantly English-speaking family, I decided to revive the tradition

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Figure 7.5  Dumpling making tradition on Lunar New Year’s Eve

to reaffirm our Asian heritage with my children. We then began the tradition of making dumplings on New Year’s Eve, extending it to our wider British family (Figure 7.5). In the process of making dumplings, and likewise kimchi, the children in my family both actively and passively engaged in learning about the language and culture of Korea. They also shared their language and culture with their cousins and wider family in the process. As our world becomes more diverse, our traditions and cultural activities become less defined according to nation state. Thus, our cultural activities are more often defined according to the needs of each individual family. Designing one’s own cultural activities, thus, becomes an act of translanguaging in itself. For example, when we think of a Christmas menu these days, we think about the dietary requirements and preferences of each individual to pick the menu. This resembles translanguaging practices, in which we pick and choose cultural activities based on our needs. Making food is often linked to establishing one’s identity, particularly national and cultural identity. In learning traditional Korean recipes and passing them on to their cousins, Jessie and Sarah feel a sense of pride in their heritage, and their ability to make others happy and pique their interest by sharing this tradition with them. They are also able to practise important navigational skills by acting as cultural mediators. Through Jessie and Sarah, their Italian-British cousins consider dumpling making ‘their’ Christmas tradition too. 7.3 Metalinguistic Awareness and Language Socialisation

For KE children, the metalinguistic awareness gained through socialisation with heritage speakers gives the opportunity to practice negotiating cultural and linguistic parts of their identity and beyond.

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Negation and navigation

Navigating involves ‘negotiation’ and often ‘negation’. Unlike children for whom both sets of grandparents have the same language and culture, bilingual children must make a negation when interacting with grandparents from either language. For KE children, because of the nature of the Korean language, this always involves considerable pragmatic considerations regarding politeness. For instance, in order to create intimacy with one set of grandparents, they must negate the expressions of intimacy employed to appease the needs of the other set. This situation occurs especially for KE children because bonds are created through respect rather than emotion in junior–senior relationships. This is not the case with Anglophone-British grandparents. To make the needed negation, certain negotiations are made by the children in regard to how they juggle the two languages and cultures. The fact that they have both languages and cultures will also undoubtedly come into play, with negotiations made not only about what to negate but what parts of their other cultural identity that they wish to keep and ‘how’ they can make this fit into the other culture or language. KE children will often express what they believe to be ‘important meanings’ to the hearer depending on their language. With Koreans, this often means considering the rank and status of the other person, in order to determine how polite they need to be. Politeness with carers

Even with young carers, who are often addressed as 이모 imo (aunt) in a seemingly intimate way, children do not easily use 반말 banmal (casual speech). Carers are still considered 남 nam, which means they are ‘non-family’, distinguished from blood relations, and so KE kids almost never use 반말 banmal when speaking to them. I noticed this in the behaviour of KE children at the KE playgroup that my children attended. Children of all ages never dropped the polite marker 요 -yo when they were talking to their carers who were all in their mid-20s. The carers often tried to practise their English with KE children, but the children typically responded in Korean. Further, in many cases, KE children also opted for Korean-style pronunciation, as opposed to anglicising their pronunciation. The KE children that were interviewed explained that this choice was ultimately to make their life easier because the imo or 사모님 samonim (madam) does not speak a high level of English. English with a side of Korean politeness

As mentioned earlier, even when speaking in English, Korean politeness is still important to KE children. KE children develop their own ways of talking, often involving wrapping up English in Korean

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politeness, in order to convey the pragmatic elements. For instance, in the middle of interviewing KE child Gracy, she had to switch into English. When she did so, she continued to add polite endings 해요 -haeyo and 하세요 -haseyo and finished her utterances with Korean, which then ultimately ended with either politeness -yo markers or polite intonation and gestures, such as nodding. Extract 7a

Gracy: 둘 다 아빠한테 가고 um 놀았어요. 그 다음에 Christopher 하고 Cara하고 우리 게임하고 했어요. Um 그 다음에 우리 Christopher radio에서 이렇게 musical thing. [Trans: We both went to dad and hung out. Then, Christopher, Cara, and I played a game. Um we did this music thing on Christopher’s radio.] Carer: 아, radio kick? [Trans: Oh, radio kick?] Gracy: Yeah 그거하고 um 우리 다 못해서 이거 missing pieces 있었어요. 그 다음에 um 우리 Gracy랑? 세밤 자고 um 잘 잤어요. 그 다음에 우리 거기 game 했어요. [Trans: Yeah, and we had missing pieces because we weren’t able to complete the game. We had a sleepover for three nights at my place and played a game afterwards.]

Though Gracy’s Korean is not so strong, she knows that her carer is not confident in speaking English, and so she chooses to use as much Korean as she can when they interact. She tries to Koreanise her speech, filling in the gaps with English, and crucially, always wrapping up her sentences with a polite -yo ending. In this way, she enforces key pragmatic elements of politeness that cannot be omitted in Korean. 7.4 The Importance and Challenges of Digital Connectivity

While diasporic families are increasing in number, they are no longer disconnected by physical separation, as they were before the development of digital technology and social media. This digital connectivity creates new learning methods and challenges for bilingual families and provides fertile ground to till in our discussion of bilingualism and translanguaging. KE children and their grandparents, who are now connected digitally, are faced with more than traditional linguistic hurdles, they must also learn to infer non-verbal forms of communication (such as emojis, emoticons, and gifs), and verbal language specifically used in digital communication (such as written forms of laughter). These digital expressions differ in what they mean in the respective cultures, their politeness, and the pragmatics underpinning their use (Kiaer, 2023a). These digital forms of expression thus become key components in negotiating cultural identities and forming new ones

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when collaborating translingually with each other in digital spaces. This is another way in which the time that KE children spend with their grandparents differs from children whose family members live nearby, at least prior to the pandemic, which temporarily made this way of communicating with grandparents the norm for children in general. The KE children I interviewed for this book are children who live outside of Korea. Most of them have Korean mothers and Englishspeaking fathers with a few exceptions. Though they were born in the UK, Korean is often the language that they were exposed to first. English then becomes the dominant language particularly through schooling, while Korean remains important in how it connects them with their families in Korea. Much of this is conducted digitally. For example, Sarah and Jessie were in touch with their grandparents virtually from the time of their birth, with weekly Skype and FaceTime interactions. They also regularly interact with Mirae, their Korean cousin, who lives in Korea. She learns English at the after-school club at school but doesn’t feel confident to speak in English, while Sarah can read the Korean alphabet but is not confident in writing, and Jessie can’t read or write in Korean but can read and write in English. All three of them, however, can speak in Korean, so they use FaceTime to speak verbally, and additionally send memes and emojis. Through this act of translanguaging, they maximise their resources and skill sets, in order to hold meaningful conversations. For Jessie (Figure 7.6), digital communication is her primary source for retaining Korean as a heritage language, other than speaking to her

Figure 7.6  FaceTime communication with Korean family

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mother. She regularly uses apps, such as FaceTime and KakaoTalk, for speaking face to face or writing messages to her grandmother and cousin who reside in Korea. Before Jessie learnt to write in Korean, she was able to communicate using emojis and fun interactivities (e.g. cat filters). Through these non-verbal means of communication, she was still able to bond and create solidarity with her family in Korea. 7.5 A Joint Effort: Grandfather and Grandchildren

Below, we will examine an interaction between Jessie and her Grandad. At this point, Jessie is 30 months old. While her Korean language is very strong, she has not really started speaking English and only understands simple English phrases. We see how Jessie and her Grandad translanguage to make the most of their interaction, even though they are not able to communicate fully. Extract 7b2

For this extract, I recommend that you watch the clip, as reading may not be able to fully express the multimodal nature of this conversation. [00:00] Jessie: Ready pink panther Jieun: 할아버지한테 써 달라고 그래 [Trans: ‘Tell grandad to draw it’] Jessie: Um um um Sarah: ‘How do we spell winter wonderland?’ Jessie: *shouts* Ah Points out of window Grandad *Looks* What’s that? The moon? Jessie: Eung Grandad It’s the moon Jieun: 제씨, 할아버지한테 써 달라고 그래, 빨리! [Trans: Jessie, ask Grandad to draw it for you, quickly!] Grandad Gestures to Jieun Look at your mum. Jessie: Looks at Jieun Jieun: 어 빨리 써, 할아버지한테. [Trans: Yes, quickly, tell him to draw it.] Grandad Laughs Jieun: XXX picks up scissors and gives them to Grandad Here you go. Grandad Oh, thank you, that’s good. Jieun: 할아버지한테 핑크팬더 써 달라고 그래, 빨리 [Trans: Ask grandad to draw a pink panther for you, quickly.] Jessie: Can I get pingupanduh Wiggles pen in front of paper, then gives it to Grandad. Grandad: Oh yes.

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Jieun: 할아버지한테 핑크팬더 써주세요 그래, Jessica [Trans: Ask him to draw a pink panther for you, Jessica] Jessie: Pretends to write on the paper with her finger. A ping-pan-duh Grandad What do you want a pJessie: Um, a ping-pan-juh! Jieun: 써주세요 그래야지, Jessie, 다시 말해봐. [Trans: You need to ask him to draw it, Jessie. Ask him again.] Jessie: Dandan, can I get a drawing of ping-pang-ee-juh? Gestures to paper Grandad *confused* Jessie: *appeals with whining sound cutely* Jieun: 제대로 말해봐, 큰 소리로 말하면, 할아버지 알아들을 것 같애. [Trans: Say it properly. If you say it loudly, Grandad will probably understand] Jessie: *loudly* Um Dandan… Grandad: Yes darling. Jessie: Can I get a ping- pan- een- juh?’ Taps paper for each syllable Grandad *repeats* Pink e ay juh. Jessie: Taps paper three times. Ping – pan -juh Grandad *confused* ping-pan-juh Jessie: Ping-pan-juh. Grandad Ping-pan-juh. Jessie: Ping-pan uh uh. Sarah: She means pink panther. Grandad Pink panther?! Ahhhhh Jessie: Smiles [03:20] Jessie: I want a jam-mu-wige. Grandad You want a who? Jessie: Jah-mu-wege Grandad Jah-mu-widge Jessie: Cha-mu-wedge Jieun: 그게 뭐야? [Trans: What is it?] Jessie: 빵 [Trans: Bread] Jieun: Sandwich? Jessie: Nods Jieun: I want a damwich. Grandad: You want a damwich? Jieun: Damuwige, 빵. [Trans: Bread.] Sarah: She means sandwich.

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Grandad: You want a sandwich? To eat? Goodness me but look at that tummy. Jessie: Belly belly, I want to! I want to! Jumps up and down Grandad: What is damuwige! Jessie: *loudly* Jumping up and down Ja! Jump Ha! Jump Uh! Jump Mu! Uh jump hur age. Sarah: She means sandwich Grandad Sandwich? But you’re going to have some lovely tomato pasta. Jessie: Please! Jieun: She wants to draw sandwich. Grandad: Oh, draw sandwich, shall I do that? Okay. *draws sandwich* Grandad: What shall we have in it? Jessie: Um tomato. Grandad Tomato [05:58] Jessie: Um ponga Grandad: ponga？ What is a ponga？ Jessie: Ponga is na-mee Grandad, Shall we try Sarah? Sarah, what does pongga mean? Sarah: You said Sarah? Jessie: Picks up scissors Grandad: No, no, no. Takes back scissors Jessie: I want to cut. Pretends to cut the paper using her fingers as scissors Grandad: So, you can eat it? Jessie: *nods and giggles* Non-verbal exchanges

Non-verbal expressions are frequently used in this dialogue by both Jessie and Grandad, in addition to or instead of verbal expressions. Jessie wiggles a pen in front of her paper to express that she wants Grandad to write something for her (Figure 7.7). This not only specifies the task, but it also specifies the place where Jessie needs to direct his attention. Jessie does something similar again, specifying the location of the task she is about to request, after calling Grandad (‘Dandan!’), she places her finger on the paper (Figure 7.8). On another occasion, Grandad asks, ‘You want a sandwich? To eat?’, and Jessie simply nods in response. Even though Jessie has some knowledge of English, and ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are basic words acquired when first learning a language, she still chooses to answer non-verbally. She sees this as a more effective way of communicating generally, as she is more comfortable using non-verbal expressions like nodding. Jessie’s use of the Korean word 빵 bbang (bread) after multiple attempts to gain Grandad’s understanding of the English word ‘sandwich’ (in her various

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Figure 7.7  Jessie wiggles pen in front of paper to indicate that she wants Grandad to write something for her

Figure 7.8  After calling Grandad (‘Dandan’), Jessie points at the paper to indicate what she wants Grandad to do

pronunciations) also suggests switching strategies away from English as a means of reaching her communicative goal. Grandad also uses non-verbal expressions for similar purposes to Jessie. For example, when Jessie wants Grandad’s attention to be directed at the moon, she points upward towards the window, and then says ‘Moon’ (Figure 7.9). Similarly, when Grandad wants Jessie’s attention to be on me, he points at me before clarifying his request by

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Figure 7.9  Jessie points at the window to direct Grandad’s attention at the moon, before saying ‘moon’

saying, ‘Look at your mum’. This is one of multiple occasions upon which Grandad points at me in order to draw Jessie’s attention to me for guidance (Figure 7.10). This type of non-verbal expression was found to be successful; the response of the hearer was to look in that direction. When Jessie wants to demand or express frustration, she also combines non-verbal expressions with verbal expressions to emphasise the importance of what she is saying or to gain Grandad’s compliance. For example, when Jessie is requesting that Grandad draw her a

Figure 7.10  Grandad directing Jessie’s attention to her mum for guidance

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sandwich and he is not understanding, she becomes frustrated and says, ‘I want to I want to’ and then jumps up and down while continuing to demand ‘I want to’. Still not gaining Grandad’s understanding, Jessie then attempts to break down the word ‘sandwich’ and jumps between utterances of each fragment of the word – ‘Ja! Jump Ha! Jump Uh! Jump Mu! Uh jump hur age’. In this case, jumping could be an expression of frustration, though based on Jessie’s earlier repeated uses of rhythmical pointing while breaking down English phrases (into what she believes to be digestible fragments), it is perhaps more likely that jumping is part of a similar strategy. How precisely these strategies are intended to bring about comprehension for Grandad is an issue for which Jessie’s age should be taken into account. Multimodal strategies

Multimodal expressions were used often, becoming more frequent as the conversation progressed, particularly when understanding was not being achieved through verbal strategies alone. Equally, when her words were not understood, Jessie tried different words and words with different pronunciations. On one occasion, Jessie begins to break down ‘pink panther’ into fragments often resembling syllables. She uses a synchronised rhythmic movement, using her finger to point on the page, while saying, ‘Can I get um, ping- moves finger one place pan- moves finger one place een- moves finger one place juh?’. It appears as a sort of graphic, gestural representation of the ‘break-down’ strategy that she is employing (Figure 7.11), somewhat like someone saying ‘Look,

Figure 7.11  ‘Can I get um, pink- moves finger one place pan- moves finger one place een- moves finger one place juh?’

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I am breaking down the phrase, because if you hear these sounds clearly then you will be able to put them together and make sense of what I am saying’. It is an explanation of how to solve the riddle, rather than the answer, which Jessie has already realised can’t be achieved through English. Due to Jessie’s age, the elements in the phrase that she believes are problematic and tries to break down may not necessarily be the most troublesome for Grandad. Since Jessie does not gain Grandad’s comprehension through this attempt, this is most likely true. However, Jessie’s repetition of this same process three times, followed then by the stressing of the ‘Ahhh’ sound while stretching her mouth open wide, supports the likelihood of this being Jessie’s intention. The importance of multimodal expressions

Often, it is Sarah who translates for Jessie, but I have to intervene at times, because Sarah is not visually engaged in the conversation. Sarah’s translation of Jessie’s Korean phonology misses vital nonverbal expressions because she only hears the verbal request ‘I want a jamuwige’ followed by the specification of this request with the Korean word ‘bbang’ which means bread. I, who is videoing the conversation, however, observe the entire multimodal expression ‘I want a jamuwige. Holds scissors up and hands Grandad the scissors’ (Figure 7.12). To let Grandad know what Jessie is actually expressing, family members must also see these multimodal forms, since they are key to accurate comprehension. When I become aware that she is the only person who has received both the verbal and non-verbal elements of Jessie’s communication, she realises that she needs to mediate in the place

Figure 7.12  Jessie holds up scissors and exclaims ‘bbang!’

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of Sarah and requests a drawing of a sandwich rather than an actual sandwich. This example demonstrates how multimodal expressions are used to express more complex concepts (e.g. instead of making a sandwich to eat, drawing and cutting out a sandwich as a creative activity). Multimodal communication is vital for grandparents and grandchildren, particularly when children are young and their verbal competence is limited. It also highlights the important role of those able to mediate in grandparent–grandchildren communication. Thus, we see the importance of clarification for progressing towards greater understanding. The need for progression eventually requires me, who wishes that Jessie, Grandad and Sarah will find their own ways of communicating, to intervene. This subsequently also highlights how progression itself can become a focus and goal within these conversations, in addition to gaining comprehension of a specific utterance. This goal of progression appears also partly due to the expectation of bonding that underlies familial communication, since had this been a professional environment then perhaps the length of the negotiation would be excessive and even caused frustration. In this case, communication is as much an experience of learning how to communicate without a mutual primary language as it is about understanding what Jessie wanted to say to Grandad in the first place. On another occasion, non-verbal expressions serve to clarify what Jessie and Grandad are referring to, and that they are following each other’s expressions. Grandad says, Goodness me, but look at that tummy, and then points at Jessie’s tummy. Jessie then looks down and (appears to, though the view is blocked) touches her tummy, following which she verbally clarifies her non-verbal gesture by saying Belly, belly! This demonstrates that multi-modal expressions are used to gain comprehension, and that often, they are very successful. 7.6 Summary

In summary, this chapter has explored the roles of grandparents, wider family and carers outside of the nuclear family in children’s language development, socialisation and translanguaging competence. We have looked at the reasons for which KE children wish to maintain their Korean language ability, noting that maintaining personal relationships and keeping up with popular culture are important. We have also seen that language and related cultural activities serve to mould children’s concepts of their identity and their familiarity with heritage cultures. Focus has been placed on interactions with grandparents, examining how they create a unique pragmatic context in which politeness will need to be considered. Often, interactions with grandparents in another country will take place digitally, and this has facilitated a unique kind

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of translanguaging, where new resources become available to KE families to facilitate communication. In real life, different strategies of communication will be used, including non-verbal expressions, multimodal expressions, imitations and interjections. Although communication will not be without hiccups, both grandparent and grandchild work to make the interaction work. In this way, we see how grandparents also play an important role in child development, both in terms of language and identity formation. Notes (1) This can also be observed in other East Asian immigrant stories. Such as, recent Chinese American films Tigertail (2020) and The Farewell (2019). (2) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual22a.

8 Sibling and Peer Talk

This chapter discusses the dynamics of sibling and peer interaction. We will further see how KE children interact with friends and siblings and what this means for their language use. I will cover how siblings and peers support each other while also competing and mediating. I will also look at how talking with peers or siblings enriches their language experience. I also show the importance of having a safe space for KE children to explore and navigate their languages and cultures without the pressure of mainstream language speakers. 8.1 Varying Concepts of Siblings and Peers

In western cultures, a sibling is often considered like a friend, but in many Asian cultures this is not the case. There is often a clearly distinguished difference between elder and younger siblings, and thus the expectations placed upon each sibling is different too. Languages, such as Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Turkish, Sinhalese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Khmer, Malayalam, Vietnamese, Tagalog (Filipino), Hungarian, Bulgarian, Nepalese and Nahuatl add another dimension to some relations: relative age. This means that there is not only one term for ‘brother’, but separate terms for both ‘older brother’ and ‘younger brother’. In Tamil, for example, an older male sibling is referred to as aṇṇā and a younger male sibling as thambi, whereas older and younger female siblings are called akkā and thangai, respectively. Languages which distinguish relative age may not have non-age relative kinship terms at all. In Vietnamese, all younger siblings are referred to with the ungendered term em, whereas older siblings are distinguished by sex: anh for males and chị for females (Pasternak, 1976; Pasternak et al., 1997). In Mandarin, siblings are called according to age. For example, the eldest brother is called dage (大哥) and the eldest sister dajie (大姐); the second eldest brother is called erge (二哥) and sister called erjie (二姐); then the third eldest brother is called sange (三哥) and sister called sanjie (三姐); and the youngest brother is called xiaodi (小弟) and the youngest sister called xiaomei (小妹). Thus, in Asia, sibling relationships can be complex.

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When it comes to friends, however, Asian cultures emphasise that there is no need to be too polite. Chinese and Korean cultures, for example, in particular do this. In Chinese, there is a common phrase tai jianwai le (太见外了), using the term jianwai (见外), which may be translated literally as ‘to view as an outsider’, so tai jianwai le may be best translated as You’re being too formal, or ‘No need to be so polite. Tai jian wai le demonstrates that friends (not necessarily of the same age in China) can mafan (麻烦) ‘inconvenience’ their friends by asking them for favours without using polite language. For instance, amongst Chinese friends, there will be no need to use words like or equivalent to qing ‘please’ (请), xie xie ‘thank you’ (谢谢) and bu hao yi si (不好意思) ‘sorry’. A similar situation applies to Korean friendship, though only to 동갑 donggab – ‘same age friends’. This doesn’t mean that people can’t make friends with people of different ages, however, there is a clear distinction between donggab and other friends for whom order and hierarchy mean that politeness cannot be simply removed. Even between twins, Koreans set an order based on who is elder and who is younger, which puts into perspective how creating friendships in Korea requires at least that individuals are born in the same year, and often that they are born in the same month, and from the same class at school. Friends in the West are the equivalent of donggab friends in Korea, while the nature of one’s relationship with acquaintances in the West is similar to how Koreans would approach their friendships with people of different ages. The rigidity of this aspect of Korean society can be demonstrated by this example: suppose there are two people who entered university in the same year, but one entered straight after high school and the other failed the exam the first year and entered university the year later. The one who is younger will find it hard to call the older by their name, but because they are in the same year group, they cannot use the title 선배 seonbae (senior) or 후배 hubae (junior). The resulting lack of address terms can create a distant relationship between the two. Because I should get some respect too

Even very young children understand whom they can and can’t call by their name. Such linguistic and pragmatic knowledge is very important, because if the wrong grammar is used, one could be scolded by elderly family members and parents. I recall how my cousin, who is six months younger than me, was not able to call me by my name when we were children. If he had done so, he would have been scolded by our elder family members. Even today, as an adult, he is still not able to call me ‘Jieun’. This is repeated by my mother to Jessie, who asks her to call Sarah eonni (older sister). I asked her about this in an interview below. Jessie was 8 years old at the time.

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Extract 8a Why don’t you call Sarah eonni?

Jieun: Why don’t you call Sarah eonni? Jessie: I don’t really because we’re in England. Jieun: But are you going to call her eonni if you go back to Korea? Jessie: Yeah. Jieun: But I know that you don’t want to call her eonni, why? Jessie: Because I should get some respect too. Jieun: Huh? Mworago? (뭐라고?) [Trans: Huh? What do you mean?] Jessie: Because Sarah, I have to call eonni. Jieun: Eonni is respect? Jessie: Yeah, so why don’t I get respect? Jieun: Because she was born earlier than you. Jessie: Exactly, but the second person should also get some respect. Jieun: So, you don’t want to call her eonni because it’s respect? Jessie: Yeah. Jieun: OK, then why should Mirae then call you eonni. Jessie: She doesn’t have to. Jieun: Do you like for her to call you eonni, or are you okay with her calling you… Jessie: I don’t really mind, but I should get respect from the older person. Jieun: OK, so you don’t want to call her eonni because you also want respect? Jessie: Yeah.

Jessie shows that she associates the word eonni ‘older sister’ with respect, and subsequently feels like this is unfair, and potentially an imbalance of power. She expresses that she shouldn’t have to show respect to Sarah just because she is older, and that she is just as deserving of respect. However, when asked about whether Jessie likes being called ‘eonni’ by Mirae, Jessie’s cousin who is younger than her, she shows openness to the use of the term, even if she states that it is optional and doesn’t have to be used towards her. Her approval of the term when it is used towards herself, though, does support that the term of address is related to power dynamics. 8.2 The Importance of Peer Talk

Sibling interactions in multilingual families serve vital roles in home language learning environments. Literature on sibling studies reveal that the presence of siblings in multilingual families can significantly influence home language and literacy events. Older siblings particularly can bring home the primary culture and language from school, exposing family members to more information in the primary language.

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Furthermore, older siblings take on the role of mediators in connecting cultural and linguistic bridges between home and the larger community for family members including younger siblings (Kibler et al., 2014; Orellana, 2003). In a qualitative study that examined the oral translanguaging practices of Korean American first graders, students who preferred English said that they spoke English at home with their older siblings, whereas a student who preferred Korean said that she spoke Korean at home with her younger sibling (Lee & García, 2020). Their finding is also in line with that of Cho (2018) who reported that older bilingual siblings who attended school in the societal language often influenced the increased societal language use and preference in younger siblings. Sibling relationships can influence a range of translanguaging practices, as well as the preference of language choice in everyday communication. However, current studies to date lack information on the various dynamics and multidirectional ways in which siblings engage with one another in their multilingual environment. Hence, there is a need to understand how sibling interaction unfolds in ways that shape the linguistic and cultural experience of multilingual children. Attention is typically paid to the model of expert–novice (adult– child) interaction, which may narrow our views and lead to neglect of other crucial dimensions of the social context. As such, researchers have explored the importance of peer talk in children’s language and pragmatic development. Cekaite et al. (2017) explain the role of peer talk, where a child can participate in a uniquely egalitarian conversation, unlike that of a discussion with an adult or teacher. They note that this results in a peer culture, which has its own unique social routines, frames of interpretation, and linguistic codes. In this way, the authors take Zadunaisky and Blum-Kulka’s (2010) stance that peer talk is a ‘double-opportunity space’, where children collaboratively construct a social world and culture through interactional display, while also developing pragmatic skills in both their first and second languages. The very nature of peer talk is that it involves a range of discourse types. Especially in terms of second language acquisition, peer talk may prove a less anxiety-inducing situation for speaking in a second language than, for example, talking with a teacher, which may be a more public circumstance. Peer talk also provides the opportunity for negotiation, arguments, explanation and questioning, in a manner that may not be so common when talking to adults. In this way, Cekaite et al. (2017) demonstrate that peer talk can be a fruitful site for second language acquisition. However, they also note that social acceptance can be difficult to achieve for the second language learner, and that often a certain communicative threshold must be reached before first language speakers will accept the second language speaker. Overall, peer talk is crucial to a child’s learning of language and pragmatics in both their first and/or second language.

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Katherine Nelson (2014) has also explored peer talk among children and its effect on language acquisition. She takes on a sociocultural perspective in explaining the social, cultural and linguistic sources that facilitate the child as an active agent in language learning. Much like Cekaite et al. (2017), Nelson supports the concept of a distinct peer culture from the ages of three years and up. She believes that children acquire language when the context and familiarity of the situation supports language learning, and that this is often achieved in peer communities. She highlights the importance of play and stories in observing language and how children mature their language ability. Children are part of an oral world situated in a wider literate community, although they do interact with the literate community through listening to stories and so on. Peer talk provides a site for groups of children of the same literate competency to interact, often drawing on references to stories in their play. In this way, Nelson suggests that peer culture is central to cognitive development and language advancement. She provides a compelling argument for the need to update the study of language acquisition in children to include greater study of peer culture, with children as an active agent at the heart of the line of inquiry. This chapter will chip away at some of the gaps identified by Nelson. We will look at how peer talk influences language practice, and thus acquisition, in peer and sibling talks, where one child may be more confident with the language of play than the other – for example, interactions between Sarah and Jessie before Jessie acquired fluency in English. We will see the playful nature of these interactions and how they are free from the need for linearity or sense. Peer talk provides a safe space, not incomparable to the home, where children navigate their own social circle, crafting language freely compared to in other social spaces in their day-to-day lives. Cross-cultural peer pressure

The significant impact of peers on children’s negotiation of their identities through their heritage languages can be demonstrated with an example from my interview with the HK family. The mother, a British woman (Loli), and father, a Korean man (Hankook), who live in England, gave their two sons Soori and Sooyeon (aged 7 and 5, respectively, at the time) Korean names. Many KE families give their children both Korean and English names, which are used interchangeably depending upon where they are and which culture the interaction is taking place within. Often English names will be used when children are in the UK, and Korean names used in Korea, and English names used in the company of non-Koreans and Korean names in the company of Koreans. Loli and Hankook opted for giving their children only Korean names, in the hope

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of maximising their children’s connection with their Korean heritage since they spend more time in England. When it was time for their sons to attend primary school, the children were faced with the difference between their names and their peers’ names for the first time. Although they had attended nursery school previously, it had not been full time, and they weren’t old enough to know many of the children’s names, so the issue hadn’t arisen there. The children encountered two issues that caused them to raise the subject of their names. The first issue was mispronunciation, the second was Anglicisation, and the third were subtle associations made between their names and other words by some of the children, which although not directly offensive didn’t feel positive. These issues snowballed, resulting in several conversations between the children and their mother, Loli. The following is an excerpt from Loli’s interview: In the past 6 months, both of my sons have expressed a desire to change certain aspects of their names. Soori would like his name to be anglicised by us at home, no longer rolling the ‘r’ as we always have. His preferred pronunciation is the same as the anglicised pronunciation used by his friends and teachers at school, which he has told us he prefers. When asked why, he simply stated, I prefer that sound. Sooyeon, on the other hand, wanted to make more drastic changes to his name. Every week he would ask to change his name, alternating between a variety of English names, which were often the names of his closest friends. One week, he said he wanted to be called ‘Alfie’, and the next week it was ‘Alex’. At first, he didn’t provide an explanation, saying I just do or I don’t like my name, but then I realised why this was probably happening. I overheard his friends, and Soori’s friends calling him in the playground, and they were mispronouncing his name as either ‘Soo-yung’ or ‘Soo-yen’. Then, I found that some of the teachers were also mispronouncing his name. When I observed this happening, I could see the change that came over him in the change to his demeanour and facial expression, and I knew that it was this that was driving his desire. I also think it wasn’t a matter of Korean or English, but a matter of being specifically like his peers, and especially his closest peers. As time went on, Sooyeon’s desire to have an English name seemed to pass, but then he began saying he wanted to be called ‘Soori’. This appeared to be a development in Sooyeon’s thinking, again, because Soori’s name could be Anglicised even though it is a Korean name, while ‘Sooyeon’ couldn’t be.

It is difficult for KE children to live with names that are clearly different and harder for their English-speaking peers to remember. KE children often need to let others know that their heritage is different from them and the experience is one of otherness that can cause stress and irritation. However, certain Korean parents believe that having a Korean

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name is crucial for their Korean identity. The interview above, however, demonstrates the peer pressure that multilingual children can experience at various levels, including peer pressure about their names. In another interview, I found a similar reluctance to use the Korean language because of the difficulties experienced as an East Asian bilingual at a British school. In the interview, Ruby shared a story about her friend Ellie, who she said doesn’t even want to speak in Korean with her parents, because of the negative experiences that she has had at school in relation to her Korean heritage. Below we see KE teenager Ruby explaining Ellie’s situation: Extract 8b: I was a bit embarrassed to be Korean

Ruby: Maybe, around year 7 or year 8, 한국 사람 좀 부끄럽다, 지금은 좀 더 한국 사람 처럼 보이고 싶어, year 8하고 year 7에서 자꾸 한국 사람 아니면 Asian 사람 그렇게 보이고 싶지 않은데. [Trans: Maybe, around year 7 or year 8, I was a bit embarrassed to be Korean, but now I want to be seen as Korean more. In Year 8 or 7, I didn’t want to be seen as Korean or Asian.] Jieun: 응 그렇구나. 너무 좋다. 뭐지, 한국 말을 더 공부하고 싶어? 어떤 사람들은 one parent Chinese or Japanese 보면은 말 많이 못 하는 사람 이야, they completely forgot [Trans: Ah, I see. Very good. Now, do you want to study Korean more? When you look at some people who have one parent that is Chinese or Japanese, they can’t speak very much (of the heritage language), they have completely forgotten.] Ruby: 그거 좀 sad. [Trans: That’s a bit sad] Jieun: Ruby하고 Ellie는하고 Lizzy하고 친구지? 그러면, 셋이 말할 때 한국말은 안해? [Trans: Ruby, Ellie, and Lizzy, you three are friends, right? So do you guys use Korean when communicating with each other?] Ruby: Ellie는 좀 싫어하는 것 같아요. She doesn’t want to be Korean. [Trans: Ellie doesn’t seem to like speaking in Korean. She doesn’t want to be Korean.] Jieun: Ellie는 그러면 엄마 아빠가 한국 사람인데 집에서 한국말 안 해? [Trans: So, Ellie’s parents are Korean, but Ellie doesn’t use Korean at home?] Ruby: I don’t think so at all to be honest. 그런데 Beth는 조금 더 해요. [Trans: I don’t think so at all to be honest. But Beth speaks a bit more.] Jieun: 누구한테? [Trans: To whom?] Ruby: 모두 다. 한국 사람들 한테 다 말하고. 우리도 가끔 한국어 좀 해요. 우리는 둘 다 fluent안하니까 그냥 좀 뭐지? Konglish? 말할때 이렇게 umm하고.

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[Trans: To everyone. To all the Korean people. We also use Korean sometimes. But because we’re both not fluent in Korean we use Konglish.] Jieun: 맞아 한국어 같은 영어 같은 Konglish? [Trans: Right, so like Korean and also like English, Konglish?] Ruby: 네. [Trans: Yeah.]

Here, Ruby highlights an important issue: bilingual children at school often want to hide any evidence of their non-British heritage to fit in. As Ruby states, this happened most when she was in Year 7 and Year 8 of secondary school (11–13 years old), until she found confidence in her KE identity later. Now proud of her Korean heritage, Ruby views Korean language as an important part of honouring and keeping in touch with her heritage. She states it’s ‘sad’ when other children have forgotten their heritage language(s) and seems slightly disapproving that one of her friends no longer speaks Korean. Communicating in Konglish

Ruby’s interview brings to light an important point, that while KE children struggle with their identity, even choosing to suppress their Korean heritage, they still use ‘Konglish’ – a mix of Korean and English, which can range from English with the addition of a few Korean words, or English mixed with Korean sentence structures and vocabulary. Konglish is often viewed as broken English, and it is never taught. In most cases, KE children could communicate freely in English alone, but as we have seen in Ruby’s interview, the use of Konglish builds solidarity and a sense of identity amongst KE children. KE children’s lives have Korean and English interwoven into them, just as Konglish intertwines the two languages. As a result, Konglish becomes the best medium for them to communicate within and beyond the two languages. As we have discussed earlier, sometimes children use Konglish for the sake of others whose English may not be so confident. Konglish embraces the multicultural and multilingual dimensions of KE children, as two parts of a whole, rather than forcing them to choose one identity over the other. Konglish is also often a necessity for older KE children, both out of practicality and as a tool of mediation between Korean and English identities and contexts, the development of which itself is an act of translanguaging. Since, while peer talk for younger bilingual children poses a site for language development, peer talk amongst older bilingual children presents a space for translanguaging, identity consolidation and solidarity. As we have seen in earlier chapters, KE children often begin their childhood speaking Korean well, but as they begin nursery and then school, their English develops quickly, while their rate of Korean language development slows considerably. Older KE children, and

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especially teenagers, therefore, often do not feel that they speak Korean very well, in part because they lack the vocabulary. As a result, they often end up using Konglish to speak with Korean people, including friends. The use of languages for teenagers is wrapped up in ideas of identity and belonging, as well as a fear of judgement from others, so the choice to use Konglish to speak with friends is an important one that is founded on much more than just the fact that two friends are KE. Beth and Ruby, for instance, are given the opportunity to speak Korean comfortably, without having to worry if they do not remember a word or two, when they use Konglish. As KE friends know both Korean and English, they can use English words in their Korean without fear of judgement or disapproval. At the same time, speaking Korean for KE friends is a way to reaffirm their ethnic identity, and Ruby’s interview gives the impression that that is the reason why she tries to speak Korean with her KE friends. Beth and Ruby likely find a sense of solidarity, and perhaps even commonality in the exclusiveness of speaking a language that is not spoken by the majority. As such a unique kind of friendship can be formed between KE friends that is based on the fact that they can speak Korean together. 8.3 The Language of Play

As Jessie grew up, her language of play began to shift from Korean alone to English and Korean, and eventually to mostly English. This process was gradual, with the English often being incomplete or unintelligible. However, eventually, this led to Jessie initiating conversations in English too. Jessie started to talk in English in the safe play space at home, without intervention from Sarah, allowing Jessie a stress-free space and time in which to explore using Korean and English, and eventually just English. In the extract below, we will see how 3-yearold Jessie uses English in play on her own (Figure 8.1). She even says to

Figure 8.1  Jessie plays with a toy mouse and some tickets while talking in English

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her mouse, ‘When you’re all grown up, [you need to] speak English too, okay?’, demonstrating that Jessie feels some level of pressure/motivation to improve her English. Extract 8c: Jessie plays in English1

I advise that readers watch the video in the link below, as it may be easier to understand. [00:06] Jessie: *talking to her toy mouse* 너 진짜 커서 영어로 해야 돼, 알겠지 [Trans: When you are all grown up, [you need to] speak English too, okay?] Jessie: (continues) Important thing, the mouse is grown up. He don’t know Korea, he do English. When her grown up, it’s important thing, I need go to sleep, you need to. Need to grown up, then he need to go to sleep on her own. What? Our feet is walking. Things. The eyes is walking, mouth is walking, and since that, billion clever and (unintelligible). Puts mouse to bed. Having sleep on her own now. Go to sleep, night night. *Sings* Go to sleep. *shouts* Bang bang bang, *sings* (unintelligible)… *whispers* (unintelligible). Important thing, go to sleep on her own. No cry. Not baby. Need to go to sleep. You need to (unintelligible). After glot, night is come, then you need to sleep. It’s not night, then you wake up. Near 5. Drops a train ticket. Sorry about drop the card. Pretends to read from ticket. Important things. I don’t like them tomatoes. Wednesday babies. Important things. We out in the things I forgot. And almost can. Billions (unintelligible), billions (unintelligible), bit strange, billions clop. And on the (unintelligible), tomorrow is Weds- Tuesday, tomorrow is new day. Tomorrow not going to school. Tomorrow it’s going to school. Important things, our the trains, our the bains, and (unintelligible). And we did this, important things (unintelligible).

This was the first time that I found Jessie mainly speaking English of her own initiative. It did not happen often at this stage. What she is saying does not make good sense, but it is clear that she has learnt English intonation by this time. She uses intonation patterns that she knew and then filled them with words and fillers that she knew to make her own meanings. This is often accommodated with gestures. This practice illustrates Jessie finding the most stress-free space to practise her own English. Jessie tries out phrases of English and practises unfamiliar consonant sounds. Even though the English is broken and sometimes unintelligible, Jessie tries to try to play in English with her toy mouse. Notably, Jessie takes on a position of power in the play, where she is telling the mouse

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what it must do: speak English, walk, sleep, don’t cry. This kind of position of power in the dialogue is one that Jessie might not be able to find often elsewhere. As the youngest member of the family, she is always looking up to her other family members, and is told what to do by them, rather than telling them what to do. Play provides a unique space for dominance for Jessie, where she can practice a different style of speech. She faces no judgement from anyone and can let her linguistic imagination run wild. Hence, language learning and practice extends beyond the parent–child/teacher–child paradigm and into play spaces. Role playing with friends

Pretend play in which children assume specific roles and act out situations that they regularly see adults in is crucially important for child language socialisation. With peers, children can explore language without worry of reprimand, and the pressure to be right from metalinguistic and/or metapragmatic comments. Young children tend not to mind whether they can understand their playmate’s speech entirely. They are happy to get by using gestures and can make sense of an unclear situation using their imagination. Below is an extract of Jessie playing with her friend, Isaac, at their North London playgroup. She is 30 months old, and her English was not greatly developed at the time. Isaac is a KE child; his mother is English and his father Korean. Isaac was around 27 months old at the time, and he spoke English more proficiently than Korean. The pair role play a pretend scene, in which Jessie is the cashier in a shop, and her friend is buying things. Though the two have different levels of English proficiency, their play progresses smoothly without any communication breakdowns. Extract 8e: Shopping Pretend Play

Jessie: Pressing buttons on toy till. Four, five, six, seven, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Friend: Presses buttons on toy till. Three, four, five, six. Jessie: *Pretending to be cashier* What you want? Friend: I want presses buttons on till randomly this (unintelligible) Jessie: What you want? Friend: I want a garbage truck Hands dumper truck toy to Jessie Jessie: You want 차？ Takes dumper truck and presses number on till, hands dumper truck back There you go. [Trans: You want a vehicle?] Friend: Takes dumper truck and rolls it around the floor Jessie: *shouts* Oh! Points to friend (unintelligible). Jessie: 왜 no 왜 chocolate, a chocolate bar? [Trans: Why no why no chocolate]

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Friend: (unintelligible) Garbage toy eleven hands another toy vehicle to Jessie (unintelligible). Dump truck. Jessie: takes toy vehicle and puts it on the floor Garbage (unintelligible). Garbage (unintelligible). Waves Hello garbage 차, garbage 차, (unintelligible), hello, what you doing, (unintelligible). [Trans: Garbage vehicle, garbage vehicle]

This interaction features a range of intelligible and unintelligible speech, and yet the play proceeds smoothly without either of the children becoming frustrated. Jessie even translanguages, calling the garbage truck a ‘garbage cha’ (garbage vehicle), but Jessie’s friend is unbothered and continues with the interaction. Towards the end, the speech becomes particularly unclear, and yet the two make the interaction work using non-verbal communication, facilitated by the toys that they have in their play. Jessie takes on the role of cashier, pretending to take her friend’s chosen ‘products’, punching the numbers into the till and then giving her friend the toy. Meanwhile, her friend picks up the toys from the shelf and gives them to Jessie to cash up, before going off and playing with them. As such, the pair practise language in a real-life situation. For someone like Jessie, whose English may not be strong enough to facilitate such an interaction in a shop in real life, play gives her the chance to use such language, without the stress of being supervised by other adults and the potential threat of a communication breakdown. Thus, we see that play is an irreplicable site of language development and socialisation. Playing with a friend allows Jessie to use as much English as she can, with a friend who does not mind if she makes mistakes or is unintelligible. Unlike interactions with Sarah, there is a distinct lack of competitiveness or admiration. The interaction is simply a role play in which two peers adopt their pretend roles and have fun with the toys. In this way, we see that peer talk is a unique form of talk. Multilingual children can use language creatively in a stress-free environment, mimicking and acting out situations that they have seen happen between adults in the real world. 8.4 Translanguaging Practice among Siblings and Peers Home and play spaces as translanguaging space

Li (2011: 1222) defines translanguaging space as a space for the act of translanguaging as well as a space created through translanguaging, that embraces the concepts of creativity and criticality, which are fundamental but hitherto under-explored dimensions of multilingual practices. Multilingual children also build with their peers and siblings with whom they share linguistic and cultural repertoire a safe space. This is a space where they can be themselves, play and speak as they wish without worrying about their hybrid languages and cultures.

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In this space, they can mess around and make mistakes. This is also the space where multilingual children build multilingual identities. Forbes et al. (2021) highlight that multilingual identity is a concept associated with, but distinct from, monolinguals’ linguistic identity. Multilingual identity remains a permanent identity regardless of any further changes to an individual’s linguistic repertoire, while monolingual individuals’ identities can shift if they acquire another language. This is an important point, because the solidarity multilinguals create with other multilinguals will not be removed regardless of how many languages they learn, or which language they use the most at a particular time, and subsequently they have a unique advantage for creating spaces for language practise. Home and play spaces are some of the primary ‘safe spaces’ for translanguaging, which are relatively anxiety free. In these spaces, children can play with their languages and cultures, testing multimodal strategies for moving between linguistic structures and systems. Through trial and error, they explore between and beyond languages and cultures and develop the translanguaging competence that they need. When KE children interact with adults, even when they mix languages, they will not feel completely safe and free due to the burden of using the right level of politeness. Yet, when KE children are playing or talking among themselves, there is no such pressure. It is crucial for multilingual children to have such a safe, comfortable space in which to explore the languages and cultures they are living with. Dewaele and Li (2012) found a small but significant positive correlation emerged between multilingualism and cognitive empathy, which could be interpreted as an indication of multicompetence. While playing together and sharing their multilingual life trajectories, children can also build solidarity and empathy for other KE children. They can also develop translanguaging competence that is not for themselves but for their partner interlocutors as we have seen in previous chapters. Sister synergy

Relations between siblings can be competitive, or friendly or both, and thus sibling talk serves as an arena in which multiple types of peer talk take place. Sometimes they help each other, at other times, they compete to prove their language competence. As seen in Chapter 2, Sarah often mediates for her younger sister, Jessie. In whole family conversations when Jessie was younger, Jessie sometimes ended up just observing Sarah without really being able to participate in the conversation fully. Jessie was particularly envious of Sarah’s interactions with their father, Ian, who only speaks English. Thus, Jessie had to resort to other means of communication, such as sulking, making noises and singing songs to communicate with her father.

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Below, we will look at a transcript of 7-year-old Sarah and 3-year-old Jessie singing together at the breakfast table. They sing a silly song, using ‘rude’ words playfully. Sarah mostly dominates the singing, with Jessie interjecting from time to time. Sometimes I must step in to ensure Jessie has a turn to speak. The competitive mood is apparent in this extract, and yet so is an air of admiration: Jessie listens to Sarah and copies the song from her. Extract 8f: Copying Sarah2

Sarah: *singing* Five little mummies jumping on the bed, one fell off and ate her head, so mummy calls the doctor and the doctor said— Jessie: No baby! Sarah: *singing* So baby called the doctor and the doctor said … and mummy ate the doctor said ‘Get me out of your tummy belly button’… and then mamma said, baby said, wait until you get into my poo. Jessie: *singing* My mummy is a baker, to poo a loaf of bread bread bread. Sarah: She said my mummy is a baker um to poo a loaf of bread bread bread. Jieun: 뭐라고? [Trans: What?] Jessie: *singing* My mum is a baker to poo a loaf of bread, bread, bread, I wrapped it up in £5 notes and this is what it said. Sarah: *singing* bang bang your dead fifty bullets in your head one blue one red, all the rest is poo poo, I mean Ian poo! Laughs Jessie: Laughs Jieun: 한 번만 더 해 봐 [Trans: Sing one more] Jessie: (starts singing again) – Sarah: (interrupts) I have one more. Sarah: *singing* I went to mummy’s baker, to eat a loaf of – Sarah: *singing* To eat cookies and cakes, but all that I can eat cookies and cakes was sugar all day day day day day day, sugary, sugars, sugary food all day day day. Jieun: Day day day rhyming 하는 거야? *to Jessie* 너두 해봐. [Trans: Does day day day rhyme? You (Jessie) try it too] Sarah: (sings again) Jieun: 너 말고 Jessie? [Trans: Can you not do it, Jessie?] Jessie: *singing* My mummy is a baker, to bake a loaf of bread, bread bread, I wrapped it up in five-pound notes and this is what it said – Sarah: *singing* Bang bang fifty bullets— Jessie: 아니, Jessie 하는 것! [Trans: No, I’m singing!]

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Jieun: Jessie 가 부르라고 그래. [Trans: I told Jessie to sing.] Jessie: *singing* My mummy is a baker, to buy a loaf of poo, I (unintelligible) and this is what it said, bang bang le le le le, and (unintelligible) Mummy poop.

Jessie learns English by playing with Sarah and copying her. She plays around with words, filling gaps in sentences with filler words and picking up non-verbal gestures and intonation too, which she demonstrates in how she utilises these expressions also to fill the gaps when she cannot find an appropriate word. In my observation, it seemed that Jessie created the sound patterns first using intonation, and then filled the gaps with words. This practice happened frequently in our breakfast talks around this time. In this process, Sarah does not judge Jessie, providing her with a space to practice English without pressure. Nonetheless, there is still competition observable between them. Sarah sometimes lacks the patience to wait for Jessie to find the right words to transmit the desired information, and eventually interrupts Jessie, finishing her sentence for her. In this extract, Jessie stops Sarah from dominating the conversation forcibly, saying ani, Jessie haneun got (No, I’m singing!). Jessie wants independence and fluency when she uses English and does not want the help of her sister all the time. Although Jessie admires her sister and is motivated by her to learn, she also becomes increasingly competitive, which in moderation works well also to push Jessie to try to speak in English. I particularly noticed competition arising in relation to turn taking, with neither wanting to feel that they are left out of the conversation. Siblings as mediators

I have touched on mediation briefly, but it is important that I delve a little further into the subject of ‘child language brokering’ here, an activity in which children who are more confident in the new societal language translate for older family members. This takes place in a range of settings such as shops, banks, schools, GP surgeries and hospitals, dentist surgeries, council offices, police stations, etc. Cline et al. (2014) demonstrated that children most commonly acted as language brokers at school in (1) formal meetings between teachers and parents, (2) informal meetings between teachers and parents and (3) translating for new pupils from overseas. Crafter (2018) also found the young adults interviewed who had been child language brokers to have a positive impression of the experience, finding that: • They treasured the experience of having translated for others at school whether inside or outside their family.

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• They described themselves as ‘happy to do it’ at the time and took a pride in the role. • They noted that it earned them respect and admiration from others. • Different teachers described the impact on the development of many of them as: • Enhancing their confidence. • Underpinning their sense of belonging in school. • Offering a form of empowerment. Nonetheless, Crafter and Iqbal (2020) note that child language brokering can place an uncomfortable burden on children. They highlight that child language brokering can lead to anxiety and psychological distress in children. In particular, it may involve children learning more about family money troubles or health problems than they would typically know. Rainey et al. (2014) have suggested that children who begin language brokering at a younger age, 9-13 years old, feel greater anxiety when language brokering than those who began later, at 14-18 years old. Nash (2017) also highlights that children may face racism and suspicion on part of their parent(s) not speaking English and may front the brunt of racist remarks made in English, in an effort to protect their parents/grandparents from understanding the remarks. As a result of funding cuts and austerity measures affecting many countries, including the UK, and rising anti-immigrant sentiment, fewer professional translation and interpreting services are available to help children avoid translating difficult conversations. This section will not go into too much depth about child language brokering for adults, but it will look at how older siblings in bilingual families act as mediators and translators for their younger siblings when their second acquired language is not yet as strong as the first. Let us return to the extract from Chapter 7: Extract 8g: Pink Panther3

[01:20] Jessie: Dan Dan, can I get a drawing of ping-pang-ee-juh? Gestures to paper DD: *confused* Jessie: *appeals with whining sound cutely* Jieun: 제대로 말해봐, 큰소리로 말하면, 할아버지가 알아들을 것 같아 [Trans: Say it properly. If you say it loudly, Grandad will probably understand] Jessie: *loudly* um dan dan DD: Yes darling Jessie: Can a get a pin – eh- ee- juh? Taps paper for each syllable DD: *repeats* pink e ay juh Jessie: *taps paper three times* ping – pan -juh DD: *confused* ping-pan-juh

Sibling and Peer Talk  161

Jessie: ping-pan-juh DD: ping-pan-juh Jessie: ping-pan uh uh Sarah: She means pink panther DD: Pink panther?! Ahhhhh Jessie: smiles [03:20] Jessie: I want a sam-mu-wige DD: You want a who Jessie: Jah-mu-wege DD: Jah-mu-widge Jessie: Cha-mu-wedge Jieun: 그게 뭐야? [Trans: what’s that?] Jessie: 빵 [Trans: bread] Jieun: Sandwich? Jessie: *nods* Jieun: I want a damwhich DD: you want a damwhich? Jieun: Damuwige, 빵 [Trans: bread] Sarah: She means sandwich DD: You want a sandwich? To eat? Goodness me. But look at that tummy!

As seen in many children of multilingual families, older children act as essential mediators. In the video, Sarah mediates to help her grandfather who does not speak a word of Korean, to communicate with his granddaughter, Jessie. Since Jessie is young and is still learning English (she is more fluent in Korean), she has a hard time properly delivering her wishes in English to her Grandad. For instance, Jessie is unable to properly pronounce words like ‘pink panther’ and as a result, her Grandad has difficulty understanding Jessie’s request. In response, Sarah steps in and facilitates their communication. The same is witnessed when Jessie asks Grandad to draw a sandwich – Grandad does not understand Jessie’s language until Sarah comes to her rescue as a mediator. Sarah translates damuwige saying she means sandwich. We can see here that Sarah takes on an active role in translating and interpreting on behalf of her younger sister. Though Sarah’s role is not at the level of being a full language broker, we can see how older siblings in bilingual families may take on elements of language brokering, combining both the patience to allow their younger sibling time to talk with the careful timing of stepping in when communication is breaking down. In this way, older siblings play a unique

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role in a bilingual family, where they take on some of the responsibility to look after their younger sibling when it comes to communication. 8.5 Summary

Peer and sibling talks amongst bilingual children provide a unique site of language practice. Sibling talks allow younger children the opportunity to look up to their older siblings, learning from them. It also provides the possibility of competition between the two, where the younger sibling may be slightly jealous of the older sibling and their language ability. For the older sibling, they have the chance to teach their younger siblings, often giving them the time and space to get their words out, and not judging them when they do not know a word or pronounce it incorrectly. A sense of solidarity develops between the siblings through this process, as the younger sibling learns that they can rely on the elder sibling to help them. The elder sibling is encouraged by feeling proud that they are able to help their sibling and even help adults to understand the younger sibling. When it comes to friends, peer talk provides a unique space for translanguaging. Younger children can often still play happily together, even if they do not understand what exactly is being said. They role play situations that they have seen adults involved in, using toys as a key means of facilitating these interactions non-verbally. As such, they get to use language in a way that they may not have the opportunity to do in real life, and thus, play is not only a site of language development, but one of language socialisation. Playing with peers is also a space free from judgement and metalinguistic comments, so children can practise speaking freely, without stress. In comparison, older bilingual children may translanguage with other bilingual children as a means of consolidating their ethnic identity. Through language, friends can find a commonality in which the pair/group is united in a shared heritage, and an exclusivity of knowing a different language from the majority around them. Such situations will be different to bilingual children speaking with adults, as with adults there may be more pressure to speak entirely in one language, which may be difficult and stressful. Thus, peer talk is a unique space where friends of similar backgrounds can interact comfortably, using their languages as a uniting factor, in which both can take pride in their ethnic identity. Understanding of Korean culture and language has grown throughout the younger generations, through K-pop and K-dramas. This has brought a positive impact for Korean heritage children, inspiring them to re-engage with Korean language and culture. Notes (1) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual23. (2) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual24a. (3) https://tinyurl.com/multilingual25.

Epilogue: Towards a Culture of Translanguaging

This book has put forward a new understanding of translanguaging, whereby translanguaging is a life-long journey on which the whole family embark, all learning together. I have emphasised the importance of non-verbal behaviour, semiotic factors, and context in the process of translanguaging, and as such, I hope future studies will move away from viewing translanguaging as a transitional linguistic phase that children will grow out of. Instead, multilingualism should be seen as translanguaging in accordance with context. When speaking, multilinguals assess the nationality, age, gender, status, occupation, relation and more of whom they are speaking with, and as such they choose which language to speak, which politeness rules to adhere to, and which cultural system to follow. Translanguaging shapes a multilingual’s life, affecting their verbal and non-verbal habits and choices in a way that is closely linked to their personal identity. I suggest more study from this vantage point is needed to truly understand language development, and how it is a process that continues into adulthood.  This book has followed the journey of many Korean–English multilingual children and their families in making, using and sharing their languages amongst themselves and with others around them. As a linguist and mother, I was fortunate to be able to observe and record what has happened during my own family’s linguistic voyage. The first take-home message from my project is simply that interaction is key. When multilingual families interact, there is no clear teacher and no clear student. As I have emphasised throughout this book, I am learning as much as my children are learning about the languages and cultures in our lives. Translanguaging is a family-wide process in which multilingual individuals engage for the entirety of their lifetimes.  Linguistic and cultural diversity is now at its peak, enhanced by technological advancement. As our life trajectory becomes more complex, so do our languages. In her school, Jessie has friends from all over the world, with the pupils at her school speaking a total of over 40 languages at home. Jessie, now 9, has also told me that many of her friends love playing on Roblox, a metaverse platform. For children growing up 2022, the digital world is not unfamiliar. As seen in numerous instances in this 163

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book, Jessie and other children frequently interact with Siri or Alexa. With even Artifical Intelligence (AI) influencing us, we are experiencing unprecedented diversity and complexity in how we develop our language. Not only is the student–teacher boundary blurred, but other boundaries, such as those between languages and cultures, online and offline worlds and verbal and non-verbal repertoire, are altogether being blurred. In today’s world, we are actively engaged in creating our own languages by crossing these borders. Hence, the second take-home message is to understand and realise the role of non-verbal and audio-visual expressions in our languages. Research that is printed in letters has inevitably focused more on verbal expressions, but I highlight the importance of other multimodal expressions that are beyond words. For this reason, I have provided videos and images throughout the book. I also emphasise that emotions, attitudes and feelings are important triggers of translanguaging for multilingual children. It is not just pragmatic necessity or linguistic incompetency that leads them and their families to engage in dialogues between and beyond languages and cultures. Instead, multilingual children constantly test the water to achieve language that is pragmatic and efficient but also emotionally enriching and socially adequate. Particularly, for KE children, where the linguistic and cultural gap between their two languages is large, negotiating the best output is never an easy task, as they have to think through multiple factors in each situation. Speaking in English can bring about an air of rudeness, as English makes everyone equal because it lacks hierarchical expressions. On the other hand, speaking in Korean alone can be oppressive as it puts children under the authority of the older or senior person. The ability to fine tune and mould languages is therefore essential. This ability, which I have coined as translanguaging competence, is a skill that multilingual children and families develop throughout their lives. Together learning or co-learning are terms that I have coined in this book to show how children and parents learn and explore their languages and cultures together. This is the final key message that I want to draw attention to. According to the 2011 UK Census, excluding English and Polish, the most commonly spoken languages in the UK are Punjabi (273,000), Urdu (269,000), Bengali (with Sylheti and Chatgaya, 221,000), Gujarati (213,000), Arabic (159,000), French (147,000) and Chinese dialects (141,000). As such, most non-English languages spoken in the UK are actually Asian languages. Despite this, the most common languages taught in British schools are German, French, Spanish and Italian. Arabic and Mandarin are slowly gaining popularity for economic and political reasons, but overall, the languages taught in schools are not representative of the languages in our country. The UK government rarely acknowledges the skill of multilingualism, and instead urges immigrants to the UK to learn English or face the consequences. As Lord Dearing has stated, the UK’s multilingualism is a national asset upon

Epilogue: Towards a Culture of Translanguaging  165

which we are not yet fully capitalising (DfES, 2006). Over one in five children now speak a first language other than English, according to a United Kingdom Statistics Authority (2021), and yet there is little space for anything but ‘proper’ English in our education system. Many Asian children growing up in the UK are not aware of the value or the potential of their rich linguistic and cultural assets. When children translanguage outside of the home, they are often condemned as speaking a ‘broken’ language. In the UK, young children come under pressure to speak ‘proper’ English, while the value of being multilingual is overlooked. Children produce the language output that is perfect for their situation, and often translanguaging is the perfect output. There should be space for children to translanguage, and a better understanding of translanguaging in pedagogical spaces. The border-crossing natures of translanguaging should be viewed as a nurturing practice, which helps to unite us in an efficient, yet caring, way. The Anglo-centric approach of the UK education system is in dire need of an update. Many Asian children shy away from their heritage, wishing to minimise their Asianess. Act to Change (2021) even found that 80% of Asian Americans have experienced bullying, in person or online, so it is perhaps not surprising that many Asian children want to ‘fit in’ with the crowd. There is a lack of understanding of other cultures, and a lack of willingness to learn, and this is one of the factors that is responsible for the recent rise in Asian hate. It is for this reason that we need to build greater translanguaging cultures. Be it at home, in schools, in our communities or in wider society, we need to help individuals to know the value of their languages and cultures, so they can look upon themselves and others without prejudice. A more established translanguaging culture can help to foster nuanced understanding of our multicultural societies and ultimately build a society that provides a safe space where people with different cultural linguistic backgrounds can live. Overall, translanguaging culture is a boundary breaking culture. It lives in between and beyond languages and cultures as defined by the nation state. Translanguaging culture is crucial for us moving toward a more equal society, as it eliminates issues of prestige and prejudice. By nature, translanguaging sets no hierarchy amongst languages. All languages become equal, and they can be mixed in a fluid and hybrid way. Our world is at its most diverse and most complex point in time, it is difficult to establish exactly where we belong. Translanguaging culture provides us with the best way to negotiate our ever-evolving multicultural and multilingual world. Ultimately, it allows us to build a society that is more caring, nurturing and accepting.

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Index

K-pop 130–131 Korean language Honorifics 62, 68–69, 84–85, 92–96, 101 Modulation hypothesis 96 Speech style 85–87, 88 K-wave. See Hallyu Konglish 71, 152 Korean diaspora 80, 118–119, 125–126 Korean social hierarchy 82–85, 99–101

Accent 73–76 Address terms In Chinese 145 In Japanese 90–91, In Korean 19–20, 64–67, 71, 72, 88–91, 98–101, 104, 146–147 Anglicisation 38–39 Banmal. See casual speech Bilingualism 4, 10, 117 Bowing 94, 101 Breakfast talk 17, 35–39

Language awareness 65–69 Linguistic tapestry 18–19 Maintaining language 127–129 Mealtime talk 16 Mediators 38, 42, 148, 159, 161 Metalinguistic awareness 17–18, 60, 75 Metapragmatic talks 17 Minari 126 Multilingualism 2, 3, 4, 5, 59, 72–73, 157, 163 Multimodal 46–47, 52, 54, 141–143

Casual speech (banmal) 25, 86–87, 120, 133 Child language brokers 42, 159–160 Co-constructing meaning 52, 57 Code-switching 2 Conflict 123–124 Cultural belonging 150, 151 Cultural difference 67–68, 78–79, 80–81, 92, 120–122 Cultural Festivals 131–132

Names 150 Nodding 94 Non-verbal communication 10–11, 33–35, 138–141, 156 In Korean 92–95 Gesture 21–22, 92, 101–104, 159 Nunchi 82

Emotion 76–79, 164 Eurocentrism 4 Family language practice 112–117 Food 111 Formal speech (jondaemal) 25

Peer talk 147–149 Play 115, 153–155, 155–156 Politeness 5, 23–24, 29, 67, 96–97, 133–134 In Korea 84, 93, 119, 133 Problems arising from 97, 120–122 What is 81 Pragmatic awareness 60–62 Pragmatics 23–24, 148 Pronunciation 106–107 Prosodic accommodation 20–21, 31–32, 38–39, 63

Grandparents 22, 136, 160 Hallyu 72, 129 High context culture 82–83 Identity 110–112, 116 Intention 63–64 Interjections 21, 29, 32, 63 Intimacy 19, 26, 59, 72, 84, 86–89, 92, 126, 133 Jondaemal. See formal speech

171

172 Index

Reading practice 29–35, 45–57 Second person pronouns 88–90, 98 Sharing culture 131–132 Singing 38 Socialisation 18 Structural accommodation 30–31 Technology 125, 134–136, 164 The Return of Superman 24–25, 88, 107–109 Translingual 9, 22, 26, 27, 62 Translanguaging 2, 3, 7–8, 32, 52, 56, 64–65, 76–79, 163 As co-learning 41 As cooking 29

Communities 9, 27, 87, 90, 125, 149 Competence 26–27, 59, 164 For study 42–44 In the home 9 Mixing linguistic repertoire 19 Spaces 9, 156–157 With friends 35–39, 147–148 With grandparents 125, 135 With parents 29–39, 109, 119, 122 With siblings 145, 157–159 With wider carers 125, 133, 134 Vocabulary accommodation 30 Word order 22, 30–32