FACTORS INFLUENCING FAMILY LANGUAGE POLICY OF AMERICAN UZBEK FAMILIES IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Factors Influencing Family Language Policy of American Uzbek Families in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan’s economic development has attracted many migrants and expats who choose it as a destination for work and a place to reside. While embracing Kazakhstan’s cultural diversity, these families often face significant challenges maintaining their ethnic language and culture. This happens particularly in multilingual environments where a hierarchy of languages impacts the family language policy of these families. Given the lack of studies on expatriate families’ language planning and strategies for preserving their ethnic languages and the limited studies on FLP in Kazakhstan, this research is crucial to filling the research gaps. It is important to explore the factors that shape the Family Language Policy of expatriate and intermarriage families and the strategies they employ to maintain their ethnic languages in the multilingual context of Kazakhstan. This study explored the factors influencing the Family Language Policy of American Uzbek families residing in Kazakhstan. It provides insights into how these families maintain their ethnic languages and cultures in Kazakhstan’s predominantly Kazakh and Russian-speaking context. The study employed a mini-ethnographic case study design, and data was collected using written narratives, non-participant observations, and semi-structured interviews. The participants were two expat families residing in Kazakhstan. The findings reveal that both external and internal factors shape the family language policy of American Uzbek families in Kazakhstan. These families use strategies to preserve their ethnic languages and culture, including the help of diaspora communities, grandparents’ support, digital tools, and keeping their national dishes. The study shows the crucial role of FLP in preventing language and culture loss among American Uzbek families in Kazakhstan. These findings provide crucial implications for policymakers. By shedding light on the various strategies to prevent language and culture loss, this study provides a roadmap for policies to promote a multilingual, inclusive society and preserve diverse languages and cultures.