Šeimų kalbų politika
LTV – ENG

The project, led by Sanita Lazdiņa, professor at the Rēzeknes Tehnoloģiju Akadēmija and by the University of Rīga, investigates the ideological foundations of language use within families in the context of the Latvian diaspora, with a particular emphasis on parental discourse strategies. The research draws on approximately 50 semi-structured interviews conducted with Latvian citizens residing in various European countries and the United States. Respondents are primarily recruited through diaspora Saturday and Sunday schools, targeting Latvian speakers who are either employed at these institutions or whose children attend them. Data collection is carried out using the Zoom platform, employing methods such as audio recordings and direct observations of interactions between parents and children during Latvian school sessions.

The central focus of the project lies in examining the language ideologies that inform linguistic practices and choices within the home, particularly in interactions involving parents and children, as well as identifying the specific discourse strategies employed by parents to address the multilingual language practices of their children. The collected data are subjected to a qualitative analysis that simultaneously integrates visual representation techniques, including graphs, geographical maps, and perceptual maps, to provide an accessible and comprehensive overview of the findings.