This book provides a detailed linguistic analysis of the communication between highly proficient bilingual couples, each consisting of a native speaker of English and of Swiss German. Combining the accounts of ten couples on their language use with an analysis of their actual linguistic behaviour, several areas of the partners' speech and interaction were closely examined. These include their language choice and language mixing, attitudes, expression of emotions, swearing, as well as their humour and laughter. In addition, the influence of the bilinguals' mother tongue and gender on their language use was explored. Thus, the study provides valuable insights into the language practices of established bilingual couples, while also contributing to the fields of fluent late bilingualism and gender research.

This book provides a detailed linguistic analysis of the communication between highly proficient bilingual couples, each consisting of a native speaker of English and of Swiss German. Combining the accounts of ten couples on their language use with an analysis of their actual linguistic behaviour, several areas of the partners' speech and interaction were closely examined. These include their language choice and language mixing, attitudes, expression of emotions, swearing, as well as their humour and laughter. In addition, the influence of the bilinguals' mother tongue and gender on their language use was explored. Thus, the study provides valuable insights into the language practices of established bilingual couples, while also contributing to the fields of fluent late bilingualism and gender research.

This sociolinguistic study of the linguistic practices of bilingual couples describes the conditions, processes and results of private language contact. It is based on a unique corpus of more than 20 hours of private conversations between partners in bilingual marriages. Adding to its breadth of coverage, these private conversations are supplemented with larger public discourses about international couplehood. The volume thus offers a corpus-driven investigation of the ways in which ideologies of gender, nationality and immigration mediate linguistic performances in private cross-cultural communication. The author embraces social-constructionist, feminist and postmodern approaches to second language learning, multilingualism and cross-cultural communication. In contrast to other titles in the field which have focused almost exclusively on the socialization of bilingual children, this book explores what it means to one's sense of self to become socialized into a second language and culture as a late bilingual.

Auf der Grundlage empirisch erhobenen Sprachmaterials untersucht die Studie das diskursive Aushandeln von Sprache und Identität innerhalb der intimsten "Community of Practice (CofP)", der Ehe zwischen interkulturellen Sprachpartnern. Die Studie ist in die sozialpsychologischen Konzepte von Identität und "Positioning" eingebettet. So wird am Beispiel von Interviews mit interkulturellen Paaren - genauer: englische Muttersprachler/innen, die mit deutschsprachigen Schweizer/innen verheiratet sind, in einer diglossen Sprachregion in der Zentralschweiz leben und über drei Jahre interviewt wurden - die Verhandlung und Performanz hybrider Identitäten analysiert und gezeigt, wie "doing Swiss" diskursiv ko-konstruiert und ausgehandelt wird. This book presents an empirical study that examines intercultural couples' reasons for specific language practices and investigates the negotiation and performances of hybrid identities within the marital unit, the most intimate community of practice (CofP). The theoretical framework adopted draws on the sociocultural linguistic approach to identity and the social psychological theory of positioning. The data stem from ethnographic observation and recordings carried out over a three-year period with intercultural couples, namely Anglophones married to native German-speaking Swiss, who reside in central Switzerland, where a diglossic situation prevails. The positionings individuals take up or refute indicate that the performance of "doing Swiss" is not only discursively co-constructed, but a site where the negotiation of meaning emerges within the context of social interaction.

While cross-cultural relations were once assumed to be inherently problematic, in recent years these couples have increased in both numbers and social acceptance, and there is now a growing awareness of how little we really know about them. Addressing this gap in our knowledge, this book presents 12 chapters focusing on cross-cultural couple formations (i.e., a partner from the U.S. and another from abroad). Highlighting both the struggles and successes of couples, this book challenges the principle of homogamy, helping the reader gain a deeper understanding and respect for intercultural couples. The chapters tackle a broad range of topics and issues, including systemic considerations of the phenomenon of cross-cultural couples, bilingual couples, interfaith relationships, struggles in such couple formations, different methods of approaching solutions, and the use of the internet to meet partners from diverse backgrounds.

This encyclopedia is divided into three sections: individual bilingualism; bilingualism in society and bilingual education. It includes many pictures, graphs, maps and diagrams. The book concludes with a comprehensive bibliography on bilingualism.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: 1,0, Albstadt-Sigmaringen University, course: Topics in applied linguistics - , language: English, abstract: Communication is an important aspect of an intimate relationship. It becomes even more important when both partners do not have the same native language and one of both (or sometimes both when a lingua franca is used) has to express in a language s/he is not completely proficient in, and e.g. might not know all connotations of the meanings. The level of proficiency one has in a language is important for the identity that is established or, i.e. negotiated through communication. The frame of this paper is based on the framework of positioning by Harré and Davies (1990) and it aims to apply ideas from this framework to data I gathered from an intimate bilingual conversation. Furthermore, an article by Piller (2000) aboutLanguage choice in bilingual, cross-cultural interpersonal communication,analyzing language choice in bilingual intimate conversations, specifically Anglo-German couples, and their reasons should be taken into consideration. This article is organized as following: first, I will give an introduction into the notions of positioning, identity, negotiation of identity. It implies that identities “are constructed in and through discourse.” (Riley, 2006: 297). In a next step, I will take a closer look at the language choice in bilingual relationships, I will identify possible reasons for one language to be chosen, and compare these with my own experience being a German and having a relationship with an American. The last part consists in analyzing the transcript. I have two transcripts that I will take into consideration: one is in English, and the other one is in German. I aim to examine how the language choice determines the positioning of each of the communication partners, and consequently, what impact does the fact of being a native or a non-native speaker has on the identity. Moreover, I will look at the distribution of the dominant role, and if the native speaker is in the more dominant position merely because s/he is the more proficient speaker, or if there are other factors determine each positions.