Language Socialization in Canadian Indigenous Communities

Abstract

In this chapter, we discuss language socialization among the Indigenous peoples of Canada, with a focus on First Nations and Inuit. We begin with findings from anthropological studies reported in the 1980s regarding communicative practices in Indigenous communities. We then synthesize landmark studies published in the 1990s on the language socialization of Indigenous children, as well as later complementary studies that explored Indigenous adults’ perspectives on children’s language learning and use. We also discuss recent studies by Indigenous scholars, including a study of children’s stories of personal experience, viewed in light of elders’ perspectives on storytelling, and auto-ethnographies on the process of learning an ancestral language as an adult.

The data suggest that language socialization practices in Indigenous communities are heterogeneous, reflecting differences in educational and language policies across communities, as well as changes over time within communities. Efforts to maintain and revitalize Indigenous languages also appear to be engendering novel practices that combine language socialization practices associated with the Indigenous language with strategies intended to support bilingualism or second-language learning.

Further research on the language socialization of Indigenous children and youth is recommended, in a wider range of communities and contexts (e.g., peer, family, classroom; mono-, bi-, and multilingual). Additionally, explorations of language socialization later in the lifespan are needed; these would extend the auto-ethnographic studies reviewed in the present chapter and align with research trends in the field (Duff 2008).