Armenian families language ideology: Kazakhstani case

The state language polices and the family’s language ideology lead to a demand for understanding parental behaviors towards language use. I, as an insider of the Kazakhstani multiethnic community, explored the complex formation of family language ideology and ethnic identity through parents’ eyes. What parents’ attitudes towards their children’s language education and how parents construct ethnic identity are complicated and difficult to predict because it depends so much on individual facts. My purpose is to explore the languages are used by Armenian families, their language practices, parents’ language ideology, and the ethnic identity construction. The study also illustrated the linkages between official language policy and individual families’ language perceptions and language practices at home. I found how and why Armenian parents accepted and interpreted language policy at the family level and found that it depends on factors such as political and economical orientation, language practices within families and across generations, perceptions of language roles and family members’ relationships with the local community.