The Bilingual Family - A Handbook for Parents

By Edith Harding and Philip Riley
(review based on the 1999 edition)

Reviewed by Alice Lapuerta

The Bilingual Family Handbook by Edith Harding and Philip Riley provides an excellent introduction for parents who are considering bringing up their children as bilinguals. To those who are already firmly entrenched in a bilingual family situation, the handbook will serve to help and reassure. Both authors are professional applied linguists with bilingual family backgrounds. While the approach of the book is scholarly-scientific, the language is non-dogmatic, straightforward and non-technical. With a primary focus on European languages, the handbook is “written for the English-speaking family living in Stuttgart, or Madrid or Strasbourg, the Spanish woman who has settled in Germany or the Danish family which lives in North America” (1). Sociopolitical language issues, as well as issues that immigrant families face, are not touched upon in the book.

The Bilingual Family is a slim handbook that is divided into three sections: a general survey, case studies, and a reference section. The first section, entitled “A survey of the issues,” gives a brief overview of issues such as children and language, definitions of bilingualism, as well as development of the bilingual child.  Of particular interest to those who are still trying to make up their mind on bilingualism is chapter 5 “What will influence your decision to bring up your children as bilinguals?” This chapter helps the reader assess his or her own family situation by posing a series of questions regarding one’s own sociocultural background, languages, attitudes, and ways of communications. The chapter closes with a detailed questionnaire that further helps to make the decision pro or contra bilingualism a “conscious and realistic one” (81).

In section two, “Case studies: a number of bilingual families, and how they did it”, will be of particular interest to those who already follow the path of bilingualism. This section features sixteen “linguistic family portraits” based on observation and interviewing. Simple diagrams help to visualize the sometimes rather complex linguistic situations of certain families. Here we get a direct view into the bilingual family lives of others, and how they do it. This section emphasizes the notion that there is no one single correct form of bilingualism, no single solution, no one absolute answer. Bilingualism is a highly complex phenomenon of infinite varieties. Whether it is a family situation in which English is the ‘father tongue(?),’ or a one parent, one language situation, or even ‘two homes, two languages, two cultures’ – it’s all there. The reader is encouraged to browse through the studies and find the situation that most resembles his or her own.

The third section, an alphabetical reference section rounds up the book. Issues such as accent, aptitude, interpreting, mixing, refusing to speak the language, and stuttering are addressed for a quick reference. While this is a very interesting section, it could be fleshed out more, as the choice of entries seems a bit haphazard. One wonders why there are entries on colors and dreams, yet nothing whatsoever on speech delay. The authors brush the issue of speech delay aside with the argument that there is no significant difference between monolingual and bilingual language acquisition. Nevertheless, an entry on this matter in the reference section, with a short explanation as to why there is no need for parents to worry about this particular issue, would have been helpful.

This handbook will be of help to those families who speak European languages and who are not seeking answers to linguistic problems resulting from a bilingual society or immigration. Emigrants, as well as families concerned about Asian or Middle Eastern languages, should be aware that they will not find a case study that represents them.  This linguistic Eurocentrism is probably the biggest drawback of the book. Yet as the authors claim, the basic bilingual issues are relevant to everyone regardless of what languages they speak.

What is particularly sympathetic about The Bilingual Family Handbook is that it does not consist of a set of firm, dogmatic rules. For those looking for a 10-step ‘how-to’ manual with quick tips that will guarantee bilingualism, this book is not for you. But if you are seeking an introductory reading on bilingualism or simply want to brush up your knowledge on the conceptual framework thereof, seek reassurance and support for your family’s bilingual endeavor, or are simply interested in learning about the wide variety of bilingual family situations, this book will not disappoint. As such, it is a classic that should be found on the bookshelves of every bilingual family.

© Alice Lapuerta

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