Lost in diglossia? (Un-)doing difference by dealing with language variations in Swiss kindergartens

• Published in: Ethnography and education Vol. 15; no. 2; pp. 238 - 253
• Main Authors: Knoll, Alex, Jaeger, Ursina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02.04.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Bilingualism; Children; Classroom Communication; Code Switching (Language); Dialect Studies; Dialects; Diglossia; doing/undoing difference; early childhood education; Educational Policy; Equal Education; Equal opportunity; Equality; Ethnography; Foreign Countries; German; German language; Immigrants; Kindergarten; Kindergarten ethnography; Language Planning; Language policy; language practice; Language shift; Language Usage; Language variation; Migrant Children; Migrants; Social Integration; Social order; Social Status; Socioeconomic Background; Student Characteristics; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Switzerland
• ISSN: 1745-7823; 1745-7831
• DOI: 10.1080/17457823.2019.1573692

Language policy in German-speaking Swiss kindergartens recently has been subject to change. While dialect traditionally was spoken to kindergartners, the use of High German has been established to promote the integration of migrant children and equality of opportunity. In this contribution, we look at how kindergarten teachers translate the new diglossic language policy into language practices. Drawing on data from an ongoing ethnographic study, we examine four logics of language use concerning when to speak dialect or High German. As teachers' use of language differs not only according to situations and pedagogical sequences but also due to children's social and migrant backgrounds, we ask - drawing on the theoretical concept of (un-)doing difference - how different linguistic addressing reflects (and affects) children's positions in the social order.