Family language policy in Chinese d/Deaf-parented families with hearing children: the interplay of multi-dimensional factors

As the first study addressing family language policy (FLP) in d/Deaf-parented families in China, the current research explores language ideologies, practices and management held by different members within the families. Children of d/Deaf adults (Codas) form an unusual bimodal bilingual group, and the study concerning this group prompts us to rethink the notion of bilinguals as well as types of bilingual families within the FLP domain. The study is based on the data collected from online questionnaires, semi-structed interviews, and observations. Two versions of questionnaires were administered for both d/Deaf parents and Codas, which collected data from participants across Mainland China. Semi-structed interviews (with 10 d/Deaf parents and 4 Codas) and observations (in 4 families with underage Codas) were conducted in Shanghai. The analyses of the data suggest that language practices in d/Deaf parented families with hearing children can be viewed as miniatures of social language ecology and these families serve as micro-realisations of language socialisation, during which process both social factors on the macro level and family factors on the micro level make active contributions. Emphasised impacts are also attributed to the critical agentic roles of individuals within the families and the support given by communities and schools, whose different attitudes and practices can lead to various outcomes of the Codas' linguistic development. The study also offers new insights into the notion of successful FLP in these bimodal bilingual families.