Abstract
In the previous chapter, the author argues that the research into linguistic intermarriage shows that English speaking background (ESB) language users often have less need and fewer opportunities to learn a second language compared with their non-English speaking background (NESB) partner. This chapter shows that the majority of the research participants in this study conform to this pattern of low or no proficiency in a second language. As a result, this was the main constraint on language choice in the language spoken in the home; moreover, it led to a feeling of inadequacy visa vis their multilingual partners or “language cringe”. This chapter reinforces these findings through the contrasting case of three fluent ESB bilinguals.
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Irving Torsh, H. (2020). “I Couldn’t Understand a Word”: The Linguistic Repertoires of the ESB Partners. In: Linguistic Intermarriage in Australia. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27512-9_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27512-9_3
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