Language Socialization in Bilingual Families: Functional Distribution of Languages in Baby-directed Talk

This paper analyzes language socialization practices in relation to revitalization of Kazakh and maintenance of Russianin urban bilingual families. It draws on audio data of self-recorded baby-directed talk. The analysis reveals that language practices re-produce the social order in which Russian is a more valuable and powerful linguistic resource than Kazakh. This implicit ideology of privileging Russian may explain how and why youngchildren in urban Kazakh families are turning out to be Russianspeaking despite quantitatively dominant input in Kazakh.