JSAA 2013 Abstract Template Paper Title: Family language policy in mixed marriages- who is in control? A case study of families on intercultural marriages in Perth

From the interview of Japanese women migrants in Perth in intermarried relationships with partners whose first language is not Japanese, this study explores the language use in the day-today domestic environment. The project employs the concept of the family language policy and examines what the families’ language policies are, what factors contribute to their policies, and how and why they adhere to or change the policies. Families do not usually state their language policies explicitly, but whether intentionally or unintentionally, people make decisions on their language use in each speech community and those decisions become the community’s language policies. Spolsky (2007) says that there are three components in language policy whether it is national policy or family policy: practices, beliefs, and management. Our study focuses on the sphere of the family and attempts an ethnographic investigation into the language use in the domestic relationships through exploring the three domains Spolsky identifies. These three domains do not operate separately but are intertwined and shape each other.