Language usage and culture maintenance: a study of Spanish-speaking immigrant mothers in Australia

This article discusses the usage of the Spanish language by Hispanic mothers with their children, their views on language maintenance and culture within their bilingual families and their opinions on the benefits of bilingualism in a globalised world. Drawing upon detailed case studies of 16 native Spanish-speaking mothers married to English-speaking fathers in Australia, this article explores how mothers retain their language and culture in their adopted country in order to pass them on to their children. The analysis of personal opinions made by the participants in this study revealed a positive commitment to the maintenance of Spanish language and culture by the majority of participating mothers. This study also found that the majority of mothers see the importance of bilingualism for their children in that it enables them to have a fuller relationship with their relatives overseas, promotes broad-mindedness and potentially creates future opportunities that an ability to speak another language brings