ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role of English in romantic relationships and families where the parents’ shared lingua franca is English. The study analyzes interviews of four Nordic-international families residing in Finland and Norway where one parent is a highly skilled migrant who has relocated to the country. Using narrative- and content-analytic approaches, the study explores two main topics: 1) the couples’ language practices – how the “couple tongue” changes over time, and what the effects of English are on learning the local language; 2) the families’ multilingual familylects – language practices in parent-child interaction and family language policies. The findings show that all but one couple had experienced notable changes in their language practices as a couple. English plays a twofold role for the non-Nordic partner, both as a support and a hindrance to learning the local language. While (translingual) English is the main private language between parents in three out of four families, most parents restrict its use when children are around, prioritizing their own native languages. The study highlights the complex ideological stances educated Nordic-international families hold toward English. English had more importance as a part of their couple tongue, at least in the beginning of the relationship, but less so as a family language.
