“My heritage language defines me in a way”: Exploring the meaning of language in foster care

The article explores how children with migrant backgrounds, placed in foster care, perceive and navigate heritage language maintenance. We analyse qualitative interviews with 14 children and 27 foster carers in Norway and Sweden. Findings indicate that language is significant for children’s social identity and opportunities to establish a sense of home, across foster and birth families. Heritage language maintenance, however, may be hindered due to a lack of support. We argue that children’s linguistic rights may be strengthened through transforming how language is conceptualized and attended to through welfare practices.