Translanguaging in parent–child book talk during shared reading in Chinese–German families

Abstract Recent research on translanguaging and family language policy has highlighted parental use of multilingual resources in family literacy activities including shared reading. This study examines the forms and functions of parental translanguaging in meaning-based and code-based book talk during family shared reading, using quantitative and qualitative analyses of audio-recorded interactions from 10 Chinese–German families in Germany. The findings show that translanguaging serves distinct functions across different types of book talk and reading conditions. In meaning-based book talk, parents use translanguaging to translate, clarify, invite children to discuss the book content, relate to children’s lives, expand the stories, respond to children, and manage the reading circumstances. In contrast, in code-based book talk, translanguaging is used mainly to draw attention to sounds and letters and to encourage children to read. During shared reading of the Chinese text, parental interaction is more strongly oriented toward enriching and elaborating story content, whereas during shared reading of the German text, translanguaging is used more frequently as a key strategy for overcoming linguistic obstacles, sustaining comprehension, and maintaining interaction. The study demonstrates that parents’ flexible translanguaging strategies create a dynamic translanguaging space in which an important bridge is built to support children’s multilingual development.