The German language has become an integral part of the family language for the majority of parents from a Muslim country of origin. In 75 per cent of families, German is spoken with the children in addition to their mother tongue. Around half of parents speak German regularly with their children, a further 44% do so irregularly and in 11% of families only German is spoken. There are no differences between Muslim and non-Muslim parents. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) recently published these results based on data from the large-scale study ‘Muslim Life in Germany 2020’. The respondents come from 23 predominantly Muslim countries, around 20 per cent of whom belong to other faiths.
The extent to which the parents surveyed speak German with their children depends on various factors: good parental German skills, a longer period of residence in Germany, a stronger identification with Germany as the country of origin and frequent contact with people of German origin in the private sphere are decisive factors.
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