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Di Napoli, Ester, Diprete, Davide and Garraffa, Maria 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1767-424X
(2026)
Words Do Matter. A Linguistic Compass for a Child’s Journey into Cross-Border Family Mediation in the Context of International Abductions.
In:
International Handbook of Legal Language and Communication: From Text to Semiotics.
Meteor
.
Springer Nature.
(In Press)
Abstract
Cross-border family mediation occupies an increasingly important space at the intersection of international family law, child-friendly justice and alternative dispute resolution. Despite the centrality of communication to mediation, the linguistic conditions that enable children to participate meaningfully remain insufficiently explored. This paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together insights from linguistics, international family mediation and child-inclusive justice to examine how language shapes children’s participation in cross-border family disputes, particularly in the context of international child abduction. Building on the Council of Europe’s Child-Inclusive Mediation (CIM) model, the paper argues that the child’s right to be heard cannot be fully realised without recognising the linguistic, cognitive and social-emotional conditions through which children’s views are constructed and expressed. It therefore proposes a linguistically informed approach to cross-border family mediation, in which bilingualism and multilingualism are understood not as procedural complications but as integral elements of the child’s identity, relationships and participation. The paper develops oracy as a practical and conceptual bridge between linguistics and mediation. Drawing on the Oracy Skills Framework, it considers the physical, linguistic, cognitive and social-emotional dimensions of children’s spoken communication and explores how these dimensions can inform the elicitation and interpretation of children’s views. Particular attention is given to natural translanguaging and the need to accommodate children’s complete linguistic repertoires in emotionally complex and cross-cultural settings. The paper concludes that integrating linguistic expertise and oracy-informed practice into CIM can strengthen meaningful participation, procedural fairness and child-centred outcomes in cross-border family mediation.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | cross-border family mediation,first-child approach,participation,international child abduction,oracity framework,bilingualism |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Mental Health and Social Care (fka Lifespan Health) |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 10 Sep 2026 10:00 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Sep 2026 10:00 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/104481 |
| DOI: |
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