Anglo-Australians’ and Immigrants’ Attitudes toward Language and Accent: A Review of Experimental and Survey Research

1987 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor J. Callan ◽  
Cynthia Gallois

Research on the language attitudes of members of dominant and minority speech communities has special importance in countries such as Australia, where governments are in the process of developing a national language policy. Research in Australia suggests that Anglo-Australians remain strongly monolingual and Anglophile in their attitudes; they support educational programs on other languages mainly for their children's own educational advantage. In addition, they show preference in most situations for standard or prestige varieties of English. Second generation members of immigrant groups are under strong pressure to assimilate and to abandon their community languages. Opportunities to learn and use community language are somewhat restricted. In addition, young, second generation Australians may in some cases have even more negative attitudes toward nonstandard accents in English then do Anglo-Australians although they may value their own ethnic language as a signal of solidarity with their ethnic community.

Author(s):  
Марина Васильевна Куцаева

В статье приводятся результаты социолингвистического обследования, которое проводилось автором в марийской диаспоре московского региона с целью выявления и описания функционирования этнического языка. Один из аспектов исследования посвящен вопросу межпоколенной передачи этнического языка в условиях диаспорного проживания. Респонденты первого поколения в выборке в целом демонстрируют высокий уровень языковой лояльности и уверены в том, что не утратят этнический язык, их опасения касаются скорее представителей второго поколения, выросших в московском регионе. Среди основных факторов, способствующих раннему овладению этническим языком во втором поколении, были названы следующие: погружение в языковую среду в марийской деревне летом; внутрисемейное бытовое общение на этническом языке; привлечение детей к участию в культурных мероприятиях, организованных в Москве марийским землячеством, по инициативе отдельных представителей или групп диаспоры. Однако при непосредственной реализации данные модели обнаруживают на практике ряд существенных недостатков: дальнейшая русификация марийской деревни, а значит, скудное овладение марийским; отведение ребенку роли пассивного слушателя в разговорах взрослых; отсутствие культурных форм, отвечающих запросам подростков. Заметную роль в слабой передаче детям этнического языка играют негативные аттитюды, стигматизирующие идеологии, языковые практики, унаследованные респондентами в отношении марийского языка на малой родине. В ходе обследования были зафиксированы отдельные позитивные сдвиги в этом направлении, преимущественно среди молодых респондентов, вследствие осознания ценности языка и изменения языковых стратегий и идеологий. Это важно, поскольку марийский язык является одним из основных признаков этнической идентичности в выборке: утрата во втором поколении диаспоры марийского приводит к утрате некоторых других этнических маркеров и как следствие — к размыванию границ этнической группы. The article presents the results of a sociolinguistic survey conducted by the author in the Mari diaspora of the Moscow region aimed at identifying and describing the functioning of the ethnic language. One of the aspects of the study is devoted to the issue of intergenerational transmission of the ethnic language in the conditions of diasporic residence. The first-generation respondents in the sample generally demonstrate a high level of language loyalty and are confident that they will not lose their ethnic language, their concerns are more likely to deal with to the second-generation representatives who grew up in the Moscow region. Among the main factors contributing to the early acquisition of an ethnic language in the second generation, the following ones were mentioned: immersion in the language environment in the Mari village in the summer; intra-family everyday communication in an ethnic language; children’s participation in cultural events organized in Moscow by the Mari community, as well as on the initiative of individual representatives or groups of the diaspora. However, when directly implemented, these models reveal several significant drawbacks in practice: further russification of the Mari rural areas, which leads to a child’s poor proficiency in Mari; assigning the child the role of a passive listener in the conversations of older family members; lack of cultural forms that meet the adolescents’ demands. Negative attitudes, stigmatizing ideologies as well as language practices inherited by respondents in relation to the Mari language in their small homeland all play a significant role in the weak transmission of the ethnic language to children. The survey revealed some positive changes, mainly among young respondents, due to their increased language awareness and changes in language strategies and ideologies. The Mari language is one of the main features of ethnic identity in the sample: the decay of the ethnic language in the second generation of the diaspora leads to the loss of some other ethnic markers and, as a result, to the blurring of the boundaries of the ethnic group.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (254) ◽  
pp. 103-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Guerini

Abstract In this article, I focus on the position of Bergamasco, the Italo-romance variety spoken in the Province of Bergamo (Northern Italy), in the linguistic repertoire of the local Ghanaian immigrant community. I argue that Ghanaian immigrants do not speak Bergamasco since the local people refrain from speaking Bergamasco to them. Bergamasco can be regarded as a we-code (Gumperz, John. 1982. Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.) of the indigenous community, whereas Italian – in most cases, a simplified variety of standard Italian – is the default choice when communicating with immigrants. The lack of input in combination with negative attitudes and a lack of motivation to acquire the dialect triggers a self-reinforcing dynamic, making the incorporation of Bergamasco into the linguistic repertoire of Ghanaian immigrants unlikely. Excerpts from a sample of face-to-face interactions and semi-structured interviews involving a group of first-generation Ghanaian immigrants reveal that Bergamasco tends to be perceived as a sort of “secret language” deliberately used by local people to exclude immigrants and other outsiders. This stereotype originates from and is reinforced by lack of competence on the part of the migrants, but is devoid of any foundation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 255-271
Author(s):  
Francesco Goglia

This chapter presents a discussion on the role of English in the linguistic repertoires of the second generation of onward-migrating families from Italy to the UK. Participants reported on their language use, language maintenance, and language attitudes, both in their early life in Italy and in the UK. The second generation maintain Italian with same-age peer friendships and older siblings. They view the language as linguistic capital to enhance their future career prospects in the UK or support a return to Italy. Italian is also maintained in conversations with parents often in the form of code-switching. Parents struggle with English after a long period of residence in Italy and children are not fluent in the heritage languages. English is considered the most important language and, together with a British education to improve their children’s life chances, is the main pull factor for families in the decision to migrate onward. Onward migration allows these families to restart language shift towards English (which was interrupted during the years of stay in Italy) in a parallel way to language shift towards English taking place in their countries of origin.


KIRYOKU ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Reny Wiyatasari

(Title: Language Attitudes Of The Speakers Of Uchinaguchi Dialect,  Shimakutuba Language In Okinawa Prefekture) This study aims to determine the language attitude of the speakers of the Uchinaguchi dialect, one of the dialects in Shimakutuba which is the language used in the Okinawa islands. Shimakutuba is one of the languages in the world set by UNESCO as an endangered language. Because the theme of this research is focused on language attitudes which is one of the topics in sociolinguistic studies, the data are collected using the questionnaire method through distributing questionnaires to respondents who are considered representative representing the research population and also using literature study methods. Then the data were analyzed using descriptive methods. Based on the results of the questionnaire, it was found that the language attitude shown by speakers of Shimakutuba was divided into two, namely positive attitudes and negative attitudes. A positive attitude consists of positive active and positive passivity.


Literator ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Verhoef

Language attitudes towards Afrikaans - a reconnaisance from a theoretical point of viewThe main aim of this article is to investigate the language attitude issue from a viewpoint embedded in the theory of language planning. This study was initiated by the fact that, although the public debate regarding Afrikaans is articulated in a lively way, it seems as if it does not benefit the official status of the language. The statement that this hampering effect on Afrikaans is partially caused by negative language attitudes and a lack of language loyalty by the primary and secondary speech communities serves as point of departure for this article. By looking at language attitudes departing from a theoretical language planning framework, the investigator is enabled to derive scientifically clear conclusions regarding the language attitudes of speech communities. This article also discusses the different components of language attitudes in general and the methodology regarding the investigation of language attitudes. The second part of the article presents a brief discussion of language attitude studies undertaken in South Africa, especially those dealing with Afrikaans. The article concludes with the statement that language planners must give considerable attention to language attitudes and their influence on language planning efforts. When this problematic issue is ignored the outcome of language planning projects will show a low success rate. This is of particular importance for the survival of Afrikaans in the multilingual South African society.


English Today ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seongyong Lee ◽  
Hohsung Choe

Attitudes toward the global spread of English have been one of the major issues in research on the development of world Englishes. Because language attitudes construct an invisible language policy that influences the use of English in a local speech community (Curdt–Christiansen, 2009), many studies addressing the spread of English into non-English contexts have focused on the attitudes of diverse English users toward their local variety and other varieties of English (Ahn, 2014; He & Li, 2009; Wang & Gao, 2015). However, among the core components of language attitudes, that is, the cognitive component (i.e., belief system), affective component (i.e., attitudinal system), and behavioural component (i.e., behavioural intention), little research attention has been paid to the behavioural component other than by Ahn (2014), even though non-native speakers’ actual use of their local English is the process by which English spreads into non-English-speaking communities. Thus it is necessary to explore the factors influencing the speakers’ behaviours while using the local variety of English. In addition, previous research has not identified the mechanism by which the speakers’ beliefs and attitudes have influence their actual behavioural intentions in relation to their attitudes toward their own English. For example, Ahn (2014) reported that whereas Korean English teachers expressed positive attitudes toward Korean English, they were hesitant in their behavioural intentions to use it as a teaching model. However, this study did not deeply address associations among beliefs, attitudes, and actual behaviours in relation to the use of Korean English. In response to this gap, the present study provides an integrated framework for investigating the spread of English into local speech communities by modelling diverse factors of individual speakers’ decision-making processes in adopting the local variety of English.


1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minglang Zhou

La oficiala lingvo kaj lingvaj sintenoj ĉe tri minoritataj grupoj en Cinio Rezulte de lingvoplanado, duono de la cent milionoj da etnominoritatanoj (EMN) en Ĉinio parolas iun version de Putonghua (PTH) kiel sian unuan aŭ duan lingvon. La nuna studo, utiligante sintenan/motivan enketaron kaj "pare maskitan" procedon, ekzamenis la taskojn fare de anoj de kazaka, ujgura kaj jia minoritatoj pri PTH kaj EMN-aj lingvoj, kaj dekdu varieblojn pri lernado kaj uzado de PTH. Analizoj de la rezultoj pere de unudirekta "ANOVA" kaj parspecimena testo t montras, ke a) integra orientigo kaj impreso de pekina-noj estas la plej bonaj manieroj antaŭdiri la instrumentan orientigon, intense-con kaj deziron de EMN pri la lernado kaj utiligo de PTH; b) la longeco de la lernperiodo de PTH sola suficas por determini kiom komforte EMN sentas en sia utiligo de PTH; c) niveloj de kontakto kun la hana minoritato para-lelas iliajn pritaksojn de PTH kaj de EMN-lingvoj; kaj c) bona impreso de pekinanoj korelaciigas kun pli altaj taksoj de PTH. La eltrovoj de la studo donas al la farantoj de lingvopolitiko kaj al esplorantoj tra la tuta mondo utilajn perspektivojn pri la rilato inter lingvaj sintenoj kaj etnaj rilatoj.


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