The purpose of this paper is to investigate the entwined roles of schooling, family support and investment, and community contact in Heritage Language Learning (HLL), Heritage Language Maintenance (HLM) and identity formation among two groups of North American Latvians. One is made up of 49 teenagers at Gaŗezers language camp in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The other comprises 25 parents, other adult Latvian speakers and camp staff members. I explore differences and similarities among them by age, gender and self-stated national identity and language proficiency. Primary data consist of some 70 questionnaires completed by youths and adults and six 30- to 90-minute interviews conducted and transcribed by me. Six more were conducted via e-mail. Based on aggregate analysis of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, supplemented by participants’ individual responses to longer-form survey questions and to my questions during interviews, findings demonstrate a connection between self-stated national identity (Latvian, Latvian-American or Latvian-Canadian, or American or Latvian) and self-assessment of Latvian language proficiency among the youths. Among the adults, men were more likely to identify simply as Latvian than were women, and adults of both genders who identified as Latvian averaged slightly lower in self-assessment of proficiency, even though most of them grew up speaking Latvian at home. Additionally, my research shows a community proud of its HLM accomplishments alongside those of displaced peoples from other nations—a community now at home in North America, although 60 years ago members were determined to return to Latvia. Keywords: L2, Latvian heritage language revitalization, third space, lingua franca, language immersion, heritage language maintenance.

Abstract not available

D. Tech. Language Practice. / The objective of this study is to draw out, and establish, the attitudes held by Setswana first language (L1)-speaking university students toward their L1, in a context of that L1 being one of the many spoken in a multilingual society, South Africa. The study also aims to test the potential influence of the following nine variables on attitudes toward Setswana: (1) gender; (2) age group; (3) years at university; (4) level of study; (5) competence in Setswana; (6) linguality; (7) location of nurture; (8) field of study; and, (9) type of university attended. The following variables are new in language attitudes studies in South Africa: competence in ones L1; linguality; location of nurture; and, type of university attended.

This study focuses on the representations of the Gallo language spoken in the Eastern part of Brittany among elder native speakers (group 1) and students of Gallo (group 2). Jones & Singh (2005) and Williams (2000) both stress the importance of an asserted community identity for language transmission and the active involvement of community members in the revitalization process. In light of these two studies and the revitalization models proposed by Grenoble & Whaley (2005), the present research establishes that, in order to obtain a more appropriate and possibly successful revitalization program, it is necessary to consult and probe the approval of native speakers of Gallo. Informants from both groups show little involvement in language planning activities; in contrast, revitalization efforts in the last decades have increased within associative and militant groups. Based on the findings of Jones & Singh (2005) and Williams (2000) on Jersey Norman French and Welsh respectively, this study provides evidence that Gallo is on the verge of achieving a different status. The framework used for the fieldwork was adapted from Boas TGPD project on Texas German (2001). Most of the interviews were conducted in a private setting. Two groups of individuals were involved in this study: older, native speakers (41) and students (17), and half of the respondents participated in a follow-up interview (1-2 hours). The results of field research on language attitudes show a positive Gallo identity: 50% of the native speakers answered that Gallo was part of their identity as much as French and 78.6% of the students selected the same statement. Only 20% of group 1 and 21.4% of group 2 declared that Gallo was not an important part of their identity. In the same set of questions on identity and representations, 90% of group 1 and 85.7% of group 2 expressed positive linguistic attitudes when asked whether or not speaking and/or understanding Gallo was valuable. Overall, above 80% of the informants think that the knowledge of Gallo is an advantage. This research demonstrates that the speech community expresses a more positive Gallo identity than expected, one of the main factors necessary to secure language maintenance. / text

The resolution of the language question--whether to maintain the mother tongue, shift to the mainstream language, or try to maintain two or more languages in the family--creates a lot of psychological complications and linguistic reflections. The present study explores how external variables and internal controversies affect the choice of language by an individual family member as well as the family as a whole unit, and how this choice, in its turn, impacts the relationships within the family.This study draws on the several theoretical domains of immigration, psychology, and language acquisition. Relying on these theoretical frameworks, the major findings are synthesized, and a paradigm of language choice at the family level is formulated.A mixed-method research design allows a broad outlook on the Russian-speaking immigrants, comparison of immigrants from the former Soviet Union with immigrants of other nationalities, and restricted and concentrated analysis at the family level. The Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) data set helps to address the quantitative part of this dissertation, while the qualitative part is based on in-depth case studies of four immigrant families.Building on the fundamental position that development happens as the result of the resolution of controversies, I suggest that there are four levels of controversy located in the language-choice model: societal, family, personal, and eventual outcomes of these three levels.Four "language choice" profiles, designated as "Amotivational," "Instrumental," "Intrinsic," and "Intrinsic Plus," have emerged out of the theoretical and research findings.The findings show that the crucial characteristics of the families who chose to maintain the mother tongue and foster bi-literacy in their children are the following: (1) a stress on knowing the country of origin and its culture; (2) a declared desire within the family that the children be different from the parents' perception of American children; (3) an emphasis by the parents on the children's "Russianness" and on the formation of that ethnic identity; and (4) an emphasis on a consistently realized, strong language policy at home.

This dissertation uses qualitative research methods to describe the history of language use and maintenance on the islands of Aruba and Puerto Rico. More specifically, it examines how the islands' unique colonial circumstances have affected the maintenance of the local language. The multidisciplinary field of language planning and policy (LPP) has historically focused on documenting, categorizing and revitalizing languages that have undergone significant language shift. As a result, the majority of the discourse regarding threatened languages also implies that a threatened language will soon be endangered. The language contexts on the islands of Aruba and Puerto Rico do not conform to this often assumed linear progression. The use of document analysis, interviews with key players in LPP and observations on both islands provide the data for the position that there are unique contexts where language threat can be discussed, not in terms of language shift, but in terms of perceptions of threat. In addition to providing a detailed historical account of language situations on both islands, this dissertation frames the findings within a larger framework of redefining language threat. Special attention is paid to how social agents have influenced perceptions through the social amplification of risk framework. The work concludes with an argument for a framework that incorporates not only languages that have witnessed language shift, but also language contexts where languages are perceived to be threatened, with the understanding that such a distinction could potentially move the field of LPP toward a better understanding of language maintenance.

Sub-cultural languages in South Africa – languages which do not enjoy official status amongst other qualities – have not received much attention academically. Existing theories of maintenance and shift accommodate mainstream languages in their role and function within dominant society. However the sub-cultural languages, in which Fanagalo will later be categorised, and their role and function in society are unclear. This may be the result of the inefficiency of current theories of maintenance and shift to explain the functionality of sub-cultural languages and the process they undergo leading to either maintenance or shift. Furthermore, failure to recognise the role and function of such sub-cultural languages may be attributed to their non-official status as they are not officially supported by language policies. The purpose of this study is therefore to understand the process of maintenance or shift a sub-cultural language undergoes. This process is accommodated by developing a theoretical model related to maintenance or shift for sub-cultural languages. This model, specifically based on Fanagalo, will expand on the boundaries set in existing theoretical models of maintenance and shift in order to accommodate sub-cultural language. It is important to stress that the period during which the data was collected on site at Mine X in Rustenburg, is volatile in nature. The unrest in the social context concerning the mine workers themselves during the period in which this data was gathered alludes to the value of the data and provides a unique insight not achievable under non-adverse circumstances. The unrest began in 2012 during which a “strike over pay ha(d) escalated into alleged turf war between unions” (Smith & Macalister, 2012) in Marikana, Rustenburg where more than thirty people were killed on the 17th of August, 2012. A year later, an agreement between Amcu (Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union) and Lonmin was signed which, according to Mathunjwa, president of Amcu, was quoted as saying, ‘This shows that the victims did not die in vain and we pledge to continue with their fight for a living wage” (Mathunjwa, 2013, quoted by Steyn, 2013). This pledge was upheld as on 28 August, 2013, Amcu was, “asking for increases as high as 150%, and Solidarity are still engaging” (Nicolson, 2013). As the interviews as part of the data collection process for this study were conducted on 14 August 2013, the value of the data should not go unrecognised. / MA (English), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

This thesis is a comparative investigation into the use of Italian of an extended Italian family in language contact situation in three countries: the United States, Australia and France. This study is undertaken and described in the context of the different policies on migrant integration and minority languages in the three migration countries. / The investigation uses the ‘Case Study’ methodology in the format of an embedded multiple case-study project. / The third generation was made the focus of the study to investigate Fishman’s “intergroup social dependency” theory. According to this theory, when the immigrant experience is viewed from a perspective of three or more generation time depth, the immigrant group generally loses its language due to its dependency on the host society for its survival. Fishman contends that only an effective and strict ‘compartmentalisation of language functions’ between the minority language and the host language can help the minority group maintain its language. / The findings indicate that for people of Italian background living as a minority group in language contact situation compartmentalisation is not a viable alternative. Nor do they consider the ‘maintenance’ of their community language important. When in the migration country bilingualism is valued, it is the standard variety of the heritage language that is chosen for maintenance and further learning. / The study presents recommendations towards the achievability of bilingualism beyond the limitations of compartmentalisation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: Past research has isolated an extension of the copular verb estar into the domain previously sanctioned for its counterpart, ser. This extension has been found in areas of contact between American English and Spanish speaking Mexican immigrants. A similar situation of contact is in occurrence in Arizona, and this study endeavored to evaluate if this same extension was present, and to what degree. This study also explores the framework of linguistic hegemony in order to relate language attitudes in Arizona to language change in Arizona. The findings revealed minimal extension. This may be due to language maintenance in response to hegemony. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. English 2012