The present qualitative study investigated Spanish language maintenance among a familial/friend group of ten Ecuadorians that live in Northern California. The participants completed a survey and participated in an interview from which I retrieved information about the importance of Spanish and English, their self-reported confidence in Spanish and English, language attitudes, language use in private/familial contexts, and language use in public/social contexts. Previous studies regarding language maintenance and language shift in California were primarily focused on the Mexican-American population. California has the fourth largest population of Ecuadorians in the United States, yet there are no maintenance and shift studies for Ecuadorians in California. The collectivism and communal style of living that permeate Ecuadorian culture make the current study particularly unique and adds to past research on factors that affect maintenance and shift. Findings indicate that many of the members of this community are part of a dense network. This appears to encourage positive language attitudes. As a result, Spanish is used in many public and private contexts, which may help Spanish to be maintained by future generations. However, the current study also sheds light on the level of impact that spousal language may have regarding maintenance or shift for the future generation. The findings show that households with an English monolingual parent show a shift of importance and emotional attachment from Spanish to English. Thus, future generations are likely to see a shift to English if they are in a household with an English monolingual mother but may have an identity associated with their heritage because of the dense network to which they belong. However, future generations in households with two parents who speak Spanish are likely to maintain Spanish due to the network density and overall language attitudes.

Students who participate in study abroad programs have the opportunity to interact with native speakers in a variety of settings. "Composition and Formation of Social Networks during Study Abroad Programs" explores the kinds of social networks that students form while abroad focusing on the areas of host families, church, school, community, and friends from the program. The kind of network that students form is heavily influenced by the nature of their program. Students from the same program often have social networks similar to those of their peers in the same program. Students who went abroad generally made friends in categories that were most accessible to them. Apart from the program structure, individual initiative also plays an important role in the size and composition of a student's social network. Also, students who had more intense friendships were found to be more likely to create second order networks and meet more friends through their established friendships. Children who grow up exposed to two dialects of the same language may become bidialectal giving them an extra set of choices when they speak. The decision of which dialectal features to use is often socially motivated and demonstrates the speaker's perceived identity. In "Bidialectalism and Language Attitudes: A Case Study of a Bolivian-Argentine Family in the United States," two sisters were interviewed regarding their language use and attitudes. One of the sisters felt a strong connection to her Argentine heritage and thus chose to use an accent and words that would identify her as Argentine. The other sister in this study does not feel the need to identify herself as Argentine and prefers to simply fit in. She thus strives to employ a regionally unmarked variety of Spanish when she speaks. Both sisters are able to accommodate their speech to that of their interlocutors, but have preferred dialectal features based on their language attitudes.

The literature surrounding children's language attitudes has blossomed in recent years, but little is known about modern children's attitudes toward ethnic varieties of English. In addition, little is known about what factors may influence these attitudes. Here I investigate the language attitudes of children in kindergarten through third grade. These children in South Central Idaho have considerable experience with Spanish-accented English (SPE), but very little real-world experience with African American English (AAE). White, Latinx, and biracial participants were asked to evaluate samples of Standard American English (SAE), AAE, and SPE in relation to each other on scales of both status and solidarity. The status measure used a ladder task modified for children, and the solidarity task used a friendship-preference task and asked which variety the participant thought sounded like them. On the status task, children were more likely to rank SAE than SPE as the highest, and were more likely to rank SPE than SAE as the lowest. Native speakers of English were more likely than English language learners (ELLs) to rank SPE as the highest pick. Moreover, the reasons participants gave for their choices on the status task were found to be more positive and less negative for SAE than for either AAE and SPE. For the solidarity tasks, it was found that SAE was more likely to be chosen than both SPE and AAE as the variety that sounded like the participant, and ELLs responded similarly to native speakers. For the friendship-preference task, participants were more likely to choose SAE than AAE. Participants' race and grade level were not statistically significant factors for either the status or solidarity tasks. These findings add to the knowledge of the current state of American children's language attitudes and suggest that modern children have definite attitudes and beliefs about the different varieties, even varieties with which they have little real-world exposure. Additionally, this research confirms previous results that children prefer native, standard speakers to foreign-accented speakers as potential friends.

With the rise of globalization, knowledge of the English language and intercultural competence have become highly sought after skills. One method Chinese university students use to increase these skills is to study abroad. Positive language attitudes have been linked with language learning motivation and language proficiency, which in turn influence ability to understand and interact with the host culture. This study investigated the differences in language attitudes between female Chinese university students who live both abroad and in China. Their attitudes towards English and Mandarin were compared in terms of integrative and instrumental orientation. 15 students who study at different English-speaking universities in Europe and 20 students who study at different Mandarin-speaking universities in Mainland China responded to a 32-item Language Attitudes Questionnaire and 2 open-ended questions. The results of this study suggest that study abroad leads to more positive integrative attitudes towards English, while there were no statistically significant effects on attitudes towards Mandarin or on instrumental attitudes towards English. / 随着全球化的兴起，英语知识和跨文化能力已成为备受追捧的技能。中国大学生用来提高这种技能的一种方法是出国留学。 积极的语言态度与语言学习动机和语言熟练程度有关，这反过来又会影响理解东道国文化的能力。 本项研究调查了居住在国外和在中国的中国女大学生之间语言态度的差异。 她们对英语和普通话的态度在整合型取向和工具型取向方面进行了比较。15 名在欧洲大学学习的学生和 20 名在中国大学学习的学生回答了一份包含 32 项针对语言态度的李克特量表陈述句和 2 个开放式问题的问卷。这项研究的结果表明，出国留学对英语产生了更积极的融合型态度，而对普通话的态度或对英语的工具型态度没有统计上的显著影响。

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There are many factors that influence language acquisition and use, particularly in multilingual environments. The ethnic group affiliation (EGA) of speakers, or the degree to which a speaker identifies with their native language or culture, has been shown to have a significant impact on language use (Gatbonton, Trofimovich & Segalowitz 2009, Zabrodskaja 2015). EGA can also impact the judgments of and attitudes toward these speakers by others (e.g., Trofimovich & Turuševa 2020). Lithuania is a multilingual state with a complex political and linguistic history, particularly in relation to the Russian language and people. In this study, 150 native Lithuanians and 38 ethnic Russians completed an EGA survey. Next, the Russians provided a speech sample in Lithuanian. The native Lithuanians listened to Lithuanian speech samples by both ethnic Lithuanians and ethnic Russians in order to understand the impact of EGA (both of the speaker and listener) on the listener’s judgment of native Russian speakers’ accentedness in Lithuanian as well as the listener’s attitudes toward Russian-Lithuanian bilinguals in Lithuania. There was no relationship between native Russian speakers’ EGA and the judgments of native Lithuanian toward those Russian speakers’ Lithuanian. However, Russian speakers’ level of identification toward identity labels “Russian” and “emigrant” were correlated with native Lithuanians’ comfort in speaking with them in a variety of tasks. The EGA of the Lithuanian listeners significantly affected their level of comfort in interacting with Russian speakers. It is suggested that speaker EGA may not influence judgments of non-native Lithuanian speakers, but listener EGA may.

The development of education through the medium of Celtic languages (here specifically Welsh and Scottish Gaelic) is often placed within a language planning framework in which Celtic-medium education is viewed as a means of sustaining a threatened language in the context of levels of intergenerational transmission which are insufficient to maintain speaker numbers. The primary to secondary school stage is a critical juncture from such a perspective, as language revitalization requires the language competencies, patterns of Celtic language use and positive attitudes towards the Celtic language fostered at the primary school stage to be maintained and developed at the secondary school stage. However, the secondary school stage has often been associated with a reduction in the uptake and availability of Celticmedium education and with a decline both in Celtic language use and in positive attitudes towards the language. Such a policy and research context raises two sets of research questions, the first relating to choice of medium of instruction of education, and the second to aspects of pupil language relevant to language planning and maintenance: (1)Research Questions: Choice What factors influence parental decisions for Celtic-medium education at the primary school level? What factors influence Celtic-medium pupil decisions regarding language of education for the first year of secondary school? Do the responses and patterns of response regarding choice differ between (i) the primary and secondary school stages and/or (ii) the Scottish and Welsh contexts? (2)Research Questions: Language Planning What are Celtic-medium pupils’ patterns of (a) language use (b) perceptions of their linguistic ability (c) identification with the Celtic language and (d) perceptions of the usefulness of the Celtic language for their future at the primary and early secondary school stages? Do the responses and patterns of response differ between the Scottish and Welsh contexts at the primary school stage? Do the responses and patterns of response shift between the primary and secondary school stages in either the Scottish or the Welsh contexts? This thesis presents the results of a longitudinal study of 28 Gaelic-medium and 57 Welsh-medium final year primary and first year secondary pupils, their parents and teachers, conducted in 2007-2008. English-medium pupils from dual stream schools were also incorporated, primarily as a control group for the experiences of their Celtic-medium counterparts (17 English-medium Scotland and 34 English-medium Wales pupils, their parents and teachers). The research questions are investigated using multiple research methods in a longitudinal design. Pupils took part in semi-structured interviews in the final year of primary school and in the first year of secondary school concerning their experience of learning a Celtic language, the reasons for their decisions regarding the medium of instruction of secondary school subjects, their identification with their Celtic language and their perceptions of its usefulness. At each of these two school stages, pupils also completed standardized questionnaires (which yielded statistical data) on their language use and their perceived language competence in their Celtic language and in English. The pupil interviews were supplemented by interviews with their teachers at primary and secondary school, and with their parents at the primary school stage; thus a total of 383 interviews were conducted. Comparison was made not only longitudinally but also between the Gaelic and Welsh groups and, where relevant, between each of them and their English-medium counterparts. The results are discussed in relation to contextual factors (for example national and local authority policies, the linguistic demographics of Scotland and Wales and the level of Celtic-language institutionalization in the two countries), in relation to previous research on choice, language use, language ability and language attitudes in the Scottish and Welsh contexts, and in relation to theories of language maintenance.

This study examines pre-service teachers' attitudes toward language diversity and linguistically diverse students. Two hundred seventy-one teacher education students were surveyed to determine relative effects of demographic, mediating variables and psychosocial variables on language attitude as measured by the Language Attitudes of Teachers Scale (LATS). Independent variables include gender, age, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, region, psychological insecurity, cognitive sophistication, and helpfulness viewpoint. Research questions are established and methodology is outlined. A review of related literature places the study in the context of research with a broad interdisciplinary perspective and then links the study to other research relevant to the field of education. The findings of the study indicate that gender, race/ethnicity, teacher certification sought, political ideology, psychological insecurity, and cognitive sophistication contribute significantly to the variation found in attitude toward language diversity. The paper concludes with analyses and discussions of the significant variables and suggestions for application in teacher preparation.

The subject of the master thesis is language attitudes. The focus is put on how language attitudes can affect the way how the language is changing, how they can be expressed and which factors play important roles in forming of language attitudes. There have been a number of sociological and sociolinguistic case studies in this field in Norway. Based on them, I compare the Norwegian and Czech attitudes to the latest trends in language change such as globalization, regionalization and others. The main questions are: how do factors forming language attitudes to language varieties differ when compared Norwegian and Czech? How are language attitudes affected by differencies in history and culture in these two lands? Hypothetical, the factors connected to contact with English would be quite similar both in Norwegian and Czech. On the other hand the relationship between standard spoken language and dialects would differ more mostly because of these varieties have a different status in Norwegian and Czech context.

On s’intéresse dans cette thèse à la relation entre le degré de conscience qu’ont les locuteurs de la variation dans le cas de certaines variables sociolinguistiques à Beyrouth [et les appréciations rattachées à chacune de leurs réalisations lorsqu’elles sont saillantes], et la distribution sociale de chacune de leurs variantes. Dans un premier temps, sont présentées les représentations rattachées aux stéréotypes et traits saillants perçus par les locuteurs. Les deuxième et troisième parties du travail présentent l’emploi et la répartition sociolinguistique de dix de ces stéréotypes et traits saillants, ainsi que de quatre autres variables. L’étude de la variation et des représentations rattachées à certaines variantes se base sur un corpus de quarante-sept entretiens et conversations menés auprès de locuteurs aux profils variés. Il ressort de cette étude qu’une koïnisation est en cours à Beyrouth, en conséquence du contact dialectal entre les variétés parlées par les migrants et les variétés originellement parlées dans la ville. Cette koïnisation se fait par la perte de leurs traits saillants à la fois par les migrants, et par les résidents originels de la ville. En contrepartie, la variation observée dans le cas d’autres variables sociolinguistiques, dont l’emploi est corrélé à des facteurs sociaux comme le sexe, l’âge, l’appartenance communautaire (ou religieuse) et le niveau d’éducation, montre que les tendances différenciatrices entre les locuteurs sur la base de ces quatre critères sont, pour le moins, dynamiques, et que certaines d’entre elles vont croissant. / This thesis explores the relationship between the salience of, and social values attributed to, some sociolinguistic variables in Beirut, and the social distribution of each of their variants. It first presents the social values attributed by speakers to the stereotypes and to other salient features they perceive. In its second and third parts, it concentrates on the social distribution of two stereotypes, eight salient features, and four other variables. The study is mainly based on forty-seven interviews and conversations, and the speakers that were met had various profiles. One of the findings of the study is that the koineization process resulting from the contact between the dialects spoken by migrants and those spoken by ‘genuine’ Beirutis leads to the loss of distinctive features in both groups. On the other hand, it appears from the distribution and evolution of a set of ‘non local’ variables, that some of the linguistic differences related to such social factors as gender, age, religious and communal affiliation, and educational level seem to be, for the least, very dynamic, if not growing with time.