Lecture 6

Question 1

Factors that lead to language shift.

Answer 1

Social
Economic
Political

1. The dominant language is associated with social status and prestige
2. Obtaining work is the obvious economic reason for learning another language
3. The pressure of institutional domains such as schools and the media

Question 2

When a migrant minority group moves to a predominantly monolingual society dominated by one majority group language in all the major institutional domains (school, media, government administration, etc.) language shift will be unavoidable unless ________ .

Answer 2

The community takes active steps to prevent it. Without conscious maintenance it can disappear in as few as three generations

Question 3

The social and economic goals of individuals in a community account for the speed of shift. ( )

Answer 3

V

Question 4

Rapid shift occurs when people are anxious to get on in a society where knowledge of the dominant language is a prerequisite for success so ________ people are likely to shift faster.

A. Young
B. Adult
C. Old
D. All of the above

Answer 4

young

Question 5

Young women in Oberwart, for example, are leading the shift to German there, because?

Answer 5

They are the ones taking most advantage of the new jobs offered by the industrial changes.

Question 6

Three Demographic factors

Answer 6

1. Language shift is faster in urban areas than rural
2. The size of the group is sometimes a critical factor
3. Intermarriage between groups can accelerate language shift

Question 7

Spanish has survived well in the United States due to ________ .

Answer 7

the large numbers of its speakers

Question 8

a Chilean refugee family went to live in a small provincial New Zealand town where there was work but no opportunity at all to use their mother tongue, Spanish.
Their 8-year-old daughter, Crystal, quickly realized that her knowledge of Spanish made her seem odd to her school friends and she rapidly refused to use Spanish even at home. Why?

Answer 8

Because an isolated migrant family will have few opportunities to use their mother tongue and language maintenance will be difficult.
Crystal’s family had nowhere they could use Spanish except in the home, and no one they could talk to in Spanish except each other.
They were both isolated and ‘odd’ in the eyes of others.

Question 9

How to maintain a language?

Answer 9

You must have people you can use it with on regular basis

Question 10

Intermarriage between groups can slow down language shift. ( )

Answer 10

X

accelerate

Question 11

Language shift is slower among communities where the minority language is highly valued. ( )

Answer 11

V

Question 12

With the spread of a majority group language into more and more domains, the number of contexts in which individuals use the ethnic language diminishes.

Answer 12

Language death

Question 13

How can a minority language be maintained?

Answer 13

treasure the languages and cultures of its various peoples because in doing so, it fosters intergroup understanding and realizes greater dividends (assets) in the form of originality, creativity and versatility.

Question 14

Some tips to keep a language alive

Answer 14

1- A language can be maintained and preserved, when it’s highly valued as an important symbol of ethnic identity for the minority group.

2- If families from a minority group live near each other and see each other
frequently, their interactions will help to maintain the language.

3- For emigrate individuals from a minority group, the degree and frequency of contact with the homeland can contribute to language maintenance.

4- Intermarriage within the same minority group is helpful to maintain the native language.