Plural Pasts and Monolithic Present: Youth and Multicultural Heritage in Croatia

The present paper seeks to explore the awareness and knowledge about past cultural diversity of young people in four Croatian cities (Pula, Rijeka, Zadar and Zagreb) with rich multicultural historical legacies. It is based on the results of a survey obtained from 631 high-school students in these cities. The survey focused on students’ awareness and knowledge of plural cultural heritage in their respective cities and their ideas about what should be valued and how. It also included students’ attitudes and beliefs about current diversity issues and intercultural values, which enabled the researchers to explore the association between their knowledge of heritage and their intercultural attitudes in more detail. The results obtained indicate that both the degree of awareness of past diversity and acceptance or rejection of intercultural values varied by specific spatial, historic and current socio-demographic contexts of the cities. While the overall findings suggest a comparatively strong association between heritage and intercultural values, some of them indicate that appreciation of past cultural diversity may also co-exist with current anti-multicultural attitudes. This has implications for education policy and strategies in facing the challenges of a decline in socio-political support for intercultural values in both Croatia and a wider European context

Transnational and Intercultural Practices in the Adriatic Littoral of the Late Habsburg Empire

The paper describes the strategy of an interdisciplinary project on the patterns of transnational interactions and mobility that shaped intercultural dialogue in the south-eastern periphery of the late Austro-Hungarian Empire. Methodologically, it is structured around three interconnected analytic levels of institutions, associations and everyday life, that are mutually constitutive, and the exploration of three dimensions characterizing social spaces: social practices in different domains of life, symbolic system (focusing on language) and the use of artifacts, or material life. Based on secondary sources, the imperial naval port of Pula is analyzed within the methodological frame that goes beyond methodological nationalism

Istarski identiteti i jezici u kontaktu

The focus of the present study is on the interdependence of language and regional identity set within the framework of language ideology and theory of practice. It is based on a quantitative investigation of the language attitudes of 1,154 secondary students from the multicultural region of Istria, which explores their perceptions of regional and national standard varieties, and relates those perceptions to the social conditions affording status and/or solidarity value at the regional linguistic market. By investigating linguistic categorization, self–making and “othering” within the region, as well as spatial orientations of the respondents, the present study analyzes ways used by speakers to define their sense of self and to contrast themselves with others in terms of the region and in terms of the different language varieties. The results demonstrate the correspondence among the observed evaluation patterns with the strong regional movement and multicultural orientation of Istria. The emerging regional identity is characterized linguistically by persistence of the regional codes due to their symbolic and solidarity value and by resistance against hegemony and symbolic domination of the standard language.Rad se bavi proučavanjem međuovisnosti jezika i regionalnog identiteta u okviru teorijskih pretpostavki ideologije jezika i teorije prakse. Analiza se temelji na kvantitativnom istraživanju jezičnih stavova prikupljenih od 1154 učenika i učenica iz ukupno osam srednjih škola u višejezič- noj, multikulturnoj Istri. U središtu pažnje su društveno, kulturno i simboličko značenje povezano sa statusom i/ili solidarnošću na regionalnom jezičnom tržištu, koje se očitava iz stavova ispitanika o hrvatskim i talijanskim regionalnim i standardnim varijetetima te načini društvene kategorizacije povezane s prostornom identifikacijom. Rezultati upućuju na podudarnost jezičnih stavova s regionalnom i multikulturnom orijentacijom Istre. Jezična obilježja dobivene slike regionalnog identiteta upućuju na vitalnost regionalnih kodova kao oblika simboličkog i društvenog kapitala uz otpor prema simboličkoj dominaciji standardnoga hrvatskog jezika

Multiple Ways of Belonging in a Multicultural City

The focus of the present study is on the interdependence of language and urban identity set within the framework of theory of practice and the concept of the right to the city. It is concerned with the formation of local identities in the context of a multicultural city of Pula, in the Croatian region of Istria, characterized by a substantial presence of immigrant and ethnic minority groups. The paper explores to what extent the image of the city, with its spatial and social structure, as well as socio-economic and historic context determines discourse on multicultural interactions as well as the ways those images shape a sense of identity, and how these identities are affected by interpersonal and inter-group communication. By looking into factors and processes through which different dimensions of identity become salient, specific attention is given to how power relations influence the dynamics of identity negotiation and the re/articulation of potential hierarchy of differences

Public and Private Language Ideologies as Reflected in Language Attitudes on the Island of Korčula

Since languages are such powerful means of group identification, they may be considered as constitutive of communities. Attitudes expressed toward certain linguistic varieties may thus be perceived as attitudes held toward respective community-members. However, as attitudes are not always easily accessible, and are rarely one-dimensional but rather multi-layered, an insight into overt (publicly proclaimed) and covert (privately held) ideologies can enhance understanding of language attitudes and their meaning. This paper brings the analysis of these two types of attitudes held by adolescents in three most populated places on the island of Korčula, Croatia. The analysis is based on the results obtained by means of a questionnaire eliciting, among other things, overt attitudes toward six local, regional and supra-regional varieties, and covert attitudes toward judges’ local speech and the Standard variety of Croatian. Although the results confirm some expected tendencies in the evaluation of different varieties, subsequently conducted analysis of speech recognition rates offers some valuable insights and interesting implications for further interpretation of the results

Cultural Implications of Attitudes and Evaluative Reactions Toward Dialect Variation in Croatian Youth

As a consequence of political changes and war, during the last decade the migration processes have been intensified and incomers from other parts of Croatia and neighbouring countries have moved to the town of Zagreb and have changed it considerably. These demographic changes have also had an influence on the language used in the area and on language attitudes towards the Standard Croatian, local vernacular and other dialectal varieties. The aim of this study is to explore the awareness that speakers, Croatian adolescents resident in Zagreb, have of their own language variety and their attitudes toward different other dialect varieties. The data were collected using the speech guise method and a questionnaire in order to assess both conscious and unconscious components of these linguistic evaluations. The results obtained once again confirmed the expected prestige of the Standard variety in terms of its speaker\u27s alleged highest competence, but also its low standing as far as social attractiveness is concerned. Nonstandard local varieties showed the exactly opposite trend, although the evaluation of native and immigrant adolescents differed considerably

A Cross-Cultural Study of Adolescents – BMI, Body Image and Psychological Well-Being

Physical, psychological and social changes that occur during adolescence can markedly affect dietary habits and nutritional health. Physical changes including rapid growth place extra nutritional requirements on adolescents, while culture and society require adjustments in all of the aspects of daily living, including psychosocial well-being. Adolescents become focused on the physical appearance and any deviation from the ideal figure can result in negative dieting behavior, social withdrawal, poor self-esteem and increased health vulnerability. The paper presents some of the results of an international comparative study on risk and protective factors of adolescent health and well being, related to BMI, dieting behavior and body image and their relationship to psychosocial well-being (somatic stress, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction and self-esteem). Within an ecological cultural framework, it looks at group-specific differences of Albanian and Bosnian adolescents within different socio-cultural contexts across six European countries: two EU members (Italy and Austria) and four communities in the state of socioeconomic and political transition (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo). The survey collected data from 2000 adolescents between 15 and 18 years of age. The study demonstrated a strong relationship between BMI and body dissatisfaction, between body image and dietary habits, and strong effects of body image on all indicators of psychosocial health. In addition to expected marked gender differences in all countries, the obtained results indicate significant intracultural variations related to socioeconomic status as well as considerable intercultural variations due to variable influence specific social and cultural contexts

Migrants and Their Languages in Historical Perspective

Historical legacies of past migrations and linguistic practices have an impact on the concerns about current migration and mobility processes, reminding us that mass migrations are not a new phenomenon. Mass migrations from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th and early 20th century to North America present an interesting subject in view of regulating moving speakers and their languages and their reception in the new country. Using discourse analysis of historical data from contemporary newspapers and other sources, the paper explores practices of inclusion and exclusion of Slavic speakers on the ground of social prejudice and legitimized ethnic and racial segregating practices. The results show that paradoxically, immigrants coming from the multilingual empire who were admitted (about 80%) after restrictive procedures, in the end faced the demanding issue of enforced linguistic and cultural assimilation in order to become accepted as loyal Americans. We use these pieces of historical memory of mass migrations as a resource to understand the present attitudes and policies toward migrating people, and their languages and cultures

Vitality and Erosion Of Molise Croatian Dialect*

This paper gives a presentation of the condition of an endangered language located on the southern part of the Italian peninsula, spoken by a small community of transplanted Slavic population who fled the Eastern Adriatic coast during the Turkish invasion of the Balkan peninsula and have lived in complete isolation from related Slavic languages for five centuries surrounded by a majority of Italian speaking population. The overview of contact induced changes shows a high level of interferences at all structural levels resulting in a relatively stable mixed idiom. Preservation and revitalization efforts are discussed particularly in relation to the importance of writing and codification of the language as well as possible steps that can be undertaken in view of the link between language and the group cultural identity

Terminološka standardizacija u društvenim i humanističkim znanostima – slučaj hrvatskoga antropološkog nazivlja

The paper presents the construction of anthropological terminology in the Croatian language. It focuses, on one hand, on some specific challenges that Croatian, as a “non-dominant language”, is facing in the process of developing and standardizing its scientific terminology. These challenges arise as a result of the small size of the Croatian scientific community and its limited influence on the development of particular disciplines, which means that concepts are frequently adopted from work by scholars writing in dominant languages, such as English. On the other hand, the paper addresses issues that necessarily arise when strict terminological standardization principles and ideals are applied to anthropology, as an interdisciplinary humanistic discipline using a wide array of often ambiguous terms which are difficult to fit into the rigorously organized conceptual system stipulated by traditional terminology.Rad se bavi izgradnjom antropološkoga nazivlja u hrvatskome jeziku. S jedne se strane fokusira na specifične izazove s kojim se hrvatski, kao „nedominantan jezik“, suočava u procesu razvoja i standardizacije svojega znanstvenog nazivlja. Ovi se izazovi pojavljuju kao posljedica činjenice da je hrvatska znanstvena zajednica mala i da je njezin utjecaj na razvoj pojedinih disciplina ograničen, što znači da se koncepti često preuzimaju iz radova znanstvenika koji pišu dominantnim jezicima, poput engleskoga. S druge strane, rad se bavi problemima koji se nužno pojavljuju kada se strogi principi i ideali terminološke standardizacije primjenjuju na antropologiju, kao interdisciplinarnu humanističku disciplinu koja upotrebljava širok raspon često dvosmislenih termina koje je teško uklopiti u rigorozno organiziran konceptualni sustav kakav pretpostavlja tradicionalna terminologija