Croatian Immigrants’ Language Use and Attitudes: The Case of Croatian, English, and Swedish in Sweden

Članek obravnava analizo rabe jezika in odnosa do hrvaščine, angleščine in švedščine med hrvaškimi priseljenci na Švedskem. Raziskava je potekala oktobra in novembra 2020 in je vključevala 64 hrvaških priseljencev na Švedskem. Vprašalnik, ki smo ga uporabili v raziskavi, je nastal po vzoru vprašalnika, ki sta ga Škifić in Grbas (2020) uporabila v svoji raziskavi o rabi jezika in stališčih hrvaških priseljencev na Irskem. Rezultati raziskave kažejo pozitiven odnos anketirancev do bivanja na Švedskem, opozarjajo pa tudi na njihovo pripisovanje večjega pomena znanju švedščine kot angleščine. Trenutna raven znanja angleškega jezika anketirancev je bila ocenjena višje od njihove trenutne ravni znanja švedskega jezika, večji napredek pri znanju obeh jezikov pa je bil ugotovljen pri švedščini. Pri prepoznavanju prevladujoče rabe hrvaščine, angleščine in švedščine se je izkazalo, da so pomembna različna področja jezikovne rabe, za zaposlitev pa sta se kot pomembna izkazala tako znanje švedščine kot tudi znanje angleščine. This paper deals with the analysis of language use and attitudes related to Croatian, English, and Swedish among Croatian immigrants in Sweden. The research was conducted during October and November 2020, and it included 64 Croatian immigrants in Sweden. The questionnaire that was used in the research was modelled on the questionnaire used by Škifić and Grbas (2020) in their research on language use and attitudes among Croatian immigrants in Ireland. The results of the research point to respondents’ positive attitudes towards residing in Sweden, as well as their attitudes regarding the greater importance of the knowledge of Swedish than English. The respondents’ current level of the knowledge of the English language has been evaluated higher than their current level of knowledge of the Swedish language, while a more significant progress in the knowledge of the two languages has been noted in the case of Swedish. Different domains of language use have been shown to be relevant in identifying the dominant use of Croatian, English and Swedish, while both the knowledge of Swedish and the knowledge of English have been noted as important for employment

Citizenship as an instrument of inclusion and exclusion – A comparative analysis of language requirements in naturalization processes in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Citizenship is an extremely complex concept and, as such, can be utilized in sociolinguistic research in order to account for differences in language policies. Language requirements in naturalization processes point to differences in particular countries’ language policies. Specifi cally, analysis of such language requirements reveals the different facets of the countries’ language policies in terms of the ways in which applicants for citizenship via naturalization are expected to know and use the countries’ offi cial language(s) or the main language (in cases where there is no offi cial language). The paper aims to address changes in such language requirements in four immigration countries which are bound by a specifi c past associated with colonialism and the fact that English is the medium of communication for the majority of the population. The countries are: the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. A comparison of past and current language requirements provides an insight into both past and current status of immigrants and their languages in the four countries. This, in turn, leads to assessments of citizenship increasingly being regarded more as an instrument of inclusion rather than as an instrument of exclusion.Ciudadanía como instrumento de inclusión y exclusión: estudio comparativo de los requisitos lingüísticos en el proceso de nacionalización en Estados Unidos, C anadá, Australia y Nueva Zelanda. La complejidad del concepto de la nacionalidad permite su uso en los estudios sociolingüísticos con el fi n de interpretar diferencias entre las políticas lingüísticas. Los requisitos lingüísticos en los procesos de nacionalización indican las diferencias entre las políticas lingüísticas de algunos países. Es decir, el análisis de requisitos lingüísticos desvela diferentes aspectos de las políticas lingüísticas en cuanto al conocimiento que se espera del solicitante de la nacionalidad de la(s) lengua(s) ofi cial(es) o dominante(s) del país (en el caso en que no exista una lengua ofi cial). El objetivo de este trabajo es señalar el cambio de esos requisitos lingüísticos en cuatro países receptores de inmigrantes que comparten un pasado caracterizado por el colonialismo y el hecho de que el inglés es el medio de comunicación de la mayor parte de la población. Los países en cuestión son: Estados Unidos, Canadá, Australia y Nueva Zelanda. La comparación entre requisitos lingüísticos del pasado y del presente ofrece una imagen del estatus pasado y del actual de los inmigrantes y sus lenguas en los cuatro países. Eso conlleva la conclusión de que la nacionalización cada vez más se considera más bien un instrumento de inclusión que de exclusión

Citizenship as an instrument of inclusion and exclusion – A comparative analysis of language requirements in naturalization processes in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Citizenship is an extremely complex concept and, as such, can be utilized in sociolinguistic research in order to account for differences in language policies. Language requirements in naturalization processes point to differences in particular countries’ language policies. Specifi cally, analysis of such language requirements reveals the different facets of the countries’ language policies in terms of the ways in which applicants for citizenship via naturalization are expected to know and use the countries’ offi cial language(s) or the main language (in cases where there is no offi cial language). The paper aims to address changes in such language requirements in four immigration countries which are bound by a specifi c past associated with colonialism and the fact that English is the medium of communication for the majority of the population. The countries are: the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. A comparison of past and current language requirements provides an insight into both past and current status of immigrants and their languages in the four countries. This, in turn, leads to assessments of citizenship increasingly being regarded more as an instrument of inclusion rather than as an instrument of exclusion.Ciudadanía como instrumento de inclusión y exclusión: estudio comparativo de los requisitos lingüísticos en el proceso de nacionalización en Estados Unidos, C anadá, Australia y Nueva Zelanda. La complejidad del concepto de la nacionalidad permite su uso en los estudios sociolingüísticos con el fi n de interpretar diferencias entre las políticas lingüísticas. Los requisitos lingüísticos en los procesos de nacionalización indican las diferencias entre las políticas lingüísticas de algunos países. Es decir, el análisis de requisitos lingüísticos desvela diferentes aspectos de las políticas lingüísticas en cuanto al conocimiento que se espera del solicitante de la nacionalidad de la(s) lengua(s) ofi cial(es) o dominante(s) del país (en el caso en que no exista una lengua ofi cial). El objetivo de este trabajo es señalar el cambio de esos requisitos lingüísticos en cuatro países receptores de inmigrantes que comparten un pasado caracterizado por el colonialismo y el hecho de que el inglés es el medio de comunicación de la mayor parte de la población. Los países en cuestión son: Estados Unidos, Canadá, Australia y Nueva Zelanda. La comparación entre requisitos lingüísticos del pasado y del presente ofrece una imagen del estatus pasado y del actual de los inmigrantes y sus lenguas en los cuatro países. Eso conlleva la conclusión de que la nacionalización cada vez más se considera más bien un instrumento de inclusión que de exclusión

RAZLIKOVANJE ZNAČENJA I UPORABA ENGLESKIH PRIDJEVA NA -IC I -ICAL MEĐU HRVATSKIM GOVORNICIMA ENGLESKOGA JEZIKA

Engleski se jezik kao lingua franca obrađuje s različitih stajališta i u različitim kontekstima. Takva istraživanja uključuju, između ostaloga, aspekte učenja i uporabe engleskoga jezika među neizvornim govornicima u kontekstima gdje se engleski jezik tradicionalno poučava i rabi kao strani jezik. Ovaj se rad bavi istraživanjem razlikovanja značenja i uporabe engleskih pridjeva na -ic i -ical među hrvatskim govornicima engleskoga jezika. Cilj je opisati uporabu takvih pridjeva te utvrditi mjeru u kojoj neizvorni govornici engleskoga jezika razlikuju njihova značenja. Odabir pridjeva kao i pregled značenjskih razlika među njima temelje se ponajprije na monografiji koju je 2007. godine objavio Mark Kaunisto te na mrežnom izdanju Oxfordova rječnika engleskoga jezika. Istraživanje koje je uključivalo primjenu testa provedeno je u ožujku i travnju 2019. godine među devedeset i šest hrvatskih studenata anglistike. Rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na to da razlikovanje značenja engleskih pridjeva na -ic i -ical ovisi ponajprije o samoj razlici u značenjima ponuđenih pridjeva, učestalosti uporabe određenoga pridjeva u engleskome jeziku te o jezičnome okruženju u kojemu se pridjev rabi

Comparative analysis of the concept of assimilation in English and Croatian

U ovome se radu najprije razmatra sam pojam asimilacije, odnosno način njegova definiranja u različitih autora. Razrada problematike sastoji se od dva glavna dijela, u kojima se odvojeno analizira asimilacija u engleskome i hrvatskome jeziku. Razmatraju se različite vrste asimilacija, ali i razlikovanje asimilacije od adaptacije, kako u engleskome, tako i u hrvatskome jeziku. Slijedi poredbena analiza asimilacije. Ona uključuje sličnosti i razlike do kojih se dolazi proučavanjem i uspoređivanjem odvojenih činjenica o asimilaciji u dva jezika, te razlikovanjem asimilacije kao glasovne preinake od adaptacije kao prilagodbe glasova.This paper discusses the term assimilation and its various definitions in several phonetic and phonological descriptions of Croatian and English. The first part analyses different assimilations in English, their classification: I. historical vs. contextual assimilation, II. assimilations in different phonetic context (six of them), III. progressive vs. regressive assimilation. The processes of assimilation vs. similitude are discussed as well. The second part analyses the categorization of assimilations in Croatian grammar. Distinction between progressive vs. regressive assimilation is found as well. The distinction between historical and contemporary assimilation is similar, but not identical to English historical vs. contextual assimilation. Assimilations in different (phonological) context are divided into vowel assimilations, each of which has six types. So called adaptations in Croatian are presented as well (six of them). Assimilations are defined as a sound change viewed as the replacement of one sound with the other. On the other hand, adaptations are changes which are not viewed as replacement of sound, rather as a change within the sound (which are described, but do registered by letter changes in writing). The last part of the paper compares approaches between English and Croatian authors. Similarities are presented in the distinction between progressive vs. regressive assimilation in terms and criterion, and also in the differentiation between assimilations that are more or less obvious. However, Croatian assimilations are described and classified in more details. Some Croatian terms are also found to be more appropriate

A Loanword as a Marker of Spatial Movement: The Case of Špancirfest

V prispevku je analiziran odnos med osnovnimi prostorsko-časovnimi in kulturnimi značilnostmi Špancirfesta, uličnega festivala, ki ga tradicionalno prirejajo v Varaždinu na severozahodu Hrvaške, in besedo, iz katere je izpeljano ime festivala – špancir ‘sprehod’. Prispevek sledi teoretični diskusiji o možnostih raziskovanja različnih tipov prostorov, ki so relevantni za sociolingvistično analizo, s tem pa ponuja pregled uličnih festivalov kot posebnih tipov javnega prostora, pa tudi vpogled v nemški jezikovni vpliv na severu Hrvaške, kar je osnova za analizo besede špancir kot nemške izposojenke. Korpus je sestavljen iz leksemov, povezanih s Špancirfestom, ki jih najdemo v časopisnih člankah iz let 2010–2016. Izvedena raziskava vključuje tudi uporabo vprašalnika med prebivalci Varaždina.This article analyzes the relationship between the basic spatiotemporal and cultural characteristics of Špancirfest, a street festival traditionally held in Varaždin in north-western Croatia, and the lexeme that the festival’s name is derived from: špancir ‘stroll’. Following a theoretical discussion of options for investigating various types of spaces relevant for sociolinguistic analysis, the article offers an overview of street festivals as particular types of public space, as well as insight into the German linguistic influence in north-western Croatia, serving as a basis for analyzing špancir as a German loanword. The corpus consists of lexemes related to Špancirfest found in newspaper articles in the period from 2010 till 2016. The conducted research also includes the application of a questionnaire among the residents of Varaždin

Tracing the Space Between Euphemisms and Dysphemisms: The Case of Obesity in English and German

The paper investigates how obesity as an aspect of physical appearance is represented in English and German. The existence of various expressions that refer to obesity leads to the assumption that both investigated languages rely on euphemisms and dysphemisms to talk about obesity. Using a corpus of different expressions from lexicographic sources, we analyse their descriptions and their classification as euphemisms in specialized and general dictionaries. Semantic phenomena that might be identified within such expressions were also taken into consideration. To investigate the usage of the identified euphemisms and dysphemisms, a questionnaire was administered among native speakers of English and German. The corpus was used to trace the space between euphemisms and dysphemisms in language use. The main goal was to identify the ways in which obesity is referred to in two different sociocultural contexts, and to establish the extent to which lexicographic identifications and descriptions of euphemisms overlap with native speakers’ perceptions and use of such items

LANGUAGE USE AND ATTITUDES AMONG CROATIAN IMMIGRANTS IN IRELAND

Imigracija u Irskoj, uključujući imigraciju Hrvata u tu zemlju, u posljednje vrijeme u znatnom je porastu. Stoga Irska u posljednjih nekoliko godina nastoji pronaći načine na koje se imigrantima može osigurati odgovarajuća kulturna i jezična integracija u irsko društvo. Ovaj rad se bavi istraživanjem jezične uporabe i stavova hrvatskih imigranata u Irskoj. U istraživanju koje je provedeno od lipnja do kolovoza 2019. godine sudjelovala su 82 hrvatska imigranta u Irskoj. Za potrebe istraživanja korišten je upitnik koji se sastojao od četiriju dijelova i koji su ispitanici ispunjavali preko društvene mreže Facebook. Od ispitanika se tražilo da odgovore na pitanja vezana za vlastito iskustvo emigracije u Irsku, a većina jezičnih pitanja odnosila se na engleski, i to na pojedine aspekte učenja, razine poznavanja i uporabe engleskoga jezika u različitim kontekstima. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju, između ostaloga, da većina ispitanika ima pozitivan stav prema boravku u Irskoj te engleskome jeziku. Većina njih procijenila je svoju trenutačnu razinu znanja engleskoga jezika mnogo boljom od prosjeka. Iako znanje engleskoga jezika većinom nije procijenjeno ključnim za pronalazak posla u Irskoj, ipak ga je značajan broj ispitanika procijenio bitnim prilikom njihova zaposlenja.Immigration in Ireland, including the Croatian one, has risen significantly in recent times. That is why in the last several years Ireland has been trying to find ways of ensuring the adequate cultural and linguistic integration of immigrants into Irish society. This paper deals with the language use and attitudes among Croatian immigrants in Ireland. The research that was conducted in the period from June to August 2019 included 82 Croatian immigrants in Ireland. It included the application of a questionnaire that consisted of four parts and that was filled out by the participants through the Facebook social network. The participants were asked questions connected to their emigration to Ireland. Most of the language-related questions included a reference to the English language, with a focus on specific aspects related to the process of learning, knowledge and use of English in different contexts. The results of the research suggest, among other things, that most participants have a positive attitude towards residing in Ireland and towards the English language. Most of them evaluated their current knowledge of English as better than average. Although the knowledge of English was not predominantly evaluated as crucial for finding employment in Ireland, still a significant number of participants evaluated it as relevant for their employment

Encontrando su sitio en otro país: un estudio a pequeña escala de la integración cultural y el mantenimiento de la lengua entre los inmigrantes croatas en Canadá

This paper focuses on sociocultural and language-related issues among Croatian immigrants in Canada. It presents the results of the study conducted from November 2018 to February 2019 among Croatian immigrants of different generations in Ontario and British Columbia. Questions included in the questionnaire refer to different aspects of participants’ identity and their (families’) immigration, as well as issues related to their attitudes towards the homeland and engagement in Croatian associations in Canada. Participants were asked to provide feedback on their language acquisition, competence and use, as well as evaluations of the importance of the Croatian language for their identity. The questionnaire also contained questions related to participants’ language use from emotional and cognitive perspectives. Conclusions drawn on the basis of the collected data provide an insight into Croatian immigrants’ language use, the extent of cultural integration and language maintenance, and their attitudes towards the relationship between identity and language.Este trabajo se centra en temas socioculturales y lingüísticos entre los inmigrantes croatas en Canadá. Se presentan los resultados del estudio realizado entre noviembre de 2018 y febrero de 2019 entre inmigrantes croatas de diferentes generaciones en Ontario y la Colombia Británica. Las preguntas incluidas en el cuestionario se refieren a diferentes aspectos de la identidad de los participantes y su inmigración (familiar), así como a cuestiones relacionadas con sus actitudes hacia la patria y su participación en las asociaciones croatas en Canadá. Se pidió a los participantes que proporcionaran comentarios sobre la adquisición, competencia y uso de las lenguas que manejan, así como evaluaciones de la importancia de la lengua croata para su identidad. El cuestionario también contiene preguntas relacionadas con el uso del lenguaje de los participantes, desde perspectivas emocionales y cognitivas. Las conclusiones extraídas sobre la base de los datos recopilados proporcionan una idea de la lengua que utilizan los inmigrantes croatas, el grado de integración cultural, el mantenimiento de la lengua nativa (el croata) y sus actitudes sobre la relación entre la identidad y el idioma

Ekranowa „inność” dwujęzycznych postaci. Między angielskim a językami Indii — doświadczenie dwujęzyczności

Analiza wzorów mowy osób dwujęzycznych oraz powiązanych z nimi kulturowych stereotypów obecnych w kinie jest stosunkowo nową dziedziną badań. Artykuł koncentruje się na naturze oraz zakresie „przestrzeni językowej”, jaką przemysł kinematograficzny może dostarczyć studiom socjolingwistycznym w zakresie analizy obecności „Innego” w kontekście dwujęzyczności. Artykuł analizuje filmy, w których występują dwujęzyczne postaci, posługujące się językiem angielskim oraz jednym z języków Indii używanym w kontekście pozaindyjskim*. Analiza skupia się na sposobie, w jaki filmowe reprezentacje wytwarzają stereotypy dotyczące osób dwujęzycznych w kulturze anglojęzycznej, takich jak trudności asymilacyjne w kulturze anglojęzycznej oraz wzorce zmiany kodu językowego między językiem angielskim a językami Indii. Pierwsza część analizy skupia się na filmowych reprezentacjach sposobów, w jakie osoby o pochodzeniu indoazjatyckim negocjują swoją dwujęzyczną tożsamość; jej celem jest identyfikacja motywów powielanych w kolejnych filmowych produkcjach. Zakres językowej asymilacji odzwierciedla bariera pokoleniowa: podczas gdy pierwsze pokolenie imigrantów cechuje nostalgia za ojczyzną oraz tradycyjnymi wartościami, drugie oraz trzecie pokolenie charakteryzuje zauważalna kulturowa asymilacja. Druga część analizy poświęcona jest zmianom kodu językowego: bada kontekst, w którym używany jest język angielski oraz okoliczności użycia języków Indii, a także analizuje czynniki mające wpływ na zmianę kodu. Socjolingwistyczna analiza filmowych reprezentacji osób dwujęzycznych o korzeniach indyjskich może przyczynić się do wyjaśnienia podłoża stereotypów na temat tej grupy osób.   * Na ich oznaczenie używany jest termin ‘Asian Indian languages’, który oznacza języki Indii używane w rozmaitym kontekście pozaindyjskim. Na przykład, Sridhar (2002, 263–264) używa go w odniesieniu do języków Indii, którymi mówi się stanie Nowy JorkAnalyses of bilinguals’ speech patterns and related cultural stereotypes as portrayed in films have become relatively frequent in recent years. This paper focuses on the nature and amount of ‘linguistic space’ provided by the film industry for the sociolinguistic presence of the ‘Other’ in bilingual contexts. It represents an analysis of films in which bilingual characters (in English and one of Asian Indian languages*) are presented. The analysis focuses on on-screen produced stereotypes about such bilinguals, immigrants’ struggles to assimilate to the English-dominant cultural and linguistic context, and patterns of code-switching between English and Asian Indian languages, i.e., contexts of usage of the two languages. The first part of the analysis focuses on identifying patterns of recurring topics in the analyzed films as they are connected with different aspects of negotiating the identity of bilinguals in English and one of Asian Indian languages. Topics related to the conflict between homeland nostalgia and traditional values upheld by first-generation immigrants and a more noticeable cultural assimilation among second- and third-generation immigrants are reflected in the extent of linguistic assimilation among different generations of immigrants. The second part of the analysis focuses on instances of code-switching, i.e., specific contexts in which English and Asian Indian languages are used, as well as factors that contribute to such instances of code-switching. Sociolinguistic analyses of the portrayal of bilinguals in English and one of Asian Indian languages in film production might partially explain the nature of stereotypes about such bilingual speakers.   * The term ‘Asian Indian languages’ is used by scholars to refer to languages of India spoken in different contexts. For example, Sridhar (2002, 263–264) uses it to refer to languages of India spoken in New York State