Language shift and host society attitudes: Dutch migrants who arrived in New Zealand between 1950 and 1965

Date
2012
Authors
Crezee, I
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Sage Publishers
Abstract

Language shift and host society attitudes - Dutch migrants who arrived in New Zealand between 1950 and 1965 Abstract A study published in 2010 reported on past and current language use of a group of older Dutch migrants in New Zealand. Respondents interviewed for the study consisted of 30 retired Dutch migrants, all of whom had arrived in New Zealand between 1950 and 1965 when they were aged between 18 and 35 years of age. All respondents were living in the Greater Auckland area and were aged between 65 and 92 at the time of the interview. All respondents were asked questions based on a sociolinguistic life questionnaire and asked about their language use and experiences since migration. Interviews were recorded and information from interviews and questionnaires was supplemented by data collected from participants’ adult children.This paper will focus on respondents’ comments in relation to their motivation to either maintain their L1 Dutch or shift to their L2 English in the home environment. It appeared that external societal attitudes affected respondents’ language use in a number of domains, including the home environment.

Description
Keywords
Host society attitudes , Bilingual migrants , Post-retirement , Language shift , language maintenance , Bilingualism , Dutch
Source
International Journal of Bilingualism, vol.1pp.1 - 13, 429523
Publisher's version
Rights statement
Authors retain the right to place his/her pre-publication version of the work on a personal website or institutional repository. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published. It is not the copy of record. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published by SAGE Publications Ltd. All rights reserved. © 2012. (please see Citation and Publisher’s Version).