University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

That Weird language Mom and Grandma Speak: Heritage Language Maintenance and Loss in College Students

Munch, Evan

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/25972

Description

Title
That Weird language Mom and Grandma Speak: Heritage Language Maintenance and Loss in College Students
Author(s)
Munch, Evan
Issue Date
2011-08
Keyword(s)
  • Heritage
  • Language Loss
  • College Students
  • Lithuanian-American
Abstract
For bilingual students, attending a university away from home serves as a separation from one's native linguistic norms to an entirely new set of language practices. These U.S. institutions of higher learning almost always demand English in favor of other native or heritage languages. This study examines the ways a small group of second- and third- generation Lithuanian immigrants attempt to maintain their heritage language. It also looks at how language loss can manifest within a college environment. The research suggested the difficulties and challenges college life poses on the retention of a heritage language. Discussions for further research include: how University policy might implicitly prescribe English, use of heritage language among friend as a marker of kinship, the difficulty of resisting English monolingualism within the U.S. public school system, and the loss of ethnic customs and identity in sync with language loss.
Series/Report Name or Number
  • ENGL401 Spring 2011: Introduction to the Story of the English Language
  • Professor Catherine Viera
Type of Resource
text
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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/25972

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