MOTHER TONGUE IN THE VALUES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE WITH THE SLOVAK NATIONALITY IN CROATIA AND SERBIA

• Authors: Výrost Jozef , Homišinová Mária
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The objective of the present study is a) to test the differences/similarities between value systems of Slovak adolescents from three culturally different settings (in Serbia, in Croatia, and in Slovakia); b) to verify the hypothesis that ethnic values play (for members of ethnic minorities in mutual comparison) a more important role. This article is a follow up to an earlier work focused on the values of the young Slovak minority members living in Hungary (Výrost, 2011). The empirical data was collected through questionnaires administered by interviewers. The obtained results of the comparison of value profiles (Kruskal-Wallis test) partially confirmed our hypothesis that minority members (Slovaks in Serbia) will prefer ethnic values more: As far as the Slovaks from Croatia are concerned, their value profile was more or less identical to the Slovaks living in Slovakia. The apparent differences between the two Slovak minority groups value profiles and the need to get a more detailed answer on the raised question, led us to conduct two analyses of binary logistic regression models (in each groups separately) to analyse the influence of value preferences on the attitude to mother tongue usage. In each group (Slovak adolescents in Serbia and Slovak adolescents in Croatia), a set of 10 values was observed as a significant (chi squareRS = 34.223, p < 0,001; chi squareHR = 18.170, p < 0.042), but moderate – about 30% – (Cox & Snell’s RRS²= 0.399; Cox & Snell’s RHR²= 0.315) predictor of the attitude to the mother tongue usage. Ethnic values played an important, but different role in these relations; in the case of Slovak adolescents living in Serbia it is “Mother tongue” value preference which contributes most significantly to the prediction, while in the group of Slovak adolescents living in Croatia it is “Nationality” value preference. Languages do not have the same function in communities, and this fact is especially true for minority languages; ethnic minorities live in a societal bilingualism, in disglossia, and the status of minority language differs from country to country for many reasons. The collected data confirm the necessity to study not only the legal or “objective” position of the mother tongue in life of ethnic minorities, but also its personal reflections.

Keywords

EN

ETHNIC MINORITY; SLOVAK; SERBIA; CROATIA; MOTHER TONGUE; ADOLESCENTS

• Publisher: Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Social Sciences
• Journal: Človek a spoločnosť. Internetový časopis pre pôvodné teoretické a výskumné štúdie z oblasti spoločenských vied
• Year: 2016
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 4
• Pages: -

Contributors

author

Výrost Jozef

• Centre of Social and Psychological Studies of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Institute of Social Sciences, Košice, Slovak Republic

author

Homišinová Mária