From Ethnocultural Pride to Promoting the Texas Czech Vernacular: Current Maintenance Efforts and Unexplored Possibilities

Autor/in	Cope, Lida
Titel	From Ethnocultural Pride to Promoting the Texas Czech Vernacular: Current Maintenance Efforts and Unexplored Possibilities
Quelle	In: Language and Education, 25 (2011) 4, S.361-383 (23 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0950-0782
Schlagwörter	Ethnicity; Participant Observation; Foreign Countries; Slavic Languages; North American English; Language Variation; Literary Genres; Applied Linguistics; Questionnaires; Language Attitudes; Self Concept; Language Maintenance; Heritage Education; Second Language Instruction; Native Language Instruction; Texas + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ethnizität; Teilnehmende Beobachtung; Ausland; Slawische Sprache; Amerikanisches Englisch; Sprachenvielfalt; Literarische Form; Linguistics; Linguistik; Angewandte Linguistik; Fragebogen; Sprachverhalten; Selbstkonzept; Sprachpflege; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Native language education; Muttersprachlicher Unterricht
Abstract	Texas Czech is a product of over a century and a half of contact between Moravian Czech and English in Texas. While Texans of this descent have largely maintained a sense of distinctive ethnic identity and have creatively re-authenticated their ancestors' traditions into a unique Texas Czech culture, their language is now on the verge of disappearing. Having a healthy counterpart in Europe, Texas Czech may not appear to face as dire a fate as endangered Indigenous languages do. However, when this variety dies, so will a distinct blend of the nineteenth-century Moravian dialects, literary Czech and English spoken in Texas, which bears little resemblance to modern European Czech. This paper analyzes, through the lens of a participant observer trained as an applied linguist, the insiders' views expressed in attitudinal questionnaires on the importance of the heritage language ability to ethnic self-identification and to maintaining their ethnic culture. It then explores the apparent detachment between one's self-perceived ability in Texas Czech and ethnic self-perception, the current state of teaching of Texas Czech and the ways in which well-established Czech-related organizations could attract more attention to both language documentation and language teaching while the interest and resources still exist. (Contains 9 notes and 8 tables.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10