Abstract
The purpose of the present paper was to investigate the propositions of ethnolinguistic identity theory among young Hungarian speakers in Slovakia. Specifically, we aimed to explore the role of ethnolinguistic identification, vitality and boundary permeability in coping with negative ethnolinguistic identities, and also how these effects impact language use. Self-report questionnaire data were collected among Hungarian-speaking secondary school students in (N = 311). The data were analyzed using a Bayesian moderated mediation analysis with informative priors for coefficients based on an earlier study. The results provided mixed support for the hypotheses. Ethnolinguistic mobility appeared to be an outcome of a complex process, where identification, vitality and permeability operate interactively; at the same time, ethnolinguistic competition was independent of the perception of vitality and permeability, but a sole consequence of strong Hungarian identification. In addition, the results indicated that identification, vitality and competency in the outgroup language were factors predicting language use, whereas there was no support for the anticipated mediating effect of coping strategies. Findings are discussed in relation to ethnolinguistic identity theory and to the particular qualities of the local context.
Resumen
El propósito del presente trabajo fue investigar las proposiciones de la teoría de la identidad etnolingüística entre los jóvenes de habla húngara en Eslovaquia. Concretamente, nuestro objetivo fue estudiar el papel de la identificación etnolingüística, la vitalidad y la permeabilidad fronteriza a la hora de hacer frente a identidades etnolingüísticas negativas, así como investigar cómo esos efectos influyen en el uso del lenguaje. Se recopilaron datos procedentes de un cuestionario realizado entre estudiantes de escuela secundaria de hablar húngara en (N = 311). El análisis se realizó utilizando una mediación moderada bayesiana en la que se utilizaron como precedentes coeficientes de un estudio anterior. Los resultados obtenidos ofrecen cierto apoyo a las hipótesis. La movilidad etnolingüística pareció ser el resultado de un proceso complejo, donde la identificación, la vitalidad y la permeabilidad operan interactivamente. Al mismo tiempo, la competencia etnolingüística mostró ser una consecuencia única de fuerte identificación húngara, independiente de la percepción de vitalidad y permeabilidad. Además, los resultados indicaron que la identificación, la vitalidad y la competencia en el lenguaje del grupo objeto del estudio eran factores que predecían el uso del lenguaje, mientras que no se encontró apoyo para el presupuesto efecto de mediación de estrategias de resistencia. Los hallazgos del estudio se presentan en relación con la teoría de la identidad etnolingüística y las particularidades del contexto local.
Zusammenfassung
Der vorliegende Artikel untersucht die Aussagen der ethnolinguistischen Identitätstheorie unter ungarischen Muttersprachlern in der Slowakei. Insbesondere wollten wir die Rolle der ethnolinguistischen Identifikation, der Vitalität und der Grenzpermeabilität bei der Bewältigung negativer ethnolinguistischer Identitäten untersuchen, um herauszufinden wie sich diese auf die Sprachwahl auswirken. Die Daten wurden mittels Fragebogen unter ungarischsprachigen Schülern der Sekundarstufe (N = 311) zusammengestellt. Die Analyse wurde mittels einer moderierten Bayesschen Mediation durchgeführt, bei der Koeffizienten aus einer früheren Studie als Priors verwendet wurden. Die Ergebnisse wiesen auf eine gemischte Unterstützung für die Hypothesen hin. Die ethnolinguistische Mobilität schien das Ergebnis eines komplexen Prozesses zu sein, in dem Identifikation, Vitalität und Durchlässigkeit interaktiv funktionieren. Gleichzeitig war der ethnolinguistische Wettbewerb unabhängig von der Wahrnehmung von Vitalität und Durchlässigkeit und ausschließlich eine Folge der starken ungarischen Identifikation. Darüber hinaus deuteten die Ergebnisse darauf hin, dass Identifikation, Vitalität und Kompetenz in der Zweitsprache die Faktoren waren, die den Sprachgebrauch vorhersagten, während der erwartete vermittelnde Effekt von Bewältigungsstrategien nicht unterstützt wurde. Die Ergebnisse werden in Bezug auf die ethnolinguistische Identitätstheorie und die besonderen Eigenschaften des lokalen Kontextes diskutiert.
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