Lithuanian as a heritage language: attitudes and motivation to develop its competences

Abstract

A heritage language is a relatively new term, which refersto ethnic minority languages spoken around the world (Benmamoun, Montrul, & Polinsky, 2010), while the phenomenon itself has received increasing scholars’ attention from the perspectives of language policy and identity, education or sociolinguistics. In the present research, a broad definition of heritage language speakers has been employed, referring to anybody with a distant cultural and affective connection to a language minority group, even if the person has no proficiency in the language (Montrul, 2011). Due to the fact that Lithuania has faced various waves of emigration, Lithuanian has been used in other countries (e.g. the USA, Brasil, Columbia, the UK, etc.) as a heritage language. The aim of the research is to discuss the attitudes towards Lithuanian as a heritage language and the motives to develop its competences. The data of the research consist of 5 in-depth interviews with speakers of Lithuanian as a heritage language. The research has revealed a considerable variation in Lithuanian language competences, ranging from a very limited to fairly proficient knowledge. Nevertheless, all research participants view Lithuanian as a part of their identity, as the language of their ancestors and as a thread that connects them to their past and personal history. They have not only participated in various Lithuanian language courses but also express willingness to further improve their Lithuanian language competences.