Standard language ideology and its influence on Lithuanian migrants. Samogitians' attitudes towards their language variety

Abstract

Studies have been performed on how the Lithuanian language and its varieties are spoken and maintained by migrants living abroad as well as on how the standard language ideology affects the speakers of regional varieties in Lithuania. However, what is lacking, is investigations on whether and how the Lithuanian standard language ideology affects regional variety speakers who live in foreign countries. Therefore, this research tries to bridge the existing gap between previous studies by analysing Lithuanian Samogitian migrants’ attitudes towards their regional variety, the main factors that might influence such opinions and whether the standard language ideology is one of these factors. The study analyses audio-recorded and coded in-depth interview responses by 10 Lithuanian Samogitians, currently living in various places in Germany. The in-depth analysis of the interview responses has shown that in migration, similarly as in Lithuania, people’s attitudes towards Samogitian and the usage of it are governed by the three main factors, namely education, Soviet language policy and the linguistic pressure from society. Qualities such as the pressure to speak the “right” way, the choice to use one variety over the other believing that it is common sense or thinking that the “wrong” variety is of low prestige and those who speak it are incompetent, lead to what is referred to as the ideology of the standard language. Even though migrants do not feel intense pressure to speak the “right” language and feel much freer to use the variety of their choice when talking to other migrants, they still believe that it is common sense to use the standard in official gatherings, for public speeches or for official events. This observation leads to a conclusion that migrants’ attitudes towards their regional variety are governed by the standard Lithuanian language ideology. However, even though the ideology of the standard still plays a significant role in governing migrants’ attitudes towards the usage of Samogitian, the influence is, for sure, lesser than on those who live in Lithuania.