Lietuvybės perspektyva Lietuvos miestuose

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knygos dalis / Part of the book
Language:
Lietuvių kalba / Lithuanian
Title:
Lietuvybės perspektyva Lietuvos miestuose
Alternative Title:
Prospects for Lithuanian identity in the cities of Lithuania
Authors:
Kalėdienė, Laima
Editors:
Grumadienė, Laima
In the Book:
Miestai ir kalbos / mokslinė redaktorė Meilutė Ramonienė. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2010. P. 71-89
Subject Category:
LT
Kaunas. Kauno kraštas (Kaunas region); Klaipėda. Klaipėdos kraštas (Klaipeda region); Vilnius. Vilniaus kraštas (Vilnius region); Lietuva (Lithuania); Daugiakalbystė / Multilingualism; Tarmės. Dialektai. Dialektologija / Dialects. Dialectology.
Summary / Abstract:

LTSkyriaus tikslas yra apžvelgti 2007-2009 m. vykdyto projekto „Kalbų vartojimas ir tautinė tapatybė Lietuvos miestuose“ rezultatus, susijusius su lietuvybės problema. Pirmiausia aptariama pati lietuvybės samprata, jos sąsajos su tautiškumu ir pilietiškumu. Nagrinėjant minėto tyrimo duomenis, lietuvybės požiūriu vertinami atsakymai apie gimtąją kalbą, tautinę tapatybę, kalbos mokėjimą, kalbos vartojimą kaip mokymo kalbos mokyklose bei kalbos vartojimą įvairiose sferose, taip pat lietuvių kalbos tarmes. Teorinių atliekamos sociolingvistinės analizės ištakų ieškotina besikuriančioje globalizacijos sociolingvistikoje. Išanalizavus gausią empiriką prieinama prie išvados, kad lietuvybė didžiuosiuose Lietuvos miestuose Vilniuje, Klaipėdoje ir Kaune yra išsaugota ir globalizacijos sąlygomis. Ši išvada nereiškia, kad nevyksta jokių pakitimų, tačiau mirtina grėsmė lietuvybei dar nėra iškilusi. Transformacijas būtina valdyti kalbų politikos ir švietimo įrankiais. [Iš straipsnio, p. 71]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Daugiakalbystė; Kalbos miestuose; Tarmės miestuose; Sociolingvistika; Multilingualism; Languages in cities; Dialects in cities; Sociolinguistics.

ENThis chapter looks at the issue of Lithuanian identity from two perspectives: historical and contemporary. The historical view focuses on the importance of Lithuanian identity for the Lithuanian state and nation at crucial moments in Lithuanian history. The contemporary view focuses on the role of identity in relation to globalisation and mobility and also touches on key issues of language policy in Lithuania. One of the most surprising results of this study of languages in Lithuania's cities is the fact that nearly half of the respondents express the wish to have bilingual schools with Lithuanian and English as languages of instruction. The status of Lithuanian is unambiguous - as many as 95% of respondents in Kaunas and 92% of respondents in Vilnius and Klaipėda would like to see Lithuanian as one of the languages of instruction in bilingual schools. Therefore, the need for instruction in English is not in opposition to Lithuanian identity. Bilingual schools are seen as a realistic means to master the English language alongside Lithuanian, not instead of Lithuanian. Being the state language, Lithuanian is widely used by the vast majority of Lithuanian citizens, including non-Lithuanians who have acquired it as a second language. The prestige of English, however, as in many other countries, is seen as much higher than the prestige of Lithuanian by the majority of respondents (60% in Vilnius and Klaipėda and 50% in Kaunas). Lithuanian has lower prestige than English in the opinion of ethnic Lithuanians too (in Kaunas the results are 29% versus 47%, in Vilnius and Klaipėda 30% versus 59%, respectively). The scope of Lithuanian language use is reflected in answers about the appropriacy of Lithuanian in various public spheres. The overwhelming majority of respondents indicate that Lithuanian is the most appropriate language for business, higher education, public notices, humour and communication with friends and with strangers.The high prestige of Lithuanian is implied in answers related to the necessity to learn Lithuanian as the state language. The vast majority of the respondents point out that it is 'important' or 'very important' to have a good command of the state language. The most important reason for this is the connection between knowledge of the state language and citizenship, the second reason being its functional use - one has to use Lithuanian to be accepted by others. The majority of the respondents also support the requirement for non-Lithuanians to take an examination in the state language. This attitude could be explained by the fact that many non-Lithuanians with low proficiency in Lithuanian declare a wish to learn the state language, but they have low motivation for formal education and limit their learning activities to watching TV and the like. High tolerance for inaccurate Lithuanian is also an important factor in this respect; non-Lithuanians have no complaints about discrimination or lack of tolerance on the grounds of their inability to use Lithuanian accurately (e.g., speaking with a heavy accent), although they themselves admit that this tolerance does not motivate them to improve their Lithuanian. At this point it should be noted that Lithuanian language policy ignores the issue of improving the Lithuanian language proficiency of non-Lithuanians. A new linguistic phenomenon in Lithuania is self-identification with Europe or the whole world rather than with one's country or city. A small percentage of the respondents, mostly young and non-Lithuanian, indicate that they are 'citizens of the world'. Ethnic Lithuanians seem to have the strongest ethnic identity. The ethnic identity of Russians or Poles residing in Lithuania is also quite strong; three out of four respondents indicate that their ethnic identity matches their actual ethnicity.Analysis of the use of Lithuanian in various public spheres shows that the Lithuanian language enjoys a high status in the public discourse of Lithuanian cities. The majority of respondents in each of the cities say that they use Lithuanian for speaking, reading, writing, listening to the radio and watching TV. Respondents in Kaunas use Lithuanian more often than those in Vilnius or Klaipeda (e.g., the figures for speaking are 96% and 82% of the instances, respectively). The main sources of information accessed by the majority of Lithuania's inhabitants are in Lithuanian. At work, communication with colleagues and in the administrative sphere is predominantly in Lithuanian, especially in Kaunas. Three of four respondents in Vilnius and Klaipėda reads and writes "most often' in Lithuanian and 'sometimes' in Russian; in Kaunas reading and writing is done 'most often' in Lithuanian and just 'occasionally' in Russian. Lithuanian is used more often for reading than for writing. The strength of Lithuanian identity is also evidenced by an analysis of the connection between the level of proficiency in Lithuanian and relations at work. The respondents were asked whether they had any problems at work related to their linguistic ability. Every eighth respondent in Vilnius and Klaipėda said that they did; every fifth respondent said that they had difficulty getting a job because they did not know Lithuanian well enough. One of the indicators of the status of a language is the choice of that language for communication with speakers of other languages. The most common language used for interethnic communication in Vilnius and Klaipėda is Lithuanian, especially in communication with Lithuanians (89%) and with Russians (67%). Only one tenth of the respondents (non-Lithuanian speakers) report that they have never used Lithuanian to communicate with Lithuanians. [...]. [From the publication]

Subject:
Kalbotyra / Linguistics
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Updated:
2022-01-28 20:31:12
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