ABSTRACT

Language acquisition and Language Maintenance (LM) both depend on ample opportunity and motivation. Currently, many national language societies are undergoing Language Shift (LS) to English, impacting their acquisition as first (L1) and possibly even more as second (L2) language. This study interviewed 44 adolescents, including 24 L1 and 20 L2 speakers of Icelandic, on their views on the importance of Icelandic and English, whether Icelandic is hard to learn, and their future plans. Qualitative and quantitative results showed highly similar views and future plans across groups; both languages were considered important but for different purposes. However, L1 speakers were far more likely to think that Icelandic is hard to learn, and only L1 speakers attached cultural value to Icelandic. L1 speakers were more ambivalent than L2 speakers on whether immigrants should learn Icelandic. L2 students’ ability to learn Icelandic appears impacted more by lack of opportunity than by lack of motivation. The study suggests that LS to English contributes to decreased opportunities to learn Icelandic as L2. It is further suggested that language policy in Iceland as well as international policy on which languages should be considered vulnerable due to a minority status need to be revisited in a globalised world.

摘要

语言习得和语言维护（LM）都取决于充足的机会和动力。当前，许多国家的语言协会正在经历语言转换（LS）向英语的转变，从而影响其作为第一语言（L1）甚至第二语言（L2）的习得。这项研究采访了44名青少年，其中包括24位讲冰岛语的L1和20位讲L2的青少年，他们对冰岛语和英语的重要性，是否难学冰岛语以及他们的未来计划表示了看法。定性和定量结果显示各小组的观点和未来计划高度相似。两种语言都被认为很重要，但是出于不同的目的。但是，讲L1的人更有可能认为冰岛语很难学，只有讲L1的人才对冰岛具有文化价值。在移民是否应该学习冰岛语方面，第一语言的发言者比第二语言的发言者更为矛盾。L2学生学习冰岛语的能力似乎受缺少机会而不是缺乏动力的影响。该研究表明，将英语作为学习语言的学习机会有助于减少学习冰岛语作为第二语言的机会。进一步建议，在全球化的世界中，需要重新审视冰岛的语言政策以及因少数群体身份应被视为弱势语言的国际政策。