Introduction

            Through the history, the United States has been the host of numerous waves of immigrants that have come for diverse reasons to settle their homes and pursue their dreams in this country. However, after years of establishing themselves in a new country, the new generations of those families have shifted their linguistic preferences and language use in order to assimilate the dominate language of their host country. Most U.S. immigrant groups have experienced a language shift to English as a consequence of assimilation into American life. This might be perceived as a consequence of the power that has the dominate culture and language over the minority (Baker, 2006).

            It has been discussed through previous literature that in the U.S., millions of Americans never learned their parents’ native language since the linguistic preference of the new generations were altered over time as a way to respond to its new environment and the language used in American schools (Stevens, 1985). Nevertheless, it has also been expressed that third or further generations may feel encouraged to return to the roots by recovering the language and culture of their ethnic heritage (Schlesinger, 1998), and in some cases bilingual education seems to be the best option to achieve it (Baker, 2006).

            The development of this website is inspired in the words formulated in Hansen’s Law, which says- “What the son wishes to forget the grandson wishes to remember” (cited in Schlesinger, 1998, p.47). Therefore, this website is developed with the desire to present the main reasons why a linguistic shift has occurred in many generations of immigrants in the U.S., and the factors that have influenced such shift, in an attempt to encourage second, third and further generations of immigrants to revive the language of their ethnic heritage through bilingual education.

            This website was created with the intention of gaining a better understanding of the concept of linguistic shift and its consequences across generations of immigrants. The information presented here, is based on a brief literature review of well-documented research in the area of bilingual education and linguistics.  This website will present information about the definitions of linguistic shift, the factors influencing it, and its consequences across generations, as well as, the current situation of heritage language of those generations and their language preferences. Finally, bilingual education will be presented as one possible attempt to revive the native language of those generations that have suffered a linguistic shift across time.

References

Baker, C. (2006). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (4^th Ed.). Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.

Lanza, E., & Svendsen, B. (2007). Tell me who your friends are and I might be able to tell you what language(s) you speak: Social network analysis, multilingualism, and identity. International Journal of Bilingualism, 11(3), 275-300

Schlesinger, Jr., A. M. (1998). The disuniting of America: Reflections on a multilingual society. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Sofu, H. (2009). Language shift or maintenance within three generations: Examples from three Turkish-Arabic-speaking families. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(3), 246-257. doi:10.1080/14790710902878684

Stevens, G. (1985). Nativity, intermarriage, and mother-tongue shift. American Sociological Review, 50(1), 74-83.

Suslak, D. F. (2009). The sociolinguistic problem of generations. Language & Communication, 29(3), 199-209. doi:10.1016/j.langcom.2009.02.003