engleski

Croatian university students’ perception of stylistic and domain-based differences between Anglicisms and their native equivalents

Attitudes of the public towards the influence of English on their respective languages have been investigated for years in a large number of linguistic communities (e.g. Hyrkstedt, Kalaja 1997, Oakes 2001, Alexieva 2002, Corr 2001, Greenall 2005). In Croatia, however, only linguists have expressed their attitudes to the influence of the English language and have ignored the attitudes of average speakers. In view of the fact that average speakers to a large extent dictate the direction of language policy-making, the paper aims to investigate their attitudes towards Anglicisms and their native equivalents, that is, towards their use in formal and informal communication and in different domains. Findings of the study conducted by the author among 244 Croatian university students suggest that the respondents find Anglicisms less formal than their native equivalents and more appropriate for use in informal communication than in formal contexts. The respondents’ attitudes are also contextually differentiated according to different domains. Positive attitudes are exhibited towards the use of Anglicisms in everyday communication, show business, computing and modern technology, while negative attitudes are directed towards their use in the formal media. The respondents are also very critical of the missing role of the media in the popularisation of Croatian equivalents to Anglicisms.

attitudes ; Anglicisms ; native equivalents ; (in)formal communication ; language domains ; media language

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