engleski

Re(constructing) Language and Identity: Burgenland Croats in Slovakia

Burgenland Croats are members of a Croatian minority in the Austrian province Burgenland and neighbouring areas of Hungary and Slovakia. Although there is no precise data, it is estimated that in the mid-16th century around 200.000 people left Croatian territories while escaping from the Ottoman invasion and colonized 200 settlements in the area which was historically known as Western Hungary (German: Westungarn, Croatian: Zapadna Ugarska). One third found the shelter in 60 settlements in today’s Western Slovakia. Throughout the 16th century Croatian was the main language but in the first half of 17th century the descendants of Croats in Slovakia, i.e. the second and the third generation were already bilingual and multilingual (Slovak, German, Hungarian). The members of the Burgenland Croatian community in Slovakia today are living in the four areas encompassing the agglomeration of the capital, Bratislava (Čunovo, Devinska Nova Ves, Jarovce and Chorvatsky Grob). According to some estimates, there are only 3, 000 Burgenland Croats in Slovakia, and the 2011 Census results indicate that there are only 1, 022 Burgenland Croats left, although 1, 234 consider Croatian as their mother tongue. The main aim of this ethnographic research is to gain insight into the link between language, culture and identity within the Burgenland Croatian community in Slovakia combining both qualitative and quantitative methods. The key questions this research is concerned involve: Croatian as a minority language, its position and status within the community in question, prevailing attitudes towards the language(s) and linguistic practices used by the minority community members, consequences of the rather long and intense contact between Croatian and Slovak, principles and mechanisms that the community members activate (younger vs. older, male vs. female, active members vs. less active members...) when using their linguistic repertoires in order to construct / negotiate different identities and the role of the minority language in the construction of the (minority) identity. This research is still work in progress. Upon its completion the obtained results will be compared to similar studies concerning Croatian minority communities, primarily Burgenland Croats in Austria.

Burgenland Croats ; Slovakia ; language contact ; minority language ; identity

nije evidentirano