Środowiskowe korelaty znajomości języka polskiego wśród młodzieży polskiego pochodzenia w Ratyzbonie
Social correlates of Polish language skills in youths of Polish descent in Regensburg

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to the cultivation of the Polish language among the youths of Polish descent, raised in the Bavarian town of Regensburg. It presents the results of a questionnaire-based study in which 37 teenagers having diversified skills in spoken and written Polish – from none through splendid – were asked questions related to their self-identity, attitudes towards Poland and the Polish language, the status of Polish in Germany and the world, friendships with age peers in Poland, attending Polish language courses, their own general educational achievements in the German school, the education of their Polish-speaking mothers and their parents caring about the Polish language. The study looks at correlations between these factors on the one hand, and the respondents’ Polish language skills on the other. Among other things, it demonstrates that the teenager’s skills in Polish and the value put on the language by the parents go hand in hand with the mother’s level of education. Additionally, it presents evidence that the percentage of children raised with two languages in secondary schools of more prestigious type is very high and most probably higher than in schools of lower profile. This counters the premises of the public discourse led by some right-wing German politicians who blame migrant parents speaking their native languages at home for poor educational achievements of their children.

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