Intergenerational language maintenance and attitudes of the Argentinean Diaspora in Australia

Abstract

In a globalized world, social, cultural, political, and economic mechanisms can directly or indirectly affect the second generation’s heritage language learning and maintenance. It can also play a significant role in their future life trajectories. A lacuna of studies exists that examines the first generation’s reasons, factors, and attitudes for maintaining and transmitting their native language to their children. It is this article’s foci to address this niche by investigating intergenerational Spanish-language transmission and maintenance among first and second Argentineans in Australia during the 1970s–1990s, thereby enhancing our understanding of the interrelated factors in language transmission, maintenance, and attitudes. Drawing on survey and interview data, this study enhances our understanding of the following interrelated questions: (1) What factors contributed to first-generation Argentineans transmitting and maintaining the Spanish language in Australia? (2) What efforts and factors support the transmission and maintenance of Spanish in Australia? (3) What were each generation’s attitudes toward Spanish-language transmission and maintenance? This article provides a portrait of this diaspora, with data analysis revealing a positive correlation between language maintenance practices and language attitudes.