S aipsniai / A icles 219
NADA ŠABEC
Uni e si y o Ma ibo
Fields o esea ch: dialec ology, sociolinguis ics, con ac
linguis ics.
MIHAELA KOLETNIK
Uni e si y o Ma ibo
Fields o esea ch: dialec ology, sociolinguis ics, con ac
linguis ics.
HERITAGE LANGUAGE AND
DIALECT MAINTENANCE
AMONG SLOVENE
IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR
DESCENDANTS IN NORTH
AMERICA
Slo ėnų imig an ų i jų palikuonių Šiau ės
Ame ikoje pa eldė osios kalbos i a mės
išsaugojimas
ANNOTATION
The a icle ocuses on Slo ene-English language con ac in No h Ame ica. The gene-
al linguis ic si ua ion in wo Slo ene Ame ican/Canadian communi ies (Cle eland, Van-
cou e ) is desc ibed, emphasizing he ela ionship be ween he deg ee o mo he ongue/
he i age language main enance o he immig an s and hei descendan s on he one hand
and hei sense o e hnic iden i y on he o he . The his o ical, social and cul u al aspec s
o Slo ene immig a ion o he USA and Canada a e add essed. This is ollowed by a de-
ailed linguis ic analysis o he da a ob ained h ough ape- eco ded in e iews om in-
di idual in o man s belonging o h ee gene a ions. We a e pa icula ly in e es ed in he
social a ie ies o Slo ene used by he in o man s (dialec , egional colloquial language,
S anda d Slo ene) as well as he p esence o English in hei speech (mani es ed ei he
NADA ŠABEC, MIHAELA KOLETNIK
220 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVII
as bo owing, code swi ching o in he o m o de ia ions om he Slo ene no m on he
phonological, mo phological and syn ac ic le els). The ole o dialec as a ac o in e hnic
iden i ica ion is discussed.
KEYWORDS: immig a ion, he i age language, mo he ongue, dialec , Slo-
ene-English language con ac
ANOTACIJA
S aipsnyje analizuojami slo ėnų i anglų kalbų kon ak ai Šiau ės Ame ikoje. Ap a-
šoma bend oji kalbinė d iejų Ame ikos i Kanados slo ėnų bend uomenių (Kli lando i
Vanku e io) si uacija, pab ėžian imig an ų i jų palikuonių gim osios / pa eldė osios kal-
bos išsaugojimo i au inio apa umo san ykį. Ap a iami is o iniai, socialiniai i kul ū i-
niai slo ėnų imig acijos į JAV i Kanadą aspek ai. S aipsnyje pa eikiama išsami ijų ka ų
in o man ų į dik o oną į ašy ų in e iu duomenų ling is inė analizė. Ypa ingas dėmesys
ski iamas socialinėms in o man ų a ojamoms slo ėnų kalbos a mainoms ( a mei, egi-
oninei šnekamajai kalbai, bend inei slo ėnų kalbai) bei anglų kalbos a ojimui jų kalbo-
je (skoliniams, kodų kai ai a nuk ypimams nuo slo ėnų kalbos no mos onologiniame,
mo ologiniame i sin aksiniame lygmenyje). Ap a iamas a mės kaip au inio iden i e o
ak o iaus aidmuo.
ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: imig acija, pa eldė oji kalba, gim oji kalba, a mė, slo ėnų i an-
glų kalbų kon ak ai.
1. INTRODUCTION
Language is an essen ial pa o one‘s iden i y, which is why he ela ionship
be ween he wo p esen s an in e es ing opic o explo e on bo h indi idual
and socie al le els. This applies o o dina y ci cums ances, bu e en mo e so o
special con ex s such as immig a ion, whe e he wo may in e ac in ela i ely
complex and in iguing ways. Acco ding o Be y‘s accul u a ion heo y (1990),
immig an s may adap o he new en i onmen h ough ou al e na i e s a e-
gies: assimila ion, ma ginaliza ion, sepa a ion and in eg a ion. The i s h ee
in ol e ei he a comple e abandonmen o one‘s o iginal cul u e o adhe ence
o i o he poin o being comple ely isola ed om he mains eam socie y. A
a mo e success ul s a egy, which bes desc ibes he Slo ene expe ience, how-
e e , is in eg a ion, whe eby he immig an s did e e y hing in hei powe o
succeed in he New Wo ld by adop ing he cul u e and he language o he
dominan socie y, while a he same ime managing o main ain elemen s o (o
a leas a posi i e a i ude owa ds) hei he i age.
S aipsniai / A icles 221
He i age Language and Dialec Main enance among
Slo ene Immig an s and hei Descendan s in No h Ame ica
I is ou pu pose he e o e o explo e he deg ee o which mo he ongue
has been p ese ed among ea ly Slo ene immig an s (he i age language in he
case o younge gene a ions). This depends on a numbe o ac o s, anging
om he size o he immig an communi y o he ways in which he language
is ansmi ed om gene a ion o gene a ion, esul ing ei he in language main-
enance, language shi o e en language ex inc ion. Fo ob ious easons, he
ways in which English in luences hei language a e also p esen ed. Bo owing
and code swi ching, as wo dis inc ypes o bilingual discou se ypically used
by di e en gene a ions, a e examined, as a e English-in luenced de ia ions
om he Slo ene no m in he Slo ene sec ions o he da a. All a ie ies o Slo-
ene a e conside ed, bu in acco dance wi h he opic o his a icle, ou main
ocus emains on he p esence o a ious ea u es o egional and local dialec s
o Slo ene de ec ed in he in o man s‘ speech.
2. A BRIEF HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL
OUTLINE OF SLOVENE IMMIGRATION
TO NORTH AMERICA
Wi h he excep ion o some indi iduals, he majo i y o Slo enes mig a ed
o he USA in wo la ge mig a ion wa es: he i s be ween he u n o he 19 h
cen u y and 19241 as economic immig an s, and he second a e WWII as po-
li ical ones. They se led in a ious pa s o he S a es, wi h he la ges com-
muni y o ming in Cle eland, OH2. In e ms o size, i s Canadian coun e pa
is To on o3, ON, whe e mos immig an s se led a e WWII. Mo e economic
a i als came o bo h coun ies in he 1960s and 1970s, bu la gely in insigni i-
can numbe s. The ea ly immig an s li ed in seg ega ed communi ies, whe e
hey es ablished a ne wo k o e hnic o ganiza ions ha se ed bo h as mu ual
help agencies and cul u al ac i i y cen e s. Ou side o wo k, hey we e o he
mos pa able o unc ion in Slo ene: hei child en, howe e , who bene i ed
om he Ame ican/Canadian educa ional sys em, lea ned English, p og essed
socially and economically and subsequen ly mo ed ou o he subu bs. This
1 In 1924 he US passed he Immig a ion Ac , which g ea ly es ic ed he numbe o new
immig an s.
2 Census da a o 1910 lis ed 14,332 Slo enes in Cle eland, making i a he ime he 3 d la ges
Slo ene ci y in he wo ld (a e Ljubljana and T ies e). Today Cle eland has app ox. 50,000 peo-
ple who claim Slo ene he i age.
3 To on o has app ox. 10,000 people o Slo ene descen .
NADA ŠABEC, MIHAELA KOLETNIK
222 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVII
end in ensi ied wi h he younge gene a ions; linguis ically, as a consequence,
we ha e obse ed a ypical h ee-gene a ion cycle, du ing which Slo ene was
la gely displaced by he dominan English. The one gene a ion ha is s ill (a
leas pa ly) bilingual is hus he second one, while younge gene a ions possess
ei he an ex emely poo o no knowledge o hei he i age language. Rega d-
less, he ex ensi e esea ch ca ied ou in Cle eland, Washing on, DC, Laguna
Niguel, CA, To on o, ON, and Vanocu e BC (Šabec 1995, 1997, 2006, 2011,
2016; Šabec, Kole nik 2017) shows ha , a leas on a symbolic le el, language
con inues o play an impo an ole in hei e hnic iden i ica ion. The same is
ue o cul u e, as he majo i y pe cei e hemsel es o be Ame icans/Canadi-
ans, bu p o ess p ide in hei Slo ene oo s.
3. RESEARCH DESIGN
In acco dance wi h he goal o ou esea ch, we decided o compa e he
spoken discou se o in o man s o igina ing om a ious pa s o Slo enia, i.e.
hose speaking di e en dialec s. Slo ene is an ex emely he e ogeneous lan-
guage (Topo išič 2000). I con ains s anda d and non-s anda d a ie ies, he
o me including he codi ied o mal li e a y a ie y e e ed o as S anda d
Slo ene (used on he na ional le el, especially in w i ing) and a s anda d collo-
quial one, he la e consis ing o egional colloquial a ie ies and local dialec s.
The e a e mo e han i y di e en dialec s spoken in Slo enia, and ideally ou
s udy would encompass all o hem. I is possible, al hough unlikely, ha ou
ongoing esea ch migh yield such comp ehensi e da a, howe e , ou esea ch
s a egy was o analyze wha e e dialec ou andomly selec ed subjec s spoke.
In o de no o exceed he scope o his a icle, and ye o p esen he dialec s
which we eel display he mos ma ked di e ences we chose hose spoken in
P ekmu je, S y ia, Ro e, No anjska and in Ma ibo . Ou aim was o de e -
mine which o he dialec s chosen is bes p ese ed and, speci ically, which
dialec al ea u es p e ail in he in o man s‘ speech. We also sough o include
membe s o di e en gene a ions and o ca y ou ou esea ch in wo se ings:
Cle eland as he la ges Slo ene Ame ican communi y, and Vancou e 4 as one
o he smalles Canadian ones. The pu pose was o gauge he impo ance o he
communi ies‘ size/ i ali y on he language beha io o he indi iduals pa ici-
pa ing in his s udy, and o es ablish he ex en o which he language o hese
4 The e a e app oxima ely 2,000 Canadians o Slo ene descen in Vanocu e , 400 o whom a e
ac i e membe s o hei only e hnic o ganiza ion – he Slo enian Socie y o Vancou e .
S aipsniai / A icles 223
He i age Language and Dialec Main enance among
Slo ene Immig an s and hei Descendan s in No h Ame ica
indi iduals is a e lec ion o he communi ies‘ e hnolinguis ic i ali y (Giles,
Bou his, Taylo 1977; Ehala 2009).
The da a o ou analysis we e ob ained h ough ape- eco ded in e iews
and na a i es; hei in e p e a ion is suppo ed by pa icipan obse a ion du-
ing he ieldwo k ca ied ou in he all o 2016. The in e iews consis ed o
ques ions ela ed o he subjec s‘ immig a ion, hei socializa ion pa e ns and
e hnic ac i i ies as well as o hei language use and a i udes ( alking abou
a ious opics, wi h a ious in e locu o s and in o mal s. in o mal se ings).5
They we e semi-s uc u ed so as o allow he subjec s o elabo a e on indi idu-
al opics, sha ing hei pe sonal expe ience mo e eely. While a la ge numbe
o subjec s would p o ide a mo e comp ehensi e sociolinguis ic pic u e o he
communi ies unde in es iga ion6, we decided, in he in e es o a mo e de-
ailed linguis ic analysis, o examine only he da a collec ed om se en indi-
idual speake s (who, howe e , seemed o be ai ly ep esen a i e o hei com-
muni ies). Nine een hou s o ma e ial we e ape- eco ded, he a e age leng h
o he in e iew being 2.3 hou s. Findings a e p esen ed acco ding o gene-
a ion ( h ee) and dialec . In all cases, he dialec al ea u es iden i ied a e p e-
sen ed alongside hei S anda d Slo ene (SSl.) equi alen s. The emphasis is on
phonology, pa ly on mo phology and syn ax, and also on he a ious ways in
which English in luences he Slo ene o ou in o man s.
4. LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF THE DATA
COLLECTED
4.1. 1s gene a ion immig an s
O he ou in o man s belonging o he 1s gene a ion, one li es in Cle e-
land and speaks he P ekmu je dialec , while he o he h ee a e om Vancou-
e , wo speaking he Ro e dialec and one he egional colloquial language o
he ci y o Ma ibo . All a e economic immig an s and came o he US/Canada
in he la e 1950s and ea ly 1960s.
5
Simila o he ques ions om he ques ionnai e in he Cle eland s udy (Šabec 1997).
6 The Cle eland s udy (Šabec 1997), o ins ance, was based on he da a collec ed om
200 subjec s.

NADA ŠABEC, MIHAELA KOLETNIK
224 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVII
4.1.1. The P ekmu je dialec
Ou in o man came o Cle eland wi h e y li le o mal educa ion in Slo-
ene (elemen a y school), bu con inued he educa ion in he S a es, ea ning a
High School Equi alency Diploma. She is now e i ed, bu in he pas wo ked
as a sec e a y in a p i a e business. She is s ill e y ac i e in he e hnic li e o
he communi y and has many social con ac s wi h o he Slo enes, p ima ily
hose speaking he same dialec as he .
The P ekmu je dialec belongs o he Pannonian dialec g oup and is spoken
in eas e nmos Slo enia. In addi ion, i is also used in some illages eas and
no h o Radgona in Aus ia, and along he Raba i e ( he so-called Po abje
egion) in Hunga y. This dialec , which in he pas helped p ese e he Slo ene
cha ac e o he egion along he Mu a i e , is i mly oo ed among he peo-
ple and is he mos salien symbol o he P ekmu je iden i y7. I hus comes as
no su p ise ha i is he bes p ese ed dialec among Slo ene immig an s in
Cle eland. The ollowing dialec ea u es we e iden i ied in he in e iew wi h
ou in o man : (1) ypical dialec al placing o s ess wi h all s ess e ac ions
(e.g. zàčne ‘i begins’, SSl. začnè) and sho owels which may occu in any
wo d syllable (e.g. àzmiš ‘you unde s and’, SSl. azúmeš);8 (2) he p esence o
all owels ypical o he P ekmu je dialec along wi h he dialec al diph hongs
[e] ins ead o he P o o-Sla ic ya (e.g. s e ‘wo ld’) and [o] ins ead o he
P o o-Sla ic long /o/ (e.g. šola ‘school’) and nasal /ǫ/ (e.g. sosi ‘neighbo ’);
dialec al [ü] ins ead o /u/ (e.g. d ügi ‘o he ’, [ö] ins ead o /u, i/ when adjacen
o a sono an / / (e.g. ö a ‘hou ’, šö ki ‘wide’) and [u] de eloped om he o-
calic /ɫ/ (e.g. puno ‘ ull’, uk ‘wol ’), (3) he P o o-Sla ic long /a/, which in he
dialec emains open (e.g. d a ‘ wo’), while he sho /a/ is labialized (e.g. b å
‘b o he ’).
De ia ions om he dialec in he di ec ion o S anda d Slo ene a e ai -
ly a e and include occasional use o he ollowing: monoph hongs ins ead o
7 A e a b ie pe iod o independence unde Slo ene P ince Kocelj, he P ekmu je Slo enes li ed
unde Hunga ian ule (874–1919). They we e also exposed o he C oa ian-Kajka ian in luence.
Despi e e y di icul his o ical ci cums ances, hey managed o p ese e hei e hnic and lin-
guis ic iden i y and oday e en ha e li e a u e w i en in he P ekmu je dialec . The ea y o
T ianon (1920) assigned he la ge pa o he e i o y be ween he Mu a and Raba i e s o
Slo enia, while 9 illages along he Raba emain in Hunga y.
8 S anda d diac i ic ma ks a e used: he acu e ( ˊ), he b e e ( ˋ) and he ci cum lex ( ˆ ) ma k he
place o s ess. In addi ion, he acu e ma ks he leng h and he closeness o e-and o, he b e e –
he sho ness and he openness o e and o, and he ci cum lex – he leng h and he openness o
e-and o. The semi- owel is wi en as ǝ.
S aipsniai / A icles 225
He i age Language and Dialec Main enance among
Slo ene Immig an s and hei Descendan s in No h Ame ica
dialec al diph hongs (e.g. o ‘ his’ ins ead o dialec al o, snek ‘snow’ ins ead
o dialec al snek), he un ounded ins ead o ounded p onuncia ion o u (e.g.
u ‘he e’ ins ead o dialec al ü), and he S anda d Slo ene place o s ess (e.g.
lepó ‘nice’, samó ‘only’ ins ead o dialec al lépo, sàmo). Consonan s a e, as a ule,
p onounced dialec ally; he only expec ions a e occasionally ound wi h /x/, / /
and /m/. In he dialec , /x/ is ei he silen o eplaced by /j/, bu is a imes p o-
nounced as in S anda d Slo ene (e.g. xodili ‘ hey walked’, s ax ‘ ea ’ ins ead o
dialec al odili, s aj). / / be o e a non-sono an consonan loses i s sono i y, bu
may, in a e cases, emain sono an as in S anda d Slo ene (e.g. küp ‘ oge he ’
ins ead o dialec al küp). As o /m/, his is eplaced by /n/ in he dialec , bu
is a imes p onounced he same way as in S anda d Slo ene (e.g. am ‘ he e’
ins ead o dialec al an).
In all cases we obse e he use o dialec al in lec ional pa e ns. This applies
o declensions, conjuga ions and o he compa ison o adjec i es. De ia ions
a e ound in singula masculine nouns in he loca i e case, whe e he S anda d
Slo ene -u ending is occasionally used ins ead o he dialec al -i (e.g. domu
‘in he home’ ins ead o dialec al domi). The same is ue o singula emi-
nine nouns in he ins umen al case, whe e he dialec al ending -o (< -o ) is
occasionally eplaced by he S anda d Slo ene -o (z ma e jo ‘wi h mo he ’ in-
s ead o dialec al z ma e jo ). The dialec has p ese ed all h ee gende s as well
as he use o he dual.
Among ypical dialec al ea u es a e also pa icle cons uc ions, exclama o y
sen ences, in e jec ions, o iginal dialec al ad e bs (e.g. ednok ‘once’, gnes ‘ o-
day’, nikaj ‘no hing’, p le ‘be o e’, ano ‘ea ly’, sigda ‘always’, zaj a ‘in he mo n-
ing’), pa icles (e.g. šče ‘s ill’, e(j) ‘bu ’), and conjunc ions (e.g. ka ‘ ha ’, dokič
‘un il’, da ‘when’). Simila ly, we encoun e epe i ions o all kinds and ich Pan-
nonian ocabula y (e.g. belice ‘eggs’, be ežen ‘ill’, deca ‘child en’, guča i ‘ o alk’,
iža ‘a house’, obi ‘lunch’, zna i ‘ o know’). I is in e es ing ha some S anda d
Slo ene lexemes such as koma , ko uza, ukaj a e eplaced no only by hei di-
alec al equi alen s, such as sumič, kuk ca, e i, bu occasionally also by Ge man-
isms. These we e bo owed in o he P ekmu je dialec as ea ly as he Old and
Middle High Ge man pe iods (e.g. cuk ‘ ain’ ← Ge m. Zug, cuke ‘suga ’ ←
Ge m. Zucke , g išno ‘( o )su e,’ ← MHG. gewiss, janka ‘a ski ’← Ge m. Jank-
e ‘a kind o ga men o men o women’, ku e ‘sui case’ ← Ge m. Ko e , la-
ge ‘camp’ ← Ge m. Lage , penezi ‘money’ ← OHG p enni(n)g ‘coin’, p oba i ‘ o
y’← Ge m. p obie en, žlah a ‘ ela i es’ ← OHG slah a, MHG slah e, slah ‘ ibe’.
NADA ŠABEC, MIHAELA KOLETNIK
226 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVII
4.1.2. The Ro e Dialec
The Ro e dialec is spoken in an expansi e hilly, wooded a ea loca ed wes
o he capi al Ljubljana. A he ime o Sla ic se lemen , his was a ela i e-
ly sca cely popula ed a ea. Ou wo in o man s a e husband and wi e. They
speak he local dialec o V hnika, which is pa o he Ho jule dialec , one o
he six somewha di e se dialec s ha make up he Ro e dialec al g oup9. The
Ho jule dialec has p ese ed onemic and quali a i e con as s. I is simila o
S anda d Slo ene in ha i s owel sys em consis s o monoph hongs; he only
excep ions a e he diph hongs [je] and [ a] used ins ead o he long and open
/e/ in /o/. Bo h in o man s speak he Cen al Slo ene colloquial a ie y in e -
wined wi h elemen s o hei na i e dialec . This was o be expec ed since, p i-
o o immig a ion o Canada, one o hem g adua ed om high school and he
o he om a college in Ljubljana. They wo ked as a medical echnician and a
ce i ied accoun an espec i ely, bu a e now e i ed. They ha e some Slo ene
iends, bu do no make any special e o o engage in e hnic ac i i ies. While
hey ha e los he dialec al onemic ea u es, hey ha e p ese ed he quali a-
i e ones. In hei speech he e a e no dialec al diph hongs; ins ead, hey p o-
nounce S anda d Slo ene monoph hongs such as kosa ‘scy he’ (dialec al k asa),
and ses a ‘sis e ’ (dialec al sjes a). Simpli ied syn ax as well as he educ ion
o s essed sho owels in o semi- owels is ypical o hei egional colloquial
language (e.g. jəs < ‘I’, əm ‘ he e’, bəl ‘mo e’), as is he loss o uns essed owels
(zlo ‘ e y’, ko ‘so’, člo k ‘a man/human being’) and he use o colloquial Ge -
manisms (e.g. amilja ‘ amily’, penzija ‘ e i emen ’, pajzel ‘a shabby oom’).
The in o man s‘ colloquial ea u es a e mixed wi h dialec al ones. Thus,
he s essed sho /i/ and /u/ in closed syllables and /i/ a e p onounced as
semi- owels (e.g. nəč ‘no hing’, kəp ‘a heap’, (so) blə ‘ hey we e’). Also, hey en-
gage in so-called »akanje«, i.e. he ansi ion o he uns essed /o/ in o /a/ (e.g.
sašolci ‘school ma es’, z b a am ‘wi h b o he ’). O he dialec al ea u es include
he loss o he syllable- inal /i/ in plu al pa iciples in -l and in he nomina i e
case o plu al adjec i es (e.g. začel ‘ hey began’, poslal ‘ hey sen ’, dobə ‘good’),
he syllable- inal -el, -il and -e p onounced as [u] (e.g. eku ‘he said’, kupu ‘he
bough ’, ce ku ‘a chu ch’), he educ ion o uns essed /a/ a e a s essed syl-
lable (e.g. bogə < boga ‘ ich’), and he pala aliza ion o pala al consonan s (e.g.
pelala < peljala ‘she d o e’, zamenal < zamenjali ‘ hey changed’).
In mo phology, he dialec al in luence accoun s o he masculiniza ion o
neu e nouns (e.g. ( sak) le < ( sako) le o ‘(e e y) yea ’), he loss o he dual (e.g.
o s a ble obed e lepe punce ‘ hey we e bo h p e y gi ls’), and he use o sho
9 The dialec s we e named a e he Ge man wo d eu en, meaning o cu down woods.
S aipsniai / A icles 227
He i age Language and Dialec Main enance among
Slo ene Immig an s and hei Descendan s in No h Ame ica
in ini i al o ms (e.g. mo am eč ‘I ha e o say’, smo ho eli us a ‘we wan ed
o c ea e’).
4.1.3. The Ma ibo egional colloquial language
We should no e ha he language spoken in he ci y o Ma ibo is no a di-
alec bu a he a egional no he n S y ian colloquial language. I is in ac a
sup adialec al a ie y, pe o ming unc ions simila o hose o S anda d Slo-
ene on he na ional le el. I is he esul o he di ec in e sec ion o he S y -
ian and Pannonian dialec g oups, he o me being in con ac wi h Ma ibo in
he sou h and wes and he la e in he no h and eas .
Ou in o man was bo n in Ma ibo , whe e she also g adua ed om high
school. In Canada, she en olled in college and wo ked as a eelance in e io
designe p io o e i emen . She is e y ac i e in he social and e hnic li e o
he communi y. He da a show he ollowing ea u es ypical o Ma ibo collo-
quial language:
(1) ecen (dialec al) s ess e ac ions (e.g. láhko ‘easily’, p ê eč ‘ oo much’,
p íšla ‘she came’ ins ead o SSl. lahkó, p e èč, p išlà) and double s ess in com-
plex wo ds (e.g. ob á o ódja ‘ o eman’, SSl. ob a o ódja); (2) he loss o quali a-
i e con as s and a ia ion in he owel quali y, whe e he s essed e and o, p o-
nounced as open phonemes in S anda d Slo ene, a e p onounced as e y close
owels; (3) e en hough S anda d Slo ene and he Ma ibo speech con ain only
monoph hongs, due o he in luence o he dialec s in close con ac wi h Ma -
ibo , ou in o man occasionally uses diph hongs as well as monoph hongs and
diph hongs in e changeably (e.g. es – es ‘ eally’, šola – šola ‘school’, le o – liẹ o
‘yea ’, dob o – duọb o ‘well’).
In uns essed owels we no ice some mode n owel educ ion, while he
consonan sys em shows dialec al e lexes in he case o he pala al /l‘/ (e.g. po-
sla ‘bed’, p ija l ‘ iend’ ins ead o SSl. pos elja, p ija elj). The consonan /nj/ is
no pala alized in he dialec bu p onounced he same as in S anda d Slo ene
(e.g. z njimi ‘wi h hem’, ži lenje ‘li e’). The sono an be o e non-sono an con-
sonan s and in wo d- inal posi ions is p onounced as [ ], simila o no he n
S y ian and Pannonian dialec s (e.g. se ‘all’, saki ‘e e y’). The same is ue o
he dialec al p onuncia ion o uns essed -l in masculine pa iciples (e.g: eko
‘he said’, oženo ‘he ma ied’ ins ead o SSl. ekel, oženil).
Plu al neu e nouns a e eminized (e.g. jabolke ‘apples’, okne ‘windows’ in-
s ead o SSl. jabolka, okna). The e is also a endency o use he eminine ending
-a in masculine declensions e en hough hese a e used in e changeably wi h
he S anda d Slo ene -i endings (e.g. bazenih ‘in he pools’, po domo ah ‘in
he homes’). Simila ly, we obse e he co-exis ence o dialec al and s anda d
NADA ŠABEC, MIHAELA KOLETNIK
234 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVII
p oclaimed belie by all gene a ions ha he mo he ongue/he i age language
is an impo an e hnic iden i ica ion ac o . In eali y, i is cul u e ha ac ually
ills his ole, which Slo ene Ame icans and Canadians pe cei e as en iching
hei li es and enhancing hei posi i e sel -image. The s udy hus p o ides a
ascina ing insigh in o he sel -pe cep ion o Slo ene immig an s and hei
descendan s as well as in o he complexi y o he ela ionship be ween mo he
ongue main enance and he eeling o e hnic iden i y. I also unde lines he
impo ance o he dialec as opposed o S anda d Slo ene, as i seems ha o
hose who s ill speak Slo ene, a dialec is a mo e au hen ic mode o exp ession.
LITERATURE
Be y John W. 1990: Psychology o Accul u a ion in Neb aska. – John J. B emen
(ed.) Neb aska Symposium on Mo i a ion. Vol. 37: C oss-Cul u al Pe spec i es. Lincoln:
Uni e si y o Neb aska P ess, 201–235.
Ehala Ma in 2009: An e alua ion ma ix o e hnolinguis ic i ali y. – Susanna
Pe o , Tom P ies ly, Colin Williams (eds.) Righ s, p omo ion and in eg a ion issues o
mino i y languages in Eu ope. Houndmills: Palg a e Macmillan, 123–137.
Giles Howa d, Richa d Y. Bou his, Da id M. Taylo 1977: Towa ds a he-
o y o language in e hnic g oup ela ions. – Howa d Giles (ed.) Language, E hnici y and
In e g oup Rela ions. London: Academic P ess, 307–348.
Kole nik Mihaela 2005: Ma ibo ski pogo o ni jezik. – Časopis za zgodo ino in na -
odopisje 37, 245–254.
Loga Tine 1996: Dialek ološke in jeziko nozgodo inske azp a e, ed. Ka men Kenda
Jež. Ljubljana: ZRC SAZU.
Meško Ka ja 2004: Oh anjanje p ekmu skega na ečja med slo enskimi izseljenci Cle e-
landu. Diplomsko delo. Ma ibo : Pedagoška akul e a.
Plu Sil a 2008: 50 le Slo enskega d uš a Vancou e /50 yea s o he Slo enian Socie y
o Vancou e . Vancou e : Slo enian Socie y o Vancou e .
Poplack Shana 1980: Some imes I‘ll s a a sen ence in English y e mino en es-
pañol: owa d a ypology o code-swi ching. – Linguis ics, 581–616.
Rigle Jakob 1962: Južnono anjski go o i. Ljubljana: Slo enska akademija znanos i
in ume nos i.
Šabec Nada 1995: Hal pa pu. The Language o Slo ene Ame icans. Ljubljana: ŠKUC,
S udia Humani a is.

S aipsniai / A icles 235
He i age Language and Dialec Main enance among
Slo ene Immig an s and hei Descendan s in No h Ame ica
Šabec Nada 1997: Slo ene-English language con ac in he USA. – In e na ional
Jou nal o he Sociology o language 124: Sociolinguis ics o Slo ene, 129–183.
Šabec Nada 2006: Jezik, d užba in kul u a: slo enščina s iku z angleščino. –
Sla is ična e ija 54/special issue, 327–342.
Šabec Nada 2009: Code-Swi ching. – Vesna Muh ič, Lejla Sočanac (eds.) Linguis-
ics, Ox o d: EOLSS Publishe s/UNESCO, 312–327.
Šabec Nada 2011: Slo ene-English language con ac : eaching and lea ning Slo-
ene as a mo he ongue in he U.S.A. and Canada. – Sonja No ak-Lukano ič, Vesna
Mikolič (eds.) Slo enski jezik s iku: sodobne usme i e ečjezičnega in manjšinskega izo-
b aže anja. Ljubljana: D uš o za upo abno jezikoslo je, 190–203.
Šabec Nada 2016: Language, li e a u e and e hnic iden i y: he case o he Vancou-
e Slo ene communi y. – Annales Se ies His o ia e Sociologia, 26/1, 75–84.
Šabec Nada, Kole nik Mihaela 2017: The ole o dialec in mo he ongue e-
en ion o Slo ene Canadians: a case s udy. – DiG 25, 51–67.
Š umbe ge Saška 2009: Nekaj značilnos i go o jenega jezika Slo ence Nemči-
ji. – Ve a Smole (ed.), Slo enska na ečja med sis emom in abo. Ljubljana: Znans ena
založba Filozo ske akul e e.
The ns on S ephan 1980: Ha a d Encyclopedia o Ame ican E hnic G oups. Cam-
b idge, MA: Ha a d Uni e si y P ess.
Topo išič Jože 2000: Slo enska slo nica. Ma ibo : Založba Obzo ja.
Slo ėnų imig an ų i jų palikuonių
Šiau ės Ame ikoje pa eldė osios kalbos i
a mės išsaugojimas
SANTRAUKA
S aipsnyje analizuojami slo ėnų i anglų kalbų kon ak ai Šiau ės Ame ikoje,
pab ėžian gim osios / pa eldė osios kalbos išsaugojimo i au inio apa umo san ykį.
Pa eikiama is o inė, socialinė i kul ū inė slo ėnų imig acijos į JAV i Kanadą apž al-
ga, daugiausiai dėmesio k eipian į Kli landą, kaip didžiausią Ame ikos slo ėnų ben-
d uomenę, bei Vanku e į, kaip ieną iš mažiausių bend uomenių Kanadoje. Išsami kal-
binės si uacijos abiejose bend uomenėse analizė a skleidė pe ėjimo nuo slo ėnų p ie anglų
kalbos p ocesą. Daugeliu a ejų ai į yks a pe is ka as: pi mosios ka os imig an ai is
da kalba slo ėniškai, jų aikai daugiausia y a d ikalbiai, o ečiosios ka os na iai jau
nebekalba slo ėnų kalba a kalba ja ik išim iniais a ejais. Vis dėl o slo ėnų kalba, kaip
NADA ŠABEC, MIHAELA KOLETNIK
236 Ac a Linguis ica Li huanica LXXVII
gim oji / pa eldė oji kalba, užima labai s a bią ie ą au inio iden i e o požiū iu (aukš esnę
ie ą užima ik kul ū a). Aukš as Ame ikos i Kanados slo ėnų gim osios / pa eldė osios
kalbos e inimas, no s kai ku iais a ejais ik simbolinis, į odo jų sėkmingą in eg aciją į
isuomenę neapleidžian sa o au inio iden i e o.
Ling is inės analizės dalyje daugiausia dėmesio ski iama in o man ų a ojamoms
slo ėnų kalbos socialinėms a mainoms. Dėl šios p iežas ies bu o pasi ink i į ai ių a mių
bei egioninės šnekamosios kalbos a s o ai, siekian a skleis i nes anda inių kalbos a -
mainų i bend inės slo ėnų kalbos san ykį. Į dik o oną į ašy ų in e iu me u su ink i du-
omenys odo, kad pi mosios ka os imig an ai sklandžiai kalba slo ėniškai i daugiausiai
kalba a miškai. P ekmu jės egiono a mė y a ge iausiai išlikusi, o ai y a yškiausias e-
giono apa umo požymis. An a e us, Ro ės a me bei Ma ibo o mies o šnekamąja kal-
ba kalbančiųjų disku sas nė a g ynas – jame andama kai ku ių cen inės slo ėnų šneka-
mosios kalbos i ne gi bend inės slo ėnų kalbos požymių. An osios ka os in o man ė
jau nebekalba ik slo ėniškai, be kalbėdama pe eina nuo slo ėnų p ie anglų kalbos. Jos
slo ėnų kalba y a iš ė ų pe im os Š i ijos a mės i kalbos ku suose išmok os bend inės
slo ėnų kalbos mišinys. Du ečiosios ka os in o man ai anglų kalbą jau laiko sa o gim ą-
ja kalba, o slo ėnų kalba jiems y a pa eldė oji kalba. Taigi jie kalba angliškai, ačiau į sa-
o na a y ą į e pia am ik ų iš sa o No anskos a me kalbėjusios senelės bei aikys ėje
lanky uose kalbos ku suose išmok ų žodžių.
T ijų ka ų a s o ų palyginimas odo spa ų slo ėnų kalbos įgūdžių nykimą i anglų
kalbos į akos augimą. Slo ėnijoje gimusių in o man ų a eju ai pasi eiškia kaip skolin-
iai, o Ame ikoje a Kanadoje gimusių y imo daly ių a eju – kaip kalbos kodų kai a.
Pasku iniojoje g upėje aip pa pas ebimi yškūs nuk ypimai nuo slo ėnų kalbos no -
mos onologiniame, mo ologiniame i sin aksiniame lygmenyje. Remian is gim osi-
os / pa eldė osios kalbos išsaugojimo laipsniu, galime eig i, kad a mė y a pag indinė
kalbos a maina iems y imo daly iams, ku ie u i ge iausius slo ėnų kalbos įgūdžius.
Ki aip a ian , a mė y a socialinė kalbos a maina, ku i y a au en iškiausia y imo daly ių
iš aiškos o ma i s ip esnis e ninio i kul ū inio iden i e o ak o ius nei bend inė kalba.
Į eik a 2017 m. ugpjūčio 29 d.
NADA ŠABEC
Depa men o English and Ame ican S udies
Facul y o A s, Uni e si y o Ma ibo
Ko oška ces a 160, SI-2000 Ma ibo , Slo enia
[email protected]
MIHAELA KOLETNIK
Depa men o Sla ic Languages and Li e a u es
Facul y o A s, Uni e si y o Ma ibo
Ko oška ces a 160, SI-2000 Ma ibo , Slo enia
mihaela.kole [email p o ec ed]