Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.38003/zrffs.13.8
LANGUAGE USE AND ATTITUDES AMONG CROATIAN IMMIGRANTS IN IRELAND
Sanja Škifić
; English Department, Universit of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
Katarina Grbas
Abstract
Immigration in Ireland, including the Croatian one, has risen significantly in recent
times. That is why in the last several years Ireland has been trying to find ways of
ensuring the adequate cultural and linguistic integration of immigrants into Irish
society. This paper deals with the language use and attitudes among Croatian
immigrants in Ireland. The research that was conducted in the period from June to
August 2019 included 82 Croatian immigrants in Ireland. It included the application of
a questionnaire that consisted of four parts and that was filled out by the participants
through the Facebook social network. The participants were asked questions
connected to their emigration to Ireland. Most of the language-related questions
included a reference to the English language, with a focus on specific aspects related
to the process of learning, knowledge and use of English in different contexts. The
results of the research suggest, among other things, that most participants have a
positive attitude towards residing in Ireland and towards the English language.
Most of them evaluated their current knowledge of English as better than average.
Although the knowledge of English was not predominantly evaluated as crucial for
finding employment in Ireland, still a significant number of participants evaluated it
as relevant for their employment.
Keywords
immigration policy; language policy; language use; language attitudes; Croatian immigrants; Ireland; the English language
Hrčak ID:
248014
URI
Publication date:
17.12.2020.
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