Research project
Project promoter: University of Primorska, Faculty of Education Koper
Project performer: University of Primorska, Faculty of Education Koper, Slori-Slovene Research Institute, Institute for Ethnic Studies Ljubljana
The subject of the reserch project is the maintenance and shift of Slovene language within the autochtonuos Slovene minorities in Italy, Austria and Hungary in the period from the end of World War I on to today.
Language-speakers demography data and estimates show that in the three minority areas the relative number of Slovenes has been dropping in the entire period considered. The study tries to determine which are the causes of the demographic fall of the Slovene population and to what degree the demografic fall is due to the shift of the use of Slovene. The main topic of the reseach are the causes for the maintenance or shift of Slovene within the single communities. For each of the minorities the following determinants of language maintenance are discussed: 1. political history of the minority and political pressures on the Slovene ethnic identity; 2. migrations in the area of the autochtonous (historical) Slovene settlement after the World War I and the consequent compactness of the Slovene population; 3. the present linguistic situation of the Slovene minority, namely 3.1 legal status of Slovene language, 3.2 domains where Slovene is used, 3.3 teaching of Slovene in schools, 4. attitudes of the local population towards Slovene language.
The causes for the the Slovene language shift within the Slovene minorities will be compared and discussed.