The Polish language in intergenerational transmission in homogeneous and mixed families in the Lviv region

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the conditions of intergenerational transmission of the Polish language in homogenous and mixed families in Sambir and Dobromyl in Ukraine. 21 families took part in the survey: 13 Polish couples, 6 Polish-Ukrainian and 2 Ukrainian of Ukrainian-Polish origin. The study is based on four layers of data: firstly, semi-structured interviews and unstructured interviews with children and young people from each family (7-25 years of age); secondly, interviews with parents and grandparents; thirdly, family observation and, additionally, interviews with neighbours and friends of the families. The database of analysed audio recordings consists of conversations with 92 respondents (approximately 120 hours). The comparison shows that in Polish families the home language is Polish. Mixed couples, in turn, adopt one of two solutions: parents either apply the one parent - one language strategy (5 couples), or talk to their children in Ukrainian (1 couple). In families who rely on the former principle, in conversations among more household members and among the children themselves the Ukrainian language usually has an advantage. In the case of two Ukrainian couples of Ukrainian-Polish origin, the transmission of the Polish language was discontinued in previous generations: in one case the young participants of the study learned Polish in their childhood from their great-grandmother, in the other - on their own. Children from the presented families (with the exception of the family from Nyzhankovychi near Dobromyl) attended Polish Saturday schools; they also take part in the life of the local Roman Catholic parishes. The interviews and observations lead to the conclusion that the oldest people play a very important role in the transmission of Polish to next generations, especially in three-generation families living in the same household. Close relations between grandchildren and their Polish grandparents strengthen the position of the Polish language in everyday communication and foster their positive emotional attitude to the language. The study also confirms that most young people of Polish descent have a positive attitude towards emigration to Poland, which stems from difficult economic and political situation in Ukraine. The position of the Polish language is twofold: it is associated with the tradition and past of one's own family on the one hand, and with the future on the other.