Oldal 94 [94]
CHAPTER 5 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
it is more likely to be maintained in an immigrant setting. Ihe role of the
Hungarian language in expressing Hungarian ethnic affiliation has undergone
some significant changes.
With regards to the value associated with Hungarian language, a significant
difference can be observed in first- and second- (and third-)generation speakers.
Fejös observed that second- and third-generation Hungarian-Americans can
express their ethnicity the most easily by the means of English”.
Now, in the majority of Hungarian-American communities, Hungarian
no longer plays a central role in expressing Hungarian ethnic identity”. For
the American-born generations, language has become less important than
the traditions regarded as authentically Hungarian symbols of Hungarian
identity’.
The Hungarian language, though it remains to be regarded an important
Hungarian asset, in the history of Hungarian-American immigrant communi¬
ties, has become of secondary importance in comparison with some vestigial
ethnic traditions commonly supposed as symbolizing authentic Hungarian
culture and identity.
THE HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN NORTH CAROLINA: SOCIO¬
LINGUISTIC BACKGROUND
As there are no published studies regarding the sociolinguistic characteristics
of the Hungarian-American community in North Carolina, I will partly rely
on the US Census Bureau’s figures as well as on Bolonyai’s unpublished survey
conducted in 2007 among 78 subjects in the Hungarian-American community
in North Carolina, more precisely, in the Research Triangle, that is, in the area
surrounded by the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Cary, which for its good
economic and job opportunities have attracted recently many Hungarian¬
Americans. This survey, for its fairly small-scale of data, cannot be regarded
representative of the entire Hungarian-American community of North Carolina.
However, it can be regarded representative of that particular segment of the
Hungarian-American immigration community — which usually is made up by
at most 10% of the entire Hungarian-American population’ — who regularly
attend the Hungarian-American community’s events and organizations, the
most active members of the NC Hungarian Club, the particular target of my
survey.
51 Fejös, Diaszpöra, 77-78
252 Bartha, Nyelvhasználat, nyelvmegtartás, nyelvcsere, 132
253 Bartha, Social and linguistic characteristics of immigrant language shift, Acta Linguistica
Hungarica, 415
254 Papp, Beszédből világ, 448
+ 92 +