Oldal 97 [97]
THE HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN NORTH CAROLINA
Table 3: Age in Gl vs. G2 groups
Responses 61+ 41-60 21-40 8-20
G1 (N=61, 11 N/A) 13 (26%) 16 (32%) 20 (40%) 1(2 %)
G2 (N=17) 0 3 (18%) 6 (35%) 8 (47%)
Generational difference in terms of claimed mother tongue, perceived
Hungarian competence and ethnic identity is also conspicuous. In the
second-generation group (G2), the proportion of those subjects who claim that
Hungarian is their mother tongue (29%) significantly declines as compared to
first-generation (G1) speakers (97%).
Table 4: Claimed mother tongues in G1 vs. G2 groups
Hungarian Both English
Responses (claimed mother and Hungarian | English (claimed
P (claimed mother | mother tongue)
tongue)
tongues)
G1 (N=61, 2 N/A) 57 (97%) 1 (1.5%) 1 (1.5%)
G2 (N=17) 5 (29%) 12 (71%) 0
It can be seen in Table 4 that no G2 speaker claims English to be their mother
tongue, the majority of them claim that both English and Hungarian are their
mother tongues.
Hungarian competence also highly correlates with generational affiliation.
No G2 speaker has claimed that their Hungarian competence is stronger, while
the majority of Gl speakers (62%) claim that their Hungarian competence is
stronger than their English one. It is noteworthy that a slight majority of G2
speakers (53%) have stated that their English and Hungarian competences are
equal.
Table 5: Perceived Hungarian and English competence in G1 vs. G2 groups
Responses Hungarian Equal English stronger
stronger competence
G1 (N=61) 38 (62%) 20 (33%) 3 5(%)
G2 (N=17) 0 9 (53%) 8 (47%)