Oldal 101 [101]
THE HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITIES IN NORTH CAROLINA
(S12) Hungarian should
be the first language
learned at home in 2.5 1.9
Hungarian families liv¬
ing in North Carolina.
(S20) I feel I can express
best who I am when I 2.6 1.1
speak Hungarian.
However, noticeably different patterns in the attitude to code-switching
emerge along generational affiliation. For G2 speakers, code-switched language
is the most highly valued as a means of expressing their bilingual identity (“I
appreciate both Hungarian and English and I feel I can best express who I am
when I mix them together” — G2: 2.5 > G1: 1.5). They do not only acknowledge
the practice of code-switching as a means of expressing their bilingual identity,
but they are also proud of it (“I am proud of being bilingual and being able to
mix Hungarian with English” — G2: 2.5 > Gl: 1.7)
Ihe most obvious deviation in the attitude scores associated with code¬
switching between G2 and Gl speakers has been identified in the following
statement: “Contact with the American community in North Carolina is
changing the Hungarian language spoken in this community” (G1: 1.8 > G2:
0.9). This neutral statement, lacking any kind of positive or negative attitude
to the act of code-switching, shows that G1 speaker are more aware of the act
of code-switching as a linguistic interference between English and Hungarian
resulting from the contact situation.
Table 10: Statements on attitude to code-switching in descending order
Ranking of Average means
Statements
statements scores of responses
(S31) It is common for Hungarians who live
1 in North Carolina to mix Hungarian and 2.8
English when they speak.
(S39) I have noticed that sometimes English 27
influences the way I speak Hungarian. ,
(S34) I am proud of being bilingual and be- 19
ing able to mix Hungarian with English. ‘
(S40) Sometimes I feel I can speak neither
Hungarian nor English well.
+ 99 +