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Language Variation in the Diaspora: Polish Immigrant Communities in the U.S. and the U.K.
Author(s) -
NewlinŁukowicz Luiza
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
language and linguistics compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.619
H-Index - 44
ISSN - 1749-818X
DOI - 10.1111/lnc3.12146
Subject(s) - variation (astronomy) , residence , ethnic group , diaspora , immigration , linguistics , sociolinguistics , affect (linguistics) , identity (music) , sociology , white (mutation) , focus (optics) , gender studies , political science , demography , anthropology , biochemistry , chemistry , optics , acoustics , law , gene , physics , philosophy , astrophysics
Ethnicity has long been known to affect language variation. However, existing studies have overwhelmingly focused on the speech of the largest, non‐White minority groups and have rarely investigated within‐group variation. In this paper, I review sociolinguistic studies of a White minority group in two different settings and argue that the study of sociolinguistic variation across and within minority groups can help disentangle and systematize the effect of ethnicity on language. I focus on reports of linguistic variation for Polish immigrants in the United States (a case of sustained, long‐term immigration) and in the United Kingdom (a case of recent migration with indefinite plans for long‐term residence). Through these two case studies, I illustrate that a strong Polish identity affects speakers’ adoption of regional variation in English.