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How Do Views of Languages Differ Between Majority and Minority? Language Regards Among Students with Latvian, Estonian and Russian as L1

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Multilingualism in the Baltic States

Abstract

This chapter investigates differences in language regards in Latvia and Estonia. Based on the results of a survey that had about 1000 respondents in each country, it analyses general views on languages and language-learning motivation, as well as specific regards of Estonian, Latvian, Russian, English, German and other languages. The results show that languages and language learning are generally important for the respondents; language-learning motivation is overwhelmingly instrumental. Besides the obvious value of the titular languages of each country, English and Russian are to differing degrees considered of importance for professional and leisure purposes, ahead of German, Finnish (in Estonia) and French, whereas other languages are of little relevance. In more emotionally related categories, differences are more salient. L1-speakers of Russian differ in their views from L1-speakers of Estonian and Latvian, indicating that the linguistic acculturation of society in Estonia tends to be more monodirectional towards Estonian, whereas in Latvia there are more bidirectional tendencies as both Latvian and Russian L1-speakers regard each other’s languages as at least moderately relevant.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    According to 2011 EU data, only 2.7% of Lithuanians aged 25–64 claimed they could not speak any foreign language; this compares to 5.1% of Latvians and 14.5% of Estonians, the EU average being 34.3%. The ability to speak two or more foreign languages was claimed by 56.6% of Lithuanians, 59.2% of Latvians and 61.4% of Estonians (EU average 29.9%; see Eurostat. Statistics Explained).

  2. 2.

    In Estonia , 121,142 school pupils in 2017/2018 were enrolled in English classes, 51,768 in Russian, 11,923 in German , 4012 in French , 3516 in other languages and 30,673 in classes of Estonian as second language (Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium). In Latvia , 91.2% of school pupils in 2014/2015 learnt English , 32.3% Russian, 10.9% German , 2.2% French and 1.1% other languages (Kibbermann and Kļava 2017: 86).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DAAD Information Centre Riga, Riga, Latvia

    Heiko F. Marten

  2. Rēzekne Academy of Technologies, Rēzekne, Latvia

    Heiko F. Marten

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  1. Heiko F. Marten
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Correspondence to Heiko F. Marten .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Languages and Design, Rēzekne Academy of Technologies, Rēzekne, Latvia

    Sanita Lazdiņa

  2. DAAD Information Centre Riga, Riga, Latvia

    Heiko F. Marten

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Marten, H.F. (2019). How Do Views of Languages Differ Between Majority and Minority? Language Regards Among Students with Latvian, Estonian and Russian as L1. In: Lazdiņa, S., Marten, H. (eds) Multilingualism in the Baltic States. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56914-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56914-1_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-56913-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56914-1

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