Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 13 Number: 2 Page: 184–195
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Linguistic and Cultural Maintenance Among the Chechens of Jordan
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Bader S. Dweik
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The paper explores and illustrates the ways in which the Chechen language and culture are preserved in Jordan, despite a passage of almost 100 years since Chechens first arrived in the country. It explores
the relationship between language maintenance and the non-linguistic processes that affect the outcome of the language situation. It appears that the social and cultural isolation of the Chechens from the
mainstream Jordanian life, fostered by the formation of linguistic and cultural islands, has contributed to the maintenance of the Chechen language and culture. The result is that Chechen is used in a variety
of functions and domains, i.e. home, school, neighbourhood, religious and cultural settings. It is spoken almost daily among Chechen family members, in their residential areas, and in their cultural institutions.
The paper shows that the third and fourth generation Chechen Jordanians have maintained a diglossic use of Arabic, the language of the majority of Jordanians, and Chechen. This is despite the fact that
most immigrant communities in the world tend to shift to the language of the majority.
© Multilingual Matters 2000
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