Cultural and linguistic decline has today become one of the most important and unsettling issues in sociolinguistic studies. It is said that of 6000-7000 existent languages half will die out or become moribund by the end of this century. This decline is often due to language shift processes through which linguistic communities begin to learn one or more languages at the cost of losing their own first language. Against this background, this research uses a questionnaire and a focus group interview with mothers of children under ten to examine the role of family and its interaction with the wider ecology in transmitting Azerbaijani to the next generation in Tabriz. The findings suggest that although family members play a significant role in language maintenance, their linguistic attitudes, decisions and behavior are under the influence of the wider ecology outside the home. To ensure the maintenance of a language, it is thus suggested that besides daily use of a language at home, there needs to be a favorable ecology to reinforce and encourage positive linguistic attitudes and behavior towards that language.
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Mirvahedi, S. H. (2016). The role of families in language maintenance (The case of Azerbaijani in Tabriz). Language and Linguistics, 12(23), 1-16.
MLA
Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi. "The role of families in language maintenance (The case of Azerbaijani in Tabriz)", Language and Linguistics, 12, 23, 2016, 1-16.
HARVARD
Mirvahedi, S. H. (2016). 'The role of families in language maintenance (The case of Azerbaijani in Tabriz)', Language and Linguistics, 12(23), pp. 1-16.
VANCOUVER
Mirvahedi, S. H. The role of families in language maintenance (The case of Azerbaijani in Tabriz). Language and Linguistics, 2016; 12(23): 1-16.
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