The Process and Factors of Language Shift and Maintenance: Sociolinguistic Research into the Romanian Minority Community in Hungary

This study of the process of language shift and maintenance in the bilingual community of Romanians living in Hungary was based on 40 tape-recorded Romanian sociolinguistic interviews. These were transcribed into computerised form and provide an excellent source of sociolinguistic, contact linguistic and discourse analysis data, making it possible to show the effect of internal and external factors on the bilingual speech mode. The main topics considered were the choice of Romanian and Hungarian in community interactions, factors of language choice, code-switching: introlanguage and interlanguage, reasons for code-switching, the relationship between age and the frequency of code switching in the interview situation, and the unequal competition of minority and majority languages at school.

The Process and Factors of Language Shift and Maintenance: Sociolinguistic Research into the Romanian Minority Community in Hungary"

This study of the process of language shift and maintenance in the bilingual community of Romanians living in Hungary was based on 40 tape-recorded Romanian sociolinguistic interviews. These were transcribed into computerised form and provide an excellent source of sociolinguistic, contact linguistic and discourse analysis data, making it possible to show the effect of internal and external factors on the bilingual speech mode. The main topics considered were the choice of Romanian and Hungarian in community interactions, factors of language choice, code-switching: introlanguage and interlanguage, reasons for code-switching, the relationship between age and the frequency of code switching in the interview situation, and the unequal competition of minority and majority languages at school.

Value Choice of Russia in the Reform Process: The Sociological Aspect

The transition in Central and Eastern Europe since the late 1980s has provided a testing ground for classic propositions. This project looked at the impact of privatisation on private consumption, using the Czech experiment of voucher privatisation to test the permanent income hypothesis. This form of privatisation moved state assets to individuals and represented an unexpected windfall gain for participants in the scheme. Whether the windfall was consumed or saved offers a clear test of the permanent income hypothesis. Of a total population of 10 million, 6 million Czechs, i.e. virtually every household, participated in the scheme,. In a January 1996 survey, 1263 individuals were interviewed , 75% of whom had taken part. The data obtained suggests that only a small quantity of transferred assets were cashed in and spent on consumption, providing support for the permanent income hypothesis. The fraction of the windfall consumed grows with age, as would be predicted from the lower life expectancy of older consumers. The most interesting deviation was for people aged 26 to 35, who apparently consumed more that they would if the windfall were annuitised. As these people are at the stage in their lives when they would otherwise be borrowing to cover consumption related to establishing a family, etc., this is however consistent with the permanent income hypothesis, which predicts that individuals who would otherwise borrow money would use the windfall to avoid doing so.