Language maintenance in the second generation

Abstract The article discusses the attitude of the second generation Dutch in Australia to language maintenance. It gives a profile of the group’s language maintenance activities, and examines factors related to language maintenance attitudes and the use of Dutch. The research involved detailed personal interviews with 100 members of the target group. Some of the information collected was evaluated quantitatively using computer-aided statistical analysis; other responses were analysed primarily in qualitative terms. The results revealed a more positive attitude to language maintenance and greater frequency of use of Dutch than might have been expected on the basis of the (limited) previous research on the second generation or the national census data. On the other hand, there was relatively little participation in activities with the potential to influence the use of Dutch: visits to the Netherlands, association with Dutch organizations, and attendance at Dutch classes. Overall the research provided no evidence of a continuing decline in frequency of use of Dutch to the point of a complete shift to English only. It was also clear that many informants valued their current use of Dutch.