Transformation of sociocultural and linguistic identity in the process of socialization in a multicultural environment

Abstract

The concepts "need for language" and "linguistic identity" are considered as the factors related to the process of socialization in a new multicultural environment. The transformation of their content in the transitive world is revealed. The relationship between linguistic and sociocultural identity, their correlation in situations of different status of languages(minority and majority) and the persistence and variability of the sociocultural environment is shown. Data of empirical research of sociocultural and linguistic identity of young people residing in Karelia and moved to Finland are given. These results are compared with the materials obtained in the study of the socio-cultural and linguistic identity of ethnic Germans living in Russia and moved to Germany. It is shown that the majority of respondents are bilinguals for whom Russian and German/Karelian are native languages. At the same time, the social status of the minority language largely determines its place in the structure of the sociocultural identity and in the images about the future. Even the Finnish language, which is close to Karelian, is not considered as the native one, although it significantly facilitates socialization when moving to Finland. The family occupies one of the leading positions in the structure of socio-cultural identity. And with increasing transitivity (for example, when moving to another country), its role increases. Simultaneously, transitivity raises the role of linguistic identity, obviously helping to find some support group in the family and relatives. The status of personal identity in the overall structure of self-representations differs significantly among people who moved to Finland or Germany and who remained in Russia. The tendency towards personalization among the Karelian youth, who moved to Finland, is most pronounced. The trend towards personalization among young people who moved to Germany is less obvious. Thus, it can be concluded that the tendencies towards individualism, which are typical for many people living in a situation of liquid transitivity, depend significantly on the values and standards of the social environment.