Tarmės Lietuvoje ir Slovėnijoje: sociolingvistinis tyrimas
Dialects in Lithuania and Slovenia: a Sociolinguistic Study

Summary/Abstract: The article is based on a detailed survey designed to discuss the dialect usage and attitudes in Lithuania and Slovenia. The sociolinguistic investigation strongly supported by quantitative data helped to compare the attitudes of Lithuanian and Slovenian respondents in specific speech communities, their social roles and communicative situations. It was found that Lithuanian dialects have a less overt prestige as compared to Slovenian dialect usage in the public and hometown area. Lithuanian attitudes toward their own and other dialects are much less positive. In addition to that, the quantitative data has revealed the differences in the attitude of Lithuanian and Slovenian inhabitants regarding the importance of dialect in connection with the national identity. The questionnaire was administered during March and April of 2012. It consisted of multiple choice questions. The respondents were asked to fill the questionnaire over the Internet. Overall, the survey of Lithuanian and Slovenian inhabitants shows that the process of urbanization may be affecting Lithuania much more than Slovenia, where a viable and significant variation of dialects is still observable.

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