Contextualising the Russian to Hebrew language shift in three generations of Russian Israelis

Abstract

ABSTRACT The research on language dynamics in the context of migration and integration has been dominated by applied linguists and educators, who described and measured native language attrition and emerging bilingualism among immigrants and their children. In parallel, sociolinguists discussed the role of language ideology/policy of the host society and family language milieu. Adopting a macro sociolinguistic view, the current article explores the social mechanisms of native language attrition across immigrant generations, thus becoming a heritage language. Our empirical data embrace national surveys and qualitative studies among adult immigrants to Israel from the USSR/FSU (Generation 1.0) and their children born before and after migration (Generations 1.5 and 2.0) collected over 20 + years. We show how the Hebrew-only language policy and stigmatising public discourse around Russian/Soviet legacies compelled immigrant adolescents to take distance from their origins. Russian’s absence from the school curriculum caused L1 literacy attrition and its relegation to the status of secret/home language, increasingly passive over time. Generations 1.5 and 2.0 manifest shrinking interest in all things Russian and weak ties with Russia/FSU. Drawing upon the critical sociological perspective, this article illuminates social forces that may facilitate or thwart effective transmission of native languages across immigrant generations.