Language maintenance and shift among Vietnamese in America

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the amount of language shift and language maintenance of Vietnamese in a large urban center in California. To determine language use in the Community, 106 Vietnamese parents were surveyed. A definite language shift could be seen within the families. There were a substantial number of homes where both English and Vietnamese were spoken. Approximately one-fifth of the children spoke only English among themselves while one-third spoke both languages. Income and parents' education didnotplay a significant r ole in language shift. However, the longer afamily lived in the United States, the greater the shift toward English use. Most parents encouraged the maintenance of Vietnamese. The longer one had lived in the United States, the more the parents encouraged the children to retain Vietnamese.