Abstract
The article aims at analysing the attitudes and motivations of a group of 100 Lithuanian Poles, mainly from culturally homogeneous Polish families, regarding the evaluaƟtion of the spelling and the changes in the spelling of personal names. The quantitative study is based on the analysis of an awareness questionnaire conducted among Lithuanian Poles aged 34–70. This article not only outlines the existing legal framework on this issue, but also explains the dominant attitudes of the Polish minority towards the prospect of transcribing the surnames and first names of Lithuanian national minoriƟ es according to the original phonetic sound, albeit without the inclusion of diacritical marks. The analysis of the questionnaires showed that 57% of the respondents expressed their willingness to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the proposed legislative changes, while 25% were against the changes. Among the motivations for change, the desire to preserve and cultivate the Polish language dominated. This article contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics of identity change in multi cultural societies with respect to attitudes towards language issues. Keywords: spelling of names and surnames – Polish minority – Lithuania – language policy.
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