Russkij jazyk pervogo i vtorogo pokolenija emigrantov, zhivuschix v SShA

Abstract

This paper documents and analyzes the language spoken by Russian immigrants in the USA in the early twenty-first century. The main distinction is between first- and second-generation speakers; the former arrived in the USA as adults, while the latter either arrived as very young children (roughly, before the age of five) or were born in the United States. The language of the first generation shows typical lexical changes observed in immigrant languages: lexical borrowings (including the borrowing of verbs, which serves as a sign of intense language contact), calquing, semantic blending, etc. In addition, first-generation immigrants also show some changes in word order and pronominal use. The language of the second generation, those who are considered heritage speakers of Russian, shows a greater influence of English and much stronger structural change. Of late, Russian heritage speakers have been increasingly interested in re-learning their language during their college years, and the paper suggests that such re-learning efforts should be enhanced. Despite their deficiencies, heritage speakers of Russian have significant advantages over second language learners of Russian, and it is important to build on those advantages in developing Russian language programs for Russians.