Composition and Formation of Social Networks during Study Abroad Programs and Bidialectalism and Language Attitudes: A Case Study of a Bolivian-Argentine Family in the United States

• Main Author: Schilaty, Benjamin J.
• Format: Others
• Published: BYU ScholarsArchive 2011
• Subjects: bidialectalism; language attitudes; social network; study abroad; Spanish and Portuguese Language and Literature
• Online Access: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2766; https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3765&context=etd

Students who participate in study abroad programs have the opportunity to interact with native speakers in a variety of settings. "Composition and Formation of Social Networks during Study Abroad Programs" explores the kinds of social networks that students form while abroad focusing on the areas of host families, church, school, community, and friends from the program. The kind of network that students form is heavily influenced by the nature of their program. Students from the same program often have social networks similar to those of their peers in the same program. Students who went abroad generally made friends in categories that were most accessible to them. Apart from the program structure, individual initiative also plays an important role in the size and composition of a student's social network. Also, students who had more intense friendships were found to be more likely to create second order networks and meet more friends through their established friendships. Children who grow up exposed to two dialects of the same language may become bidialectal giving them an extra set of choices when they speak. The decision of which dialectal features to use is often socially motivated and demonstrates the speaker's perceived identity. In "Bidialectalism and Language Attitudes: A Case Study of a Bolivian-Argentine Family in the United States," two sisters were interviewed regarding their language use and attitudes. One of the sisters felt a strong connection to her Argentine heritage and thus chose to use an accent and words that would identify her as Argentine. The other sister in this study does not feel the need to identify herself as Argentine and prefers to simply fit in. She thus strives to employ a regionally unmarked variety of Spanish when she speaks. Both sisters are able to accommodate their speech to that of their interlocutors, but have preferred dialectal features based on their language attitudes.