Projects / Programmes
SLOVENE IDENTITY AND CULTURAL AWARENESS IN LINGUISTIC AND ETHNIC CONTACT AREAS IN PAST AND PRESENT
January 1, 2016
- December 31, 2021
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.12.02 |
Humanities |
Geography |
Social geography |
| 5.01.00 |
Social sciences |
Educational studies |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S230 |
Social sciences |
Social geography |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.07 |
Social Sciences |
Social and economic geography |
| 5.03 |
Social Sciences |
Educational sciences |
Slovenes, immigrants, emigrants, national minorities, ethnically contact areas, ethnically mixed territories, bilingualism, multikulturalism
Researchers (25)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Researchers participating in this interdisciplinary program will focus on the contact of Slovenes with other ethno-nations of the world. The contact in question occur on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, in the neighboring countries, where Slovenes live as indigenous ethnic minorities, and elsewhere, where Slovenes live as immigrants. In Slovenia, we will investigate the relations of Slovenes with the Italian and Hungarian minorities and with the Roma community. We will also study the contact of Slovenes with immigrants from other parts of former Yugoslavia (Albanians, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Croats, Macedonians, Muslims, Serbs) and with immigrants who first came to Slovenia after 1991, forming immigrant communities.
Researchers will continue to study the fundamental issues of the preservation of Slovene identity outside the Republic of Slovenia. Based on past experiences and developments, they will examine the impact and problems arising from Slovenia’s joining the EU and the Schengen area, as this has affected the indigenous Slovene minorities in the neighboring countries, Italians and Hungarians in the Republic of Slovenia, and the immigrants in Slovenia.
An important part of research will focus on the contact of Slovenes with other ethno-nations outside the Slovene ethnic territory, i.e. in the countries where Slovenes settled in the past. Initially, these were areas populated by South Slavs and areas within the Habsburg Monarchy (Vienna and other industrial centers in the Austrian part of the Monarchy, and Budapest in the Hungarian part of the Monarchy), later, from the 19th century on, these expanded to Western Europe and overseas countries, especially the USA.
In all the mentioned situations in which Slovenes come into contact with members of other ethnic groups (the Republic of Slovenia, the neighboring countries, the countries of immigration) the aim of our research is: (1) to explore the political participation of ethnic Slovenes in the neighboring countries and in immigrant countries, (2) to study the efforts of Slovene minorities in the neighbouring countries to resist past and current assimilation processes, (3) to study the efforts for a peaceful coexistence among the Slovenes and other ethnic groups in contact, (4) to study the role of education and school policy in pursuing this aim, (5) to explore the use of German and Slovene from the period of the Habsburg Monarchy to the present day, (6) to explore the history and the current situation of Slovene immigrants in the overseas countries, their settlements, their accommodation, integration and acculturation in the countries of immigration, and (7) to study the Slovene culture and language as elements of preserving Slovene identity in Western Europe and overseas.
Significance for science
Research results contribute to the overall knowledge about the relations of Slovenes with other ethno-nations in the past and present and to the knowledge of Slovenia and the Slovene people (Slovenes in Slovenia, Slovene autochthonous minorities, and Slovene emigrants) at home and abroad.
Findings based on the research of Slovene-English language contact contributes many important insights into the past language developments and the current, very flexible position of the Slovene language abroad and in the homeland. Since language use is important in terms of identity on both individual and societal levels, these findings are of value to linguists as well as to other professionals concerned with the role of language in communication and in ethnic and cultural identity of the speaker.
Equally important from the linguistic point of view and contributing to the science is a study of the Hungarian minority in Slovenia. The same is true of researching Slovene-German language contact (synchronic and diachronic aspects), where the findings may contribute to improvements in the fields of interlingual/intercultural learning of Slovene and German as foreign languages and of translation.
Also, research of rural areas in contact will follow in its objectives the aims of basic social sciences in support of the consolidation of Slovene identity and culture in the European and global contexts. Our goal is to bring the theoretical knowledge closer to the local and regional levels through a multi-institutional approach, which is in line with the new paradigm of the OECD for rural development and the European and national guidelines on the lifelong sustainability-oriented education.
In this way we will help raise the awareness of the rural population as well as of the rest of the population so that they may work toward preserving the identity and developing new qualities on the Slovene ethnic territory. The target pursued in this content will be interdependent links between human and natural resources, economic potentials and current educational platforms encouraging learning and better understanding of the identity of the Slovene territory. We see the advantage of this research in the holistic approach and in the belief that new approaches to interdisciplinary research have a decisive influence on further development of new research directions within the field of humanities.
Other research included in this program will also contribute significantly to the development of research methodologies and procedures, as well as to the development of some fieldwork tools. Especially in the field of linguistics, the study of the Hungarian minority in Slovenia should be pointed out. Investigating the contact of Slovenes with the neighboring ethno-nations on the edges of the Slovene ethnic territory and with members of the immigrant communities living in Slovenia as well as the contact of Slovene immigrants in the countries of immigration with members of other immigrant communities there, both in the past and today, contributes significantly to the field of humanities and social sciences in Slovenia. Compared to the research about the immigrant experience of other European nations, Slovene emigration and their experience in the countries of immigration had been often pushed to the margins of the national awareness in the past. For this reason this otherwise global phenomenon has only received a marginal attention by Slovene humanities and social sciences.
There exists general information on Slovene emigration (directions, volumes, causes, etc.) and some of the individual segments of the life of Slovene emigrants in the new countries (i.e., organizational, cultural activities, biographies of some of the most important Slovene immigrants), etc. There are, however, fewer monographs that comprehensively present the history of Slovene immigrant communities at the micro level (within a single city or a smaller physical geographical or administrative-political un
Significance for the country
Studying various aspects of contact between Slovenes and other ethno-nations throughout the history up to the present represents an important part of researching the past and the present of Slovene emigrants, indigenous ethnic minorities living on the Slovene territory and the Slovene nation as a whole. The published results of our research will help Slovenes in Slovenia to better understand Slovenes living outside the Republic of Slovenia. These Slovenes represent an important link between Slovenia and the countries in which they live, with a potential for mutual cooperation in many areas of social life. Research results are particularly relevant in terms of preserving ethnic identity of Slovene immigrants. In addition, they may serve as a basis for possible economic and cultural cooperation between Slovene cities and cities outside Slovenia where there is Slovene population.
One of the indirect benefits of the program will be establishing contact with the individual heads of Slovene organizations in the neighboring countries and particularly in emigration. This will contribute to the promotion of Slovenia in the environments in which Slovene emigrants live. Of particular importance to the development of the Slovene economy will be the focus on identifying migrants of Slovene descent in the USA who have established themselves in the new environment as successful businessmen or entrepreneurs. Such research is particularly important in terms of understanding the Slovene business community beyond the borders of the Republic of Slovenia and also for getting a comprehensive picture of Slovene emigration to the US in general. Research results will also be used to indirectly promote Slovenia’s economic cooperation with its neighboring countries and with the countries where Slovene immigrants live. In this respect, the local “Slovenes” there and their descendants may play an important intermediary role.
Research results will be potentially useful for all those who regularly or occasionally need English at work (e.g. translators in EU institutions). New insights into the situation of the Slovene minorities in the neighboring countries will be particularly welcome in the period after Slovenia had joined the Schengen area. Similarly, lessons learned from the history of Slovene emigration can help us better understand the every increasing pace of globalization. The findings related to the Slovene cultural heritage in emigration and in the neighboring countries will no doubt enrich the knowledge of Slovenes and immigrants living in Slovenia about Slovenes in the neighboring countries and elsewhere in the world.
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report
