Projects / Programmes
SLOVENE IDENTITY AND CULTURAL AWARENESS IN LINGUISTIC AND ETHNIC CONTACT AREAS IN PAST AND PRESENT
January 1, 2013
- December 31, 2015
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.12.02 |
Humanities |
Geography |
Social geography |
| 5.01.00 |
Social sciences |
Educational studies |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H000 |
Humanities |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.07 |
Social Sciences |
Social and economic geography |
| 5.03 |
Social Sciences |
Educational sciences |
Researchers (15)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
Researchers involved in an interdisciplinary program will deal with the contacts of the Slovene people with other peoples of the world. Slovenes came in contact, and are coming in contact, with other peoples of the world in 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 shall investigate the relations between indigenous Italians and Hungarians, the Roma community and immigrants on the one hand, and Slovenes, on the other. Based on the results of the program in the previous period, we will continue to research particular Slovene immigrant communities in the United States (in Ely, MN), Canada, and Australia, and study their culture and language as an element of preserving the Slovene ethnic identity. We will investigate the situation of Slovenes in Austria and Italy from the point of view of geographers and historians. In Austria, we will study the current situation since the emergence of new Austrian legislation relating to minorities and also forthcoming legislation; in Italy, the endeavors of the Slovene minority for their ethnic survival since the signing of the Osimo Agreements.
From the perspective of linguists we will also investigate contacts and the consequences thereof for language usage in the case of (temporary) migrants from northeastern Slovenia to Austria. We will also explore the knowledge of students in Slovenia about the Slovenes outside the Republic of Slovenia and the phenomenon of bilingualism as well as the members of the Slovene minority and emigrants as tourists in the Republic of Slovenia. Based on past experience, we will explore the development and the effects and problems after the entry of Slovenia in the EU and the Schengen area for the indigenous Slovene minorities in neighboring countries, Italians and Hungarians in Slovenia, and the Slovenes around the world and immigrants in Slovenia. Contacts between Slovenes and other nations will also be studied on the basis of land usage and research of the land ownership structure in the contact areas at the Slovene-Croatian and the Slovene-Austrian borders.
Specifically examined will be the role of proverbs in everyday communication in the case of German and Slovene language contact and the ability to apply cultural and cross-cultural content based on the log of proverbs. Proverbs are not only rich in material for teaching and learning, but also representative of their ethnic culture as they also act as a bridge for the transmission of language and intercultural skills. Unfortunately, so far in the contact area between the Slovenes and their neighbors, proverbs have not received adequate treatment.
In this research the methods used by social and political geography, special didactics and pedagogy and history, and linguistics will be applied.
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. 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 contributed 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. 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 also contributed 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. 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 units), within which we could study the usually intertwined social processes of several communities affected by the events in several countries (country of immigration, emigration countries, neighboring countries of emigration, etc.). Monographs about the phenomena of immigrant groups in the USA and Europe, written and published in Slovene, are an important contribution by the members of the program to the development and use of the Slovene terminology in this field.
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 are 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
Annual report
2013,
2014,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2013,
2014,
final report,
complete report on dLib.si
