Serbian Heritage Language Maintenance and Language Shift: Identity of the ‘Voice’ from a Serbian Orthodox Church in Michigan

Serbian Heritage Language Maintenance and Language Shift: Identity of the ‘Voice’ from a Serbian Orthodox Church in Michigan

Livija G. Marina

This paper addresses issues of Serbian heritage language maintenance and language shift by analyzing the linguistic situation in one church community in Michigan, St. Lazarus Serbian Orthodox Church in Detroit. Historical background of Serbian immigration and the history of the church supplement an in-depth content analysis of the church newsletter sample. This analysis provides data for answering questions about the role of church in language maintenance, and for examining the relationship between language and identity. Results of this study show the presence of a significant language shift to English in this community, but also demonstrate that this church and related organizations play an important role in Serbian language maintenance. Findings also reveal the presence of syncretic language elements as an expression of the syncretic culture of Serbian Americans and their identity. Future research could include ethnography, oral history, and archival and demographic data analysis that could be used to analyze the patterns of language shift, and to study this community’s views regarding the importance of language as an expression of identity. Comparing the results of this study to the language use in other Serbian churches in the region could also be a topic for future research.

Keywords: language maintenance, language shift, language syncretism, language and identity, role of church in language maintenance, Serbian Americans in Michigan