Young Ethnic German Immigrants from the Former Soviet Union: German Language Proficiency and its Impact on Integration

Abstract

Previous research on language and immigration issues suggests that factors such as country of origin, knowledge of the dominant language prior to immigration, age at migration, duration of residence, region of residence (minority group concentration), family characteristics and return options are important determinants of proficiency in the language of the host society (Chiswick and Miller 1992:232). From the sociolinguistic point of view, attitudes of immigrants towards the dominant language are both related to their own identification with the host society and to their reception by the population and government of the country of destination (Ehlich 1991; Rivera-Batiz 1992). The impact of these factors on the acquisition and use of the German language among young ethnic German immigrants is analysed in this chapter. The analysis is based on data collected in a survey among young ethnic German immigrants by the Osteuropa-Institut Munchen (Eastern European Institute in Munich). The sample consists of 253 interviewees aged 15 to 25 who came to Germany between 1990 and 1994. The majority of the respondents immigrated from Kazakhstan (50 per cent), the rest came mainly from Russia (33 per cent) and Kyrgyzstan (9 per cent). The sample is representative of ethnic German immigrants in terms of gender, education and religious affiliation (see Dietz and Roll 1998).

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