Slavic Immigrant Cultures in North America: The Language Factor

Abstract

The article is devoted to the formation history of the Slavic diasporas and to the development of oral and written levels of the Slavic languages in the USA and Canada. The author analyzes to which extend the Slavic diasporas used the opportunities provided by recipient countries to develop education in native languages at schools and universities. Having analyzed some statistic data gathered in North America and the population census throughout the years, the author has made an attempt to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative changes inside Slavic diaspora groups. Moreover, the article deals with the development of the ethnical press and other publishing institutions. The changes in census documents are of major interest of the scholar. Analyzing Slavic languages that have been developing in the USA and Canada, the author also mentions those languages that are not used on the territory of their motherland anymore.