Some reasons behind the change of languages and dialects in a South Transdanubian area of Hungary, with special regard to Völgység

Pál, Helén (2023) Some reasons behind the change of languages and dialects in a South Transdanubian area of Hungary, with special regard to Völgység. EPHEMERIS HUNGAROLOGICA : A MAGYARSÁGKUTATÓ INTÉZET FOLYÓIRATA, 3 (2). pp. 69-88. ISSN 2786-3522 (print); 2786-3514 (online)

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Abstract

Various national minorities have lived in the South Transdanubian region of Hungary over the centuries. Within this area, the Völgység is a small part of Hungary, belonging partly to Tolna and partly to Baranya counties, a loessy hilly area bordered by rivers. The paper deals with the language and dialect of the ethnic groups still living here after 1945. After WW II, the Germans and Serbs who remained here were joined by Szeklers from Bukovina, Hungarians from Upper Hungary and from other Hungarian areas. To- day, most of the Germans and Serbs have merged with the majority Hungarians, and the (minority) language learnt by young Hungarians is mostly the standard version of the given language. The dialect of the resettled Szeklers from Bukovina, Hungarians from Upper Hungary and other Hungarian-speaking groups can be characterised as converg- ing with the Hungarian vernacular. All these communities are characterised by mixed marriages, which also influence language usage and, in the case of Germans and Serbs, may lead to language shift . The dialect of the above-mentioned Hungarian-speaking groups (as with other Hungarian dialects) is withdrawn from the public language area. The Hungarian dialects (and the German and Serbian dialects in Hungary) have a lower prestige than the vernacular, their use is limited to a more restricted environment, and they are nowadays the language of family use and the language of the more restricted community. The paper reviews the historical background and current status of these languages and language varieties and presents data on their speakers.

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