Multilingüismo, actitudes y religión en la diáspora: los menonitas paraguayos de Manitoba

Abstract

Mennonites are a protestant Anabaptist group originated in Eastern Europe in the 16th century. Their first language is Plautdietsch (Mennonite German), although they use standard German for written communication and formal contexts. Persecuted because of their religious beliefs in Europe, and attracted by Canada’s offer of land, religious and cultural autonomy, around 7,000 Mennonites migrated to the province of Manitoba around 1870. However the progressive urbanization and acculturation threatened their isolated traditional lifestyle, causing them to migrate to remote areas in Latin America, where they slowly became in contact with Spanish and Portuguese. In 1947, the Canadian government facilitated the return of descendants of Canadian-born citizens, thus around 15,000 Mennonites returned to Canada. The present study examines the uses, attitudes and maintenance of Plautdietsch, High German and Spanish among fourteen Mennonite women who migrated from Paraguayan colonies, and currently reside in Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba. Our results demonstrate that, despite being considered a key element of the Mennonite identity, Plautdietsch is not being transmitted to the Canadian-born generation. Also, religiousness and social networks are proven to be determinant factors in the transmission, use and attitudes towards the different linguistic varieties examined.