TV Language, Cultivation, and Perceived Vitality of Hungarians in Slovakia

Abstract

This article presents a model of the associations between media use, ethnolinguistic identity, and ethnolinguistic vitality among minority Hungarian speakers living in Slovakia. Results of a cross-sectional survey study among high school students demonstrate that identity influences the language in which television is watched, which in turn influences perceptions of group vitality. The latter link is moderated by amount of television use, such that it is stronger among light television users. The results are discussed in terms of the importance of media use to minority language group identity and survival. Media choice and language use in a marginalized minority language group are central issues for the area of intergroup communication research.

Keywords:

• Cultivation
• Ethnolinguistic Vitality
• Television

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Social Science Research Council of Society of Swedish Literature in Finland and Nylands Nation Foundation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Laszlo Vincze

Laszlo Vincze (PhD, University of Pecs, Hungary, 2011) is a researcher at the Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki.

Jake Harwood

Jake Harwood (PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1994) is a professor of Communication at the University of Arizona.