The world of a language and culture in the immigrant life

Elżbieta Sękowska

Uniwersytet Warszawski

Abstract

The article focuses on the presentation of changes in ethnicity carriers: a language, tradition and religion in the process of assimilation of immigrants in the host society. Breaking ethnic isolation entails changes in the hierarchy of ethnic group’s values; residual native language skills serve as a declaration of ethnic identity. The forms of folk tradition will ritualize whereas folklore is taking over new properties in result of inter-ethnic contacts. Such processes have been discussed on the example of the largest concentrations of Polish immigrant settlers, inter alia in the USA and Brazil.