• Hussein Ali Habtoor

  Author

This study investigates the language attitudes of Tigrinya-speaking parents towards mother tongue maintenance and their views on their children’s shift to Arabic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Sixty Eritrean Tigrinya-speaking parents participate in this research. Forty-three of them are males whereas seventeen of them are females. The subjects of this research are asked to answer a 54-item questionnaire eliciting information regarding their language use, proficiency in Tigrinya and Arabic, attitudes towards both Tigrinya and Arabic and their views on their children’s language maintenance or shift. The results show that the mother tongue is strongly maintained by the parents in this domain. They are trying to use their heritage language at home constantly, and outside their homes, as far as possible, to retain it from loss over generations. Tigrinya is generally preferred for their daily linguistic use. They are esteeming their mother tongue as highly positive as far as their attitudes are concerned. Their integrative orientations show that they like Tigrinya most. They show a higher estimation for Arabic for its instrumental value and status and it is a very supportive language that facilitates a better prospect for future career development.

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