Attitudes of Young Dhatki Speakers towards Their L1 and Its Maintenance

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the attitudes that speakers of Dhatki as a first language (L1) hold towards their mother tongue and their willingness to maintain the language in the future. The study also touches areas such as young speakers of Dhatki as L1 and their interest in learning different languages. The research data was collected through the semi-structured interviews based on multiple sessions. Grounded theory has been used as the approach to execute the study. The data was analyzed and turned into codes and themes. The participants do not think Dhatki has any instrumental value because it is not used in schools and other official domains around the country. Although Dhatki's instrumental value is low, the children hold positive attitudes towards maintenance of their L1. The children do not think that Dhatki should be used in the school as the medium of instruction because it is not used in the rest of the country and it could cause a hindrance in their learning and job seeking. The children have integrative motivation to continue learning and maintaining Dhatki because it is a part of who they are. They want to be able to stay in contact with their family and close ones to share their world experiences. However there are a few children who are not interested in maintaining Dhatki as their L1 and transfer it to the next generation because Dhatki has a low instrumental value. The situation of Dhatki can be improved by introducing it as a subject in the school and organizing programs to celebrate the Dhatki language and culture. To stop language loss due to language shift and language death, it is important to improve a language's instrumental value.