The Effect of Linguistic Distance and Country of Origin on Immigrant Language Skills: Application to Israel

Abstract

This article is concerned with identifying, for the first time, the separate effects of linguistic distance (language of origin) and country of origin on the destination language proficiency of immigrants. The determinants of Hebrew language proficiency (fluency and literacy) among immigrants in Israel are studied using the 1972 Census of Israel and the Immigration Absorption (panel) Surveys conducted in the 1970s.Country of origin and language of origin matter for proficiency in Hebrew, especially in the longer term. By country of origin, those from North Africa are the least proficient. By language of origin, Arabic speakers are the most proficient, suggesting a small linguistic distance from Hebrew. Immigrants from English-speaking origins are the least proficient in Hebrew.This may reflect a large linguistic distance or, more likely, the unique role of English as the international language, which reduces incentives for investments in Hebrew. Immigrants from dual-language countries of origin are more proficient in Hebrew than those from single language origins.

Host country language ability and expatriate adjustment: the moderating effect of language difficulty

“…Language proficiency, familiarity with cultural differences, values and norms are seen as cornerstones of expatriate adjustment with language itself being a crucial instrument by which expatriates develop their understanding of the new culture (Selmer, 2006). However, although research has consistently demonstrated the importance of language to socio-cultural adjustment (Beenstock et al, 2001), some languages appear to be more difficult to learn than others (Chiswich & Miller, 1998). Accordingly, there could be a link between language ability, language difficulty and socio-cultural adjustment.…”

Thou shalt not pass?

“…It would, however, appear that such ability to acquire a new language is strongly dependent on the individual's language background. This has been suggested by Chiswick and Miller (2005) and Beenstock, Chiswick and Repetto (2001) among others, suggesting the existence of an objectively defined distance between different languages. Although it is difficult to quantify such a distance, languages belonging to a common language family share a common historical origin and are more likely to have vocabularies and grammars that are similar than languages belonging to distant language families.…”

Peer Effects in Language Training for Migrants

“…Existing literature points out that, unsurprisingly, parental education and the migrant's own level of education are strong determinants of language skills among migrants (Dustmann, 1997;Beenstock et al, 2001;Van Tubergen, 2010).…”