What Could Help Preserve an Endangered Heritage Language? Observing Integration, Identities, and Language Exposure among G1.5 Immigrants

Juhuri (Judeo-Tat) is an endangered minority language spoken by Mountain Jews (MJ), a community of immigrants from the Caucasus now living in Israel and the United States. Over the past century, Juhuri has rarely been used exclusively, existing in the shadow of Russian in the former Soviet Union, or Hebrew and English in Israel and the U.S., respectively. Juhuri has survived as a traditional heritage language to a limited extent, mainly in home and family domains, but has hardly been passed on to younger generations. The current study aims to identify possible predictors of Juhuri proficiency in comprehension and production, focusing specifically on middle-generation MJs who arrived in Israel and the U.S. from late childhood to early adolescence. Questionnaire data were used to assess the relative contribution of several factors to proficiency, including socioeconomic integration, MJ identity, national (Israeli/American) identity, and exposure to both Juhuri and the adjacent heritage (Russian) and societal (Hebrew/English) languages. Findings revealed stronger Juhuri proficiency in Israel than in the U.S. Exposure to Russian had a negative effect on Juhuri proficiency in both countries. While integration in Israel was a negative predictor, national and MJ identities were positive predictors. Results are discussed in light of research on heritage languages, immigration, and identity, as well as the sociocultural differences between the two countries.