Abstract
In 2014, over 1,200 Frisians (aged 15 – 94 years old) participated in an online survey about language use on social media. As we asked people to participate through social and traditional media, the data are a snowball sample and are not representative. Also the Frisian-speaking adults use Frisian most on WhatsApp: 78% use Frisian often or all the time in private apps. In group messages on WhatsApp the share is a little lower (69%). On Facebook, in status updates 44% of the respondents use often or all the time Frisian, and in chat messages on Facebook the proportion is 62%. On Twitter, Frisian is used the least: one third of the participants use Frisian often or all the time.
For adults, the most important barrier to use Frisian is limited writing proficiency. This is both the outcome of statistical analysis as well as the focus group discussions. In addition, audience and attitude play a role in language choice as well. On WhatsApp, 69% of the respondents indicate that the majority of their contacts (their audience) is Frisian-speaking, on Facebook this is 52% and on Twitter 26%. This affects the extent to which Frisian is used.
In 2015, we also studied the impact of Frisian tweets of famous Frisians. It appears that a Frisian tweet of a Frisian rolemodel motivates people to respond in Frisian. However, the effect is not longlasting. It can thus be compared to the effect of the Frisian Twitter day: an effective though short-term means to increase the use of Frisian on Twitter.
For adults, the most important barrier to use Frisian is limited writing proficiency. This is both the outcome of statistical analysis as well as the focus group discussions. In addition, audience and attitude play a role in language choice as well. On WhatsApp, 69% of the respondents indicate that the majority of their contacts (their audience) is Frisian-speaking, on Facebook this is 52% and on Twitter 26%. This affects the extent to which Frisian is used.
In 2015, we also studied the impact of Frisian tweets of famous Frisians. It appears that a Frisian tweet of a Frisian rolemodel motivates people to respond in Frisian. However, the effect is not longlasting. It can thus be compared to the effect of the Frisian Twitter day: an effective though short-term means to increase the use of Frisian on Twitter.
| Translated title of the contribution | Frisians on social media: Report research language vitality II |
|---|---|
| Original language | Frisian |
| Publisher | Fryske Akademy - Mercator European Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning |
| Number of pages | 40 |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 2015 |
Keywords
- bilingualism
- social media
- language choices
- Fryslân