Gender-based differences in attitudes towards standard Serbian language.

Abstract

This study examines differences between male and female attitudes towards standard Serbian language. The participants in this study were 240 students of the University of Belgrade and the University of Priština with temporary head office in Kosovska Mitrovica. As gender differences in language attitudes are widely explored, for gender may be considered to be one of traditional variables in sociolinguistic research, we wished to find out if there is a significant difference in students’ language attitudes towards Standard Serbian language depending on their gender in Republic of Serbia. Our method for this quantitative case study research is survey, and as instruments we used the questionnaire specifically made for the requirements of this research. We examined ten claims about the Standard Serbian language our participants had to evaluate on the 5-point Likert-type scale (from “I strongly disagree” to “I strongly agree”), and three claims focused on dialects. Many results we received in this case study are similar to familiar research from this area – our research indicated that there is the existence of a prevalent difference in attitudes based on gender as our female participants demonstrated a stronger level of inclination to the Standard Serbian language and seem to be more influenced by the ideology of standard language.