Code-Switching & Language Attitude Among the Druze Community in Israel: The Case of Daliyat El-Karil vs. Majdal Sh'ams

This study focuses on language practices and language attitudes among the Druze community in Israel. It examines the practice of codeswitching (CS) and its correlations with language attitudes among two historically, socially, and politically different communities - Daliyat El-Karmil (DK) in the Carmel mountains and Majdal Sha'ms (M.Sh) in the Golan Heights. This study explores the effect of religious orientation on the communities' use of CS and attitudes toward language. A total number of one hundred and eight males from both communities, ranging in age from 18 to 35, were part of this study. The data were collected using two different research instruments: The participants were asked to watch a short-animated video and tell its story. Later, they were asked to complete a questionnaire examining their linguistic practice and attitudes towards Hebrew and Arabic. The findings of this study indicated that the community in D.K. practices CS more than the community in M.Sh, and that the secular groups codeswitch more than the religious groups in both communities. The results also showed that the secular participants from D.K. have assimilated into Israeli society. This can be attributed to their frequent language contact in Israeli colleges and universities, service in the Israeli military forces or Israeli workplaces. That's why this group has a clear advantage over the other three groups regarding their competence in Hebrew. Article visualizations: