1st Edition

Living Together Apart? Ethnic Concentration in the Neighbourhood and Ethnic Minorities' Social Contacts and Language Practise

By Miranda Vervoort Copyright 2011
    250 Pages
    by Netherlands Institute for Social Research

    In recent years, ethnic residential concentration and negative consequences in ethnic minority neighborhoods have increased. This volume presents scientific knowledge and contributes to the societal debate by studying the effects of ethnic residential concentration on ethnic minoritiesAE social contacts and language practices. The study indicates that ethnic residential concentration is related to less social contact with natives, but more social contact with co-ethnics. As a result, ethnic residential concentration hinders ethnic minoritiesAE majority language proficiency and use. Moreover, ethnic residential concentration is found to constrain the strength of ethnic minoritiesAE social ties with natives, and the rise of ethnic concentration partly explained the stagnation of ethnic minoritiesAE social contacts with natives over time. Implications of these results are discussed. | In recent years, ethnic residential concentration and negative consequences in ethnic minority neighborhoods have increased. This volume presents scientific knowledge and contributes to the societal debate by studying the effects of ethnic residential concentration on ethnic minoritiesAE social contacts and language practices. The study indicates that ethnic residential concentration is related to less social contact with natives, but more social contact with co-ethnics. As a result, ethnic residential concentration hinders ethnic minoritiesAE majority language proficiency and use. Moreover, ethnic residential concentration is found to constrain the strength of ethnic minoritiesAE social ties with natives, and the rise of ethnic concentration partly explained the stagnation of ethnic minoritiesAE social contacts with natives over time. Implications of these results are discussed.

    Biography

    Miranda Vervoort obtained her research master’s degree in educational sciences in 2007 from Radboud University Nijmegen and conducted the present research, employed at the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP) and the department of sociology/ICS of Utrecht University, Netherlands.