O transmisji polskości w Australii

Maintenance of the Polish language and culture abroad, particularly in such remote countries as Australia, is never an easy task. In this paper, I describe the difficulties in adaptation of young generation Polish migrants, linking these problems with the stages of human development (according to Erik H. Erikson’s psychosocial theory). I focus especially on the key role of parents and Polish Saturday Schools, but also family connections and peer relations in the maintenance of the mother tongue. The status of the Polish language in the migrant environment evolves: it becomes a functional second language with, conversely – English taking priority. For bilingualism to be accomplished, both languages need to be of equal fluency. In order to evaluate competency in Polish and English for migrant school children I devised a set of unique procedures, which I briefly discuss. In the paper I also present some data regarding the Polish diaspora in Australia, with particular emphasis on the quantity of Polish Saturday schools