A Model for Analyzing the Sociolinguistic Integration of the Migrant Population: Foundations, Dimensions, and Instruments

Abstract

The unstoppable growth in migration in today’s world, especially international migration, means we must confront the consequences of these population
movements and, in particular, understand the complex process of integration that takes place between social groups that come into contact. These groups’ languages or linguistic varieties are a key ele-ment in this regard, and therefore the sociolinguistics of migration has particularly focused on understanding the role played by linguistic and
communicative aspects, in the interest of facilitating this process. This article has three objectives: 1) describe the theoretical foundations behind the analysis of situations of language contact caused by migration; 2) analyze the aspects that must be considered when studying sociolinguistic integration; and 3) present instruments that facilitate the comprehensive analysis of these aspects; specifically, the resources employed in the INMIGRA-CM research project are offered: sociolinguistic interviews based on life experiences and bidirectional questionnaires
on attitudes toward immigration and linguistic varieties.