Ethno-linguistic Vitality of Circassian Language in Jerash, Jordan

The present study examines the patterns of language use and the levels of language proficiency adopted by Jordanian Circassians immigrants of Jerash city in Jordan in various domains of the society. The study also attempts to investigate the language choices adopted by Jordanian Circassians immigrants of Jerash city, and to examine Jordanian Circassians¿ perception of their proficiency in both languages; Circassian and Arabic. Finally, the study aims to investigate whether the Jordanian government help Circassians preserve their mother language. The respondents selected for the current study include 100 Jordanian Circassians to take part in questionnaire and interview. The theory upon which the study was grounded is the Ethnolinguistic Vitality theory. SPSS was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the Circassian language among Jordanian Circassians in Jerash city is not maintained where the majority of the respondents reported unsatisfactory proficiency levels in the Circassian language. In addition to that, 67% of the respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with the government¿s efforts in helping Jordanian Circassians in Jerash city maintain their language.