Dr Nikoloudis Stavroula & Professor Walker James

Greek(s) across the Generations: Evidence from Online and Face-to-face Encounters

Abstract

An ongoing research project is investigating the changing use of the Greek language and views about identity in Melbourne by obtaining different kinds of evidence. An online survey (2020-2021) was followed up with face-to-face recorded interviews conducted by students of La Trobe University’s Greek Studies program (2022-2024). The long-term goals are to analyse the spoken Greek in these interviews and compare them to earlier recordings, and to document social, historical and cultural information in the interviews.

We divide participants by generation, defining the first generation (G1) as those who arrived in Australia as adults (age 18 or older), the second generation (G2) as those born in Australia to G1 parents (or who arrived before the age of five) and the third generation (G3) as those born in Australia to G2 parents. The online survey garnered 251 participants ranging in age from 18 to 82. As of April 2026, we have conducted 33 face-to-face interviews with participants ranging in age from 18 to 76. The interviews consist of the same questions asked in the online survey but provide opportunities for elaboration on responses.

This presentation provides a comparison between the survey and the interviews, focused on: (i) identity and ‘Greekness’ in Melbourne; (ii) attitudes towards Greek language and culture; and (iii) perceptions of discrimination. Interestingly, responses in the survey and the interviews show parallel patterns in the first two areas: ‘hybrid’ identities are more common in G2/ G3 and positive attitudes to Greek language and culture are maintained across generations. However, the perception in the survey that discrimination against Greeks persists even in G3 is not borne out in the interviews, where such perceptions decrease across generations. As the main benefit of the interviews is the opportunity to elaborate on responses, we illustrate our findings with relevant excerpts in both English and Greek.

Biography

Dr Stavroula Nikoloudis is coordinator of the Greek Studies program at La Trobe University. She completed her BA (Hons) and MA at The University of Melbourne and her doctorate at The University of Texas at Austin. She teaches and researches Greek language and society from Mycenaean to modern times. She is especially interested in questions of ethnic identity and cultural diversity, migration, language development and language education. She is a member of Pharos, a community-wide alliance aimed at revitalising Modern Greek in Victoria and Australia.

Dr James A. Walker is Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He was previously Professor of Linguistics at York University (Toronto) and La Trobe University. He completed a BA (Hons) in Linguistics and MA in Anthropology at the University of Toronto and an MA and PhD in Linguistics at the University of Ottawa. He is an internationally recognised expert in the study of sociolinguistic variation and change, with interests in language contact, migration, ethnicity and social identity.