Digitally Connected Migrants and Their Investment in Learning a Small Language: The Case of Iceland

Lara Wilhelmine Hoffmann and Markus Meckl
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Lara Wilhelmine Hoffmann: School of Education, University of Iceland, Iceland
Markus Meckl: Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Akureyri, Iceland

Social Inclusion, 2026, vol. 14

Abstract: Migrants today, described by Dana Diminescu as connected migrants, sustain continuous ties across borders. This article examines how transnational digital connectedness relates to migrants’ investment in learning smaller languages. Focusing on Iceland, a small‐language context where English functions widely as a lingua franca, this study integrates digital migration research with sociolinguistic theories of linguistic investment. Using a mixed‐methods design, we combine a descriptive, exploratory analysis of survey data from 2,211 immigrants with 11 in‐depth interviews that investigate migrants’ language‐learning trajectories, inclusion, and transnational ties. Survey results show broad normative support for learning Icelandic alongside high levels of digital connectedness. However, qualitative findings reveal substantial variation in how migrants interpret and enact this expectation. We identify five orientations toward learning Icelandic in the interviews: enthusiastic integration‐oriented migrants, pragmatic learners, frustrated learners, community‐based learners, and globally oriented residents. These orientations can change at different stages of individuals’ language‐learning trajectories, reflecting different balances between global connectedness and local investment in language learning. These orientations demonstrate how digital connectivity can facilitate participation, e.g., by providing access to language‐learning resources, but can also reduce the perceived need to invest in the local language. By linking digital migration studies with sociolinguistic theories of investment, the article advances understanding of how migrants negotiate language learning, belonging, and participation in small‐language societies amid global mobility.

Keywords: digital connectedness; Iceland; linguistic investment; migrants; small languages (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:12024

DOI: 10.17645/si.12024

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