Register and genre differentiation is a major sociolinguistic feature not only in monolingual but in multilingual communities. The multilingual area of the Kanal Valley (Kanalska dolina/La Val Canale/Das Kanaltal/La Val Cjanâl) allows one to observe the interacting patterns of language use at the level of different languages and of different registers of a single language. This paper presents the local population’s perception of knowledge of Slovene in the light of its register/genre diversity, as well as attitudes to the actual usage of Slovene. The contribution further discusses the accessibility of Slovene (through the media, cultural and educational centres, personal interaction, etc.) and outlines the current state of the use of Slovene.
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