Do the languages migrants use in private and emotional domains define their cultural belonging more than the passport they have?

This study focuses on migrants’ sense of belonging to the heritage and the host culture and adopts an innovative approach to the topic by placing biographical and linguistic factors side by side. Statistical results from 468 migrants, supported by 5 follow-up interviews, revealed that the age of migration, the length of stay and the status in the host country were unrelated to participants’ heritage and host culture acculturation levels. Conversely, migrants’ heritage language (L1) and host language (LX) frequency of use, especially for expressing emotions, as well as their L1/LX reported dominance and emotionality, were linked to their attachment to the heritage and host culture. In other words, the cognitive and emotional embracement of the language contributed to enforcing participants’ sense of belonging to the relevant culture, explaining a variance of 12.2% and 13.5% respectively in their heritage and host acculturation levels. The findings thus highlighted the crucial role of languages in shaping individuals’ cultural identity.