This article examines the impact of subjective affirmation of ethnic group membership on value expression, by analyzing the values of 90 Polish emigrés in Britain (and subsequently in Australia) via the Rokeach Value Survey. It is argued that existing conceptualisations of the relationship between ethnic values and language, such as Bond's model of value accomodation versus ethnic affirmation, cannot adequately account for the intricacies involved in the present data.