Language Maintenance and Shift

‘Don’t Talk About It’: Navajo poets and their ordeals of language

by Anthony Webster

to appear in Journal of Anthropological Research

This article follows the theme of from self-suppression to expressive genres as a way to investigate Navajo poets’... more This article follows the theme of from self-suppression to expressive genres as a way to investigate Navajo poets’ ordeals with languages. If ordeals of languages arise from languages as objects of scrutiny, then intimate grammars can be seen as the use of expressive genres in the face of such ordeals of language. I look first at the ways that Navajo is an object of scrutiny and how as an object of scrutiny Navajos have self-suppressed speaking Navajo. I then turn to the practice of Navajos of feigning monolingualism in Navajo to avoid interacting with “outsiders” and to remove their uses of non-mainstream Navajo English from external scrutiny. I then turn to the ways Navajo poets continue to use Navajo English in their poetry and to the ways that Navajo poets now write about social, environmental and political issues on the Navajo Nation. Here they resist a Navajo injunction doo ajinída ‘don’t talk about it’, which is meant to discourage critique that can be overheard by outsiders. I conclude by arguing that we can only understand Navajo poetry within the context of both emergent ordeals of languages and in the expressive satisfaction of intimate grammars.

Language Maintenance and Language Shift - a Contrarian Viewpoint

by Thorold (Thor) May

This short informal paper stems from reflection on an address by Ken Hale, doyen of minority languages (and now sadly... more This short informal paper stems from reflection on an address by Ken Hale, doyen of minority languages (and now sadly deceased). It looks at the role of linguists themselves in the dynamic of language maintenance and the twin phenomena of language loss and language birth. The uniqueness of each language is weighed against the costs and benefits of language homogenization. It is recognized that the majority of speakers are ultimately pragmatists about language choice, yet an argument remains for offering some minority language support to groups struggling with their ethnic identity. Finally, it is asked whether language maintenance or revival can actually pose other risks under certain conditions.

Linguistic Duopoly: A Case of Mewati

by Prerna Bakshi

Considerable attention has been drawn recently towards the plight of immigrant languages or minority languages. Much... more Considerable attention has been drawn recently towards the plight of immigrant languages or minority languages. Much is being done to maintain these languages and to bring the issues surrounding them to the public eye. However, not much has been done on linguistic varieties labelled as 'dialects'. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the issues surrounding a language variety called Mewati.

This paper examines the status of Mewati in relation to the other dominant languages of Hindi and Urdu and attempts to explain how social institutions like local state run schools and madrasas contribute towards language shift. Additionally, the study explores the relationship between language, religion and identity and the politics thereof. It is recommended that school curriculums must make a room for Mewati if its maintenance is to be ensured. 

Why are the Native Languages of the Chinese Malaysians in Decline?

by Tze Wei Sim

published in 'Journal of Taiwanese Vernacular' Vol.4, No. 1, 2012

The vast majority of Chinese Malaysians have originated from south China with their native languages, Hokkien, Hakka,... more The vast majority of Chinese Malaysians have originated from south China with their native languages, Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hokchew and Hainanese. Most of these native languages are weakening due to lack of intergenerational transmission. Languages spoken in the families are largely shifting to Mandarin and English. This paper has investigated the reasons why the community is shifting away from their native languages. Language attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies held by the majority of Chinese Malaysians have been collected and they are presented together with the historical development of Chinese languages. The origins of the factors, which put their native languages into disadvantageous positions, are discussed. This paper also explores the possibilities of running language revitalization programmes in the community.

Modelos matemáticos e substitución lingüística

by Johannes Kabatek

submitted to Estudos de Lingüística Galega

Nos últimos anos publicouse toda unha serie de traballos que presentan modelos matemáticos para calcular procesos de... more Nos últimos anos publicouse toda unha serie de traballos que presentan modelos matemáticos para calcular procesos de aplazamento lingüístico. Neste traballo, preséntanse catro modelos matemáticos que empregan varios factores e parámetros: o modelo de Abrams/Strogatz que parte de dous grupos supostamente monolingües, o modelo de Mira e Paredes e o de Minett e Wang, que traballan con comunidades con tres grupos (dous monolingües e un bilingüe) e o modelo de Castelló et al. que traballa, ademais do parámetro do prestixio presente en tódolos modelos, coa cuestión da lealdade lingüística. Fronte á utopía de que estes modelos poden aprendernos máis do que sabíamos sobre os procesos que se desenvolven en situacións de contacto, este traballo presenta unha visión crítica na que se descobren problemas de datos e de argumentación presentes nos diferentes estudos e se avisa de que os modelos non son de por si máis obxectivos só por traballaren con cifras e cálculos. Sen embargo, o artigo non termina só con escepticismo senón postulando una verdadeira colaboración continua entre modeladores e lingüistas para acadar unha mellor comprensión dos procesos dinámicos no contacto de linguas.

Berber language ideologies, maintenance, and contraction: Gendered variation in the indigenous margins of Morocco

by Katherine E. Hoffman

Заимствованные слова в долганском языке:(Обзор проблем)

by Marek Stachowski

Eugen Helimskis Materialien zur Erforschung der ältesten slawisch-ungarischen Sprachkontakte

by Marek Stachowski

Zametka po povodu arabskich i persidskich zaimstvovanij v dolganskom jazyke i putej ich proniknovenija na sever

by Marek Stachowski

An example of Nganasan-Dolgan linguistic contact

by Marek Stachowski

For the continuation see: On the Article-like Use of the Px2Sg in Dolgan, Nganasan and Some Other Languages in an Areal Siberian Context.

K voprosu o vremeni vozniknovenija dolganskogo jazyka

by Marek Stachowski

Siberian languages in contact, 2: The nonal counting system in Siberia and Russian devjanosto ‘90’

by Marek Stachowski

Sad od naši deca mi se radujemo da kolko maternjeg jezika skupu i nauču: čipska ovorna zajednica i proces zamene jezika [We are Happy if our Children Learnt a Bit of Their Mother Tongue: The Szigetcsép Speech Community and Language Shift].

by Marija Ilic

Published in: Etnografija Srba u Mađarskoj 6 [Ethnography of the Serbs in Hungary]. 2011. Budapest , 98–120. /in Serbian/

We are happy when our children learn a bit of mother tongue:
Szigetcsép speech community and language shiftmore We are happy when our children learn a bit of mother tongue:
Szigetcsép speech community and language shift

In the paper, the sociolinguistic situation of the oldest Serbian generation in Szigetcsép was analysed, based on the fieldwork in 2001 and 2008. Firstly, the community history and its social network were presented. Subsequent to this, the anthropolinguistic fieldwork in Szigetcsép, its methods and results were explained. Finally, the speech community of Szigetcsép Serbs, its language repertoire, Serbian local variety, language use and practice of language shift were described. The paper is accompanied with the transcripts of interviews with the interlocutors, in which they reflect on their language use.

Über das Alter der dolganischen Sprache

by Marek Stachowski

REVIEW of Emily McEwan-Fujita (2010) "Ideology, affect, and socialization in language shift and revitalization: The experiences of adults learning Gaelic in the Western Isles of Scotland". Language in Society, 39: pp. 27-64.

by Duygu (ÇURUM) DUMAN

Unpublished critical review by me of Emily McEwan-Fujita's sociolinguistics-oriented article focusing on Scottish Gaelic with respect to ideology, affect, and socialization.

A sociolinguistic survey report of the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo speech varieties of western Ethiopia

by Linda Jordan

Co-authored with Hussein Mohammed and Angela Davis.  Published online as part of SIL's Electronic Survey Reports (SILESR) series. 

This survey was conducted to investigate the need for development projects in the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo speech... more This survey was conducted to investigate the need for development projects in the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo speech varieties of western Ethiopia. A team of four surveyors conducted two trips to the area in December 2003 and January 2004. They used questionnaires, gathered wordlists, and conducted both Oromo proficiency testing and intelligibility testing.

If language development was started in the area covered by this survey, current findings indicate project needs in the Northern Mao, Kwama, and Komo speech varieties. Although Oromo is the most important language of wider communication (LWC) in the area, the majority of people belonging to these ethnic groups have only limited proficiency in Oromo. The results of this survey confirmed the existence of a separate Komo speech variety; however, they show that development in Kwama could also benefit the Komo people. Future development in Northern Mao could benefit the Mao speakers of both the Bambassi area and the Didessa Valley.

A sociolinguistic survey report of the Zay people in Ethiopia

by Linda Jordan

Co-authored with Jillian Netzley and Hussein Mohammed. Published online as part of SIL's Electronic Survey Reports (SILESR) series.

The optimal language for literature and educational materials is not the same for all Zay areas. The data gathered... more The optimal language for literature and educational materials is not the same for all Zay areas. The data gathered during the current study points to Zay as optimal for the islands on Lake Ziway and Oromo as optimal for the lakeshores. However, the Zay people living on the islands would probably be well served by Amharic literature and educational materials until most of them immigrate to the shore or the Oromo educational system causes a shift in preference to Oromo. Zay’s case is one of an endangered language that could prove to be a development success story, but only if the level of motivation for a language development project is high enough to initiate and sustain the effort.

Linguistic Diversity in Melbourne's South-East

by Louisa Willoughby

" You Have to Speak it at Least": Language and Identity Maintenance Among Australian Migrant Teenagers

by Louisa Willoughby

Deafness as a factor in language maintenance decisions – a case study approach

by Louisa Willoughby

In Making a difference: Challenges for applied linguistics. Hong-Lin Chen and Ken Cruickshank (eds). Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Press, pp 316-27, 2009