Reversing Language Shift: Can Kwak\u27Wala be Revived?

This thesis deals with the subject of reversing language shift, which comes under the rubric of language rivival. The particular situation and problems encountered by the endangered Kwak\u27wala language will be described in chapter one. Each community in which the language is spoken will be examined and individual language revival efforts will be discussed. The second chapter will look at different methods and procedures used in various language projects thoughout the world. In particular, it will examine some language projects which are (or were ) in a similar situation to Kwak\u27wala. It will also come to some conclusions regarding what the research shows are essential elements for successful language projects. The third chapter, the core of the thesis, will apply these findings to a proposal for the revival of Kwak\u27wala. The proposal will have two main components--that of the community and that of the educational institutions. The roles of each will be discussed, along with the elements for successful language projects arrived at in the previous chapter. Portions of this proposal were actually implemented in the village of Alert Bay. The last chapter will discuss the reaction of this community to the ideas and implementation of this thesis

A tale of two worlds: A comparative study of language ecologies in Asia and the Americas

Language use patterns of individual speech communities are largely conditioned by the different language ecologies in which they are immersed. We believe this ecological stance helps explain why minority languages of Asia are more likely to be sustainable than those in the Americas. We have identified fourteen traits which characterize ecologies in general, describing how they play out differently in the Americas versus Asia. Each trait is considered to be on a continuum, with opposing values that measure whether conditions are more or less favorable to language maintenance. On one side of the continuum, we discuss the values in the Americas, and explain how these are more favorable to language shift. On the other side of the scale, we talk about the values in Asia, and explain how these are more conducive to language maintenance. To show the application of these traits, the paper also includes two in-depth case studies as prototypical examples from each area, one from the Americas and one from Asia. We conclude with some comments about how these traits can be useful for those engaged in language development work.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

A Tale Of Two Worlds: A Comparative Study Of Language Ecologies In Asia And The Americas

A common notion among those working in endangered language documentation and maintenance, is that most communities speaking small, endangered languages pattern in a similar way. Having spent most of our careers studying minority and endangered languages in the Americas, we the authors, came to share this notion. For example, we believed that preserving the language in the home domain was essential for its survival (Fishman, 1991). Another pattern we saw from the Americas was that literacy could have the effect of speeding up language shift (Fishman, 2002; Luykx, 2011). In 2013, we moved to Borneo and Thailand, respectively, and began studying minority languages there. There were several ways we gained access to information about Asian languages. (1) One of the writers spent almost three years immersed in one minority community, (2) Another writer supervised linguistic theses at a Thai university, (3) We conducted language surveys, and (4) We held sociolinguistic workshops involving several tribes in various places in Asia. Our work in Asia, has brought us to the gradual realization that we are dealing with very different ecologies than those in the Americas. We have identified fourteen traits that characterize ecologies in general, and explain how they are expressed in the Americas versus Asia. They are as follows: (1) Size/prestige gap, (2) Literacy rate, (3) Literacy transference: L2 to L1, (4) Literacy domain, (5) Literacy/shift connection, (6) Elders’ criticism/shift connection, (7) Language/culture connection, (8) L2 in home/shift connection, (9) Multilingualism/shift connection, (10) Target of shift, (11) National identity, (12) Diglossia, (13) Genetic relationship L1/L2, and (14) Colonial history. Interestingly, the effects of these factors play out very differently. In the Americas, they tend to contribute to language shift. In Asia, they set the stage for language maintenance. We discuss linguistic values in the Americas, and explain how these are more favorable to language shift. Then we talk about values in Asia, and show how these are more conducive to language maintenance. In our paper we apply these fourteen traits to two groups, the Mamainde from Brazil and Sebuyau from Malaysia. These languages represent somewhat prototypical examples from each area. They also respond in opposite ways to the fourteen traits discussed in the paper. We conclude with some comments about how these traits can be useful for those engaged in language development work. References Fishman, J. A., 1991, Reversing language shift, Clevedon, UK, Multilingual Matters Ltd. Fishman, J. A. 2002. Personal communication, 6 October 2002. Luykx, Aurolyn. 2011. “Paradoxes of Quechua Language Revitalization in Bolivia: Back and Forth along the Success-Failure Continuum.” In Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity. v. 2, The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts, edited by Joshua Fishma