Endangered language maintenance and revitalisation: the role of social networks

Numerous studies have found that high-density, ‘traditional’ social networks correlate with the use of low-status or local language varieties. Why some people maintain an ancestral language and transmit it to their children, while others abandon it, is a major issue in the study of language endangerment. This study focuses on Guernesiais, the endangered indigenous language of Guernsey, Channel Islands. Baseline data were collected using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews; ethnographic methods then shed light on ideologies, attitudes, and the processes of language shift. Availability of interlocutors correlates strongly with fluency, for both native speakers and learners, but the increasing age and linguistic isolation of many native speakers contributes to both individual and societal language loss, along with other factors. Options for supporting (or reconstituting) social networks through language planning are examined

From language documentation to language planning: not necessarily a direct route

In this paper I consider how documentary linguists can provide support for community language planning initiatives, and discuss some issues. These relate partly to the process of language documentation: what and who we choose to document, how we define ‘a language’, and how we deal with language variation and change; and partly to community attitudes and dynamics

Norman languages of the Channel Islands: Current situation, language maintenance and revitalisation

The Channel Islands have been self-governing dependencies of the British Crown since 1204, but their geographical location, indigenous languages and older cultural traditions are much closer to Normandy (north-west France). However, acculturation to English language and customs has accelerated in the last 200 years, and is now pervasive. This paper examines the situation of the indigenous languages of the islands, which are now highly endangered: practically all native speakers are aged over 70. The island varieties of Norman have traditionally had low status, which contributed to their decline, but in recent years there have been attempts to raise their status and to raise awareness of their imminent disappearance; these attempts have borne fruit with a degree of support from the islands’ governments. The paper first describes some of the linguistic features of Channel Island Norman, and then discusses efforts to preserve this aspect of island culture. The outcomes of the various revitalisation measures are also considered

The Sociolinguistic Situation in the Cook Islands

This report stems from a brief visit to Rarotonga in April 2013 facilitated by Roderick Dixon, Director of the University of the South Pacific in the Cook Islands. It addresses the following topics: 1. Language maintenance / shift 2. Languages and dialects 3. Expatriate / diaspora members of the speech community 4. Language policy and language in education 5. Dictionaries of Cook Islands Maori 6. Records of Cook Islands Maori: (a) oral, and (b) written 7. Proposals

Prestige From the Bottom Up: A Review of Language Planning in Guernsey

This paper discusses language planning measures in Guernsey, Channel Islands [as at the time of writing in 2005]. The indigenous language is spoken fluently by only 2% of the population, and is at level 7 on Fishman’s 8-point scale of endangerment. It has no official status and low social prestige, and language planning has little official support or funding. Political autonomy has not increased the language’s status or stopped intergenerational transmission from declining. Most language planning initiatives are very small-scale and are undertaken by pressure groups or individuals, who focus on social prestige at grass-roots level rather than official status. The likelihood of success of current efforts is evaluated

Language ideologies, practices and policies in Kanaky/New Caledonia

From colonisation by France in 1853 until the Accords of 1989 and 1998, the indigenous Kanak people of New Caledonia, and their culture and languages, were marginalised and children were forbidden from speaking their home languages at school. Education still follows the French curriculum, although gradual devolution of powers is under way. Little sociolinguistic research has been carried out in Kanaky/New Caledonia, especially into the processes of language shift and change, language attitudes and ideologies in relation to language policy; the only readily available study is Schooling ( 1990 ), which focuses on the role of social networks in language maintenance. The small-scale study described in this chapter investigates attitudes towards language and language practices in Pweevo, Northern Province, and then goes on to examine the responses of both individuals and government agencies

Purism, Variation, Change and ‘Authenticity’: Ideological Challenges to Language Revitalisation

This paper is based on recent research into the small, highly endangered language Giernesiei 1 (Guernsey, Channel Islands). 2 Language documentation has found unexpectedly rich variation and change in Giernesiei usage, not all of which can be accounted for by regional and age-related factors. At the same time, our research into language ideologies and efforts to maintain and revitalise Giernesiei has revealed deep-seated purist or ‘traditionalist’ language attitudes that resist and deny language change. This nostalgic view of language and culture can hyper-valorise ‘authentic’ traditions (arguably reinvented 3 ) and can lead to reluctance to share Giernesiei effectively with younger generations who might ‘change the language’, despite an overt desire to maintain it. This mismatch between ideologies and practices can be seen at language festivals, in lessons for children, and in the experiences of adult learners who were interviewed as part of a British Academy-funded project. I present a taxonomy of reactions to variation in Giernesiei, which confirms and extends the findings of Jaffe 4 in Corsica. I also discuss recent revitalisation efforts that try to bring together older and ‘new’ speakers and promote the role of adult learners and ‘re-activate’ semi-speakers. The findings support the view that full evaluation of language vitality should include documenting the processes and ideologies of language revitalisation. 5 ,

Language planning and language ideologies in Guernsey

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a small, semi-autonomous archipelago in the English Channel. Although it is a British Crown dependency and part of the British Isles, it has its own parliament and does not belong to the United Kingdom or the European Union. This unusual geopolitical situation means that the nation-state has little relevance. It is only recently that the indigenous former vernacular has been accorded any worth, at either grass-roots or government level: as its vitality declines (increasingly rapidly), its perceived value for individual and collective identification has grown. Although public opinion overtly supports indigenous language maintenance, and increasing its vitality is a stated aim (e.g., a government Language Commission was announced in 2012), effective top-down measures to increase the number and fluency of speakers appear to be low on the agenda. This article explores the implications of this socio-political background for language policy. It discusses language-related activities which reveal a lack of ideological clarification and strategic direction at all levels, compounded by issues of control, epistemic stance and language ownership

“I’m Not Dead Yet”: A Comparative Study of Indigenous Language Revitalization in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

At the outset of the twenty-first century, the survival of many minority and indigenous languages is threatened by globalization and the ubiquity of dominant languages such as English in the worlds of communication and commerce. In a number of cases, these negative trends are being resisted by grassroots activists and governments. Indeed, there are many examples of activists and governments working together in this manner to preserve and revitalize indigenous languages and cultures. Such coordinated efforts are vital to the success of language revitalization. This article compares the work of language activists and governments in three small island jurisdictions in the British Isles: the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. Comparison between these cases is greatly facilitated by similarities in their political, economic and demographic circumstances. The cases, however, reveal important differences in the way that activists and governments have responded to the challenges of language revitalization, as well as some interesting insights on the future prospects of the indigenous languages of these small island jurisdictions

‘Spelling trouble: Ideologies and practices in Giernesiei / Dgernesiais / Guernesiais / Guernésiais / Djernezié…’

The indigenous language of Guernsey is not standardized, and has no official orthography. It is highly endangered, but there is a significant increase in demand for written Giernesiei. Examination of writing practices reveals a wide range of spellings, and inconsistencies between rhetoric and practices. Some speakers and learners, influenced by diglossic notions of ‘correctness’ and prestige, favour French-style spellings for Guernesiais; but most islanders are literate in English only. Language activists may focus on differentiation from dominant or related languages. Learners, meanwhile, may benefit from a systematic, transparent, practical spelling which recognizes the lack of ease of typing accents on English-style keyboards. The resolution of such tensions does not depend on impartial assessment of which orthography is the most efficient, but on community dynamics which may be fluid and not immediately obvious. Given that the future of Dgernesiais rests with learners, it is important to develop an orthography which is useful for learners and teachers, yet acceptable to the remaining native speakers