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1. Language Endangerment and the Violent Ethnic Conflict Link in Middle Belt Nigeria (EJ866848)
Author(s):
Ioratim-Uba, Godwin Aondona
Source:
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v30 n5 p437-452 Sep 2009
Pub Date:
2009-09-00
Pub Type(s):
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Peer-Reviewed:
Yes
Descriptors: Afro Asiatic Languages; Language Maintenance; Language Dominance; Ethnic Groups; Conflict; Multilingualism; Foreign Countries; Violence; African Languages; Language Skill Attrition; Minority Groups
Abstract: This paper highlights the fact that language endangerment in some multilingual developing societies is causal to the violent ethnic conflicts in those societies. Endangered language identity groups shift to the dominant language groups. But, over time, a concatenation of factors and nuanced realisation of perceived marginalisation (showing overtly at the political, economic, social and religious realms) leads to attrition in the wake of the endangered groups' clamour for fair treatment. The cases of Benue, Plateau and Taraba States in Middle Belt Nigeria (involving the Tiv, Jukun, Etulo, Kuteb, Berom, Afizere, Anaguta, Taroh, and Hausa ethnic groups) reveal this fact. Highly significant calculated "t"-test values at an alpha level of less than 0.05 are found, for example, to show the disintegration of bilingual behaviour between Tiv/Jukun and Tiv/Etulo during the period of the violent ethnic clashes among them. Language endangerment/shift reversal is complex. It can create conflicts but at the same time help to restore confidence and mitigate the fear of domination felt by ethnic minorities. Linguists and small/dominated language communities can work assiduously towards the latter. Conflict management experts will also do well to pay a great deal of attention to language as a conflict agent. (Contains 8 tables and 5 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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2. Language Choice in Multilingual Peer Groups: Insights from an Australian High School (EJ866847)
Willoughby, Louisa
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v30 n5 p421-435 Sep 2009
Descriptors: Language Maintenance; Immigrants; Multilingualism; Peer Relationship; Foreign Countries; Language Usage; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Case Studies; Language Acquisition; Chinese; Afro Asiatic Languages; Educational Environment; High School Students
Abstract: Despite Australia's strong tradition of research on language maintenance and shift, little is known about the ways in which migrant background students continue to use their heritage languages in Australian schools. This paper presents an in-depth case study of students' linguistic practices at a multiethnic Melbourne high school, where over 95% of students speak a language other than English (LOTE) at home. Although virtually all students are bilingual, it shows that peer group divide sharply on linguistic lines, with recent arrivals from China and Sudan the only students to consistently speak their first languages with friends at school. More established students use English as their lingua franca with friends, but continue to deploy their LOTEs for a variety of purposes, including gossiping, crossing and communicating with recent migrants. The paper argues that while established students make only incidental use of their LOTEs at school, LOTE use performs important social functions for these students that could not be substituted by using English alone. Local conditions at the school clearly shape the meanings ascribed to LOTE use; and the paper thus argues that detailed analysis of students' linguistic practices can be a valuable tool for examining interethnic relations in multiethnic schools. (Contains 1 table and 4 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
3. Circassian Language Maintenance in Jordan (EJ866839)
Rannut, Ulle
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v30 n4 p297-310 Jul 2009
2009-07-00
Descriptors: Language Maintenance; Language Planning; Uncommonly Taught Languages; Foreign Countries; Classification; Interviews; Video Technology; Surveys; Social Status; Computational Linguistics; Language Acquisition; Civil Rights; Sociolinguistics
Abstract: The central goal of this research is to explore the language policy aspects in Jordan by focusing on the Circassian language maintenance issues and to provide measures for language revitalisation in the current demographic, linguistic and political situation. Research is based on multiple sources of information, but primarily on the empirical data collected through 14 videotaped interviews conducted with prominent researchers and professors and teachers of Circassian, through observations and a survey covering 485 respondents, including 323 pupils from the age of 10 up to 16, and 162 parents. The Circassian language status and maintenance are analysed as a continuum of language functions and domains in a society. Classification is based on the traditional distribution of language policy dimensions, where language status, corpus and acquisition aspects, as well as UNESCO's nine language vitality factors and linguistic rights are considered. Different factors influencing language maintenance are useful for characterising a language's overall sociolinguistic situation. So far there has been neither expert evaluation of the Circassian language situation based on international legal documents, nor has there been research which would provide basis for requesting governmental support and plan further steps for language revitalisation. (Contains 3 figures and 1 note.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
4. Choosing a School in a "Double-Minority" Context: Language, Migration and Ideologies in French Ontario (EJ866845)
Forlot, Gilles
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, v30 n5 p391-403 Sep 2009
Descriptors: Educational Philosophy; Ideology; Foreign Countries; Migration; Immigrants; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; School Choice; Ethnography; Parent Attitudes; Language Minorities; French; Native Speakers; Language Maintenance; Acculturation
Abstract: Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in Toronto, Ontario, this article examines the schooling behaviour of parents who have migrated from France to Canada. The population under study, engaged in a "northern" kind of migration, generally benefits from an education acquired in the pre-migration period and from the legitimacy of possessing an international language. On the other hand, these immigrants from France are faced with a reversed status within their host society: while they used to belong to the majority in their country of origin, they have become a minority in English Canada, as well as a minority within the Francophone minority of the province. The central argument of this article is that for immigrant families, language acquisition and maintenance, educational philosophy and renewed identifications are key to the decisionmaking process of choosing a school. This is particularly true in the context of a diverse "educational market" (such as this urban Canadian one) which offers programmes ranging from an ethno-centred kind of education to a non-ethnic, student-centred, multicultural approach of learning. The study reveals that educational choices contribute to immigrants' adaptation processes, and that opting for a school may both reflect ideology and identity choices and participate in their reproduction. (Contains 2 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
5. Sign Language Planning: Pragmatism, Pessimism and Principles (EJ864607)
Turner, Graham H.
Current Issues in Language Planning, v10 n3 p243-254 Aug 2009
2009-08-00
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Language Planning; Sign Language; Applied Linguistics; Sociolinguistics; Educational Legislation; Power Structure; Deafness; Language Maintenance
Abstract: This article introduces the present collection of sign language planning studies. Contextualising the analyses against the backdrop of core issues in the theory of language planning and the evolution of applied sign linguistics, it is argued that--while the sociolinguistic circumstances of signed languages worldwide can, in many respects, be treated analogously to those of other minority languages--there are unique features to the socio-political landscape facing signing communities and sign language planners. With reference to topics addressed in this collection (language teaching, codification, education and legislation), the distribution of power emerges as a constant theme, inevitably centred upon the relationship between Deaf people and others. While immense changes in sign language prospects have evidently taken place worldwide over the last half-century, it can be seen that the power balance remains precarious and that major forces continue to align to ensure that sign language planning remains at best an uphill struggle. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
6. Language Maintenance or Shift? Attitudes of Bakalanga Youth towards Their Mother Tongue (EJ862598)
Letsholo, Rose
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v12 n5 p581-595 Sep 2009
Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Descriptors: Language Maintenance; Language Attitudes; Foreign Countries; Native Speakers; African Languages; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Language Usage; Language Acquisition
Abstract: This article reports the findings of a study whose objective was to investigate whether there was a likelihood of a language shift (or loss) from Ikalanga (a minority language spoken in Botswana) to either Setswana or English. The focus of the investigation was 17-25 year olds. The findings indicate that although Ikalanga (unlike indigenous languages like Khoe and Shekgalagadi) is not under imminent threat of loss, there are, nevertheless, clear indications of a gradual shift to Setswana. This conclusion was reached based on informants' language use patterns and their attitudes towards using their mother tongue, particularly around people with a different mother tongue from them. The results show that informants use Setswana frequently, even in domains where they could use their mother tongue, e.g. when speaking to peers from the same mother tongue. In addition, the responses to a question which required them to indicate which language(s) they would use with their children show that the subjects embrace linguistic diversity (a large majority indicated they would teach their children Ikalanga, Setswana and English), showing no clear conviction to Ikalanga. Some of the subjects also expressed negative feelings towards using their mother tongue around non-native speakers of the language. (Contains 3 notes, 5 tables, and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
7. What Do I Lose if I Lose My Bilingual School? Students' and Teachers' Perceptions of the Value of a Slovene Language Maintenance Program in Italy (EJ862592)
Paciotto, Carla
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v12 n4 p449-475 Jul 2009
Descriptors: Educational Strategies; Language Minorities; Language Maintenance; Bilingual Schools; Language Attitudes; Language of Instruction; Bilingual Education; Public Schools; Slavic Languages; Educational Benefits; Role; Native Language Instruction; Academic Achievement; Student Attitudes; High Schools
Abstract: The Italian-Slovenian border represents a dynamic vantage point from which to observe how cultural and linguistic contact takes place and how minority groups have created educational strategies to preserve their cultural and linguistic diversity while striving for respectful coexistence with the dominant society. Slovene-medium schools have been in existence since the 1800s, and, since 1961, they were recognized as K-13 Italian public schools devoted to the promotion of the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Slovene national minority and have successfully educated generations of ethnic Slovenes in both their mother tongue and the national language. This study unveils teachers' and students' language attitudes and ideologies that have permitted the language minority-based schools to persist and function as a viable alternative to the national mainstream schools. Framed by this sociolinguistic background, the study seeks to contribute to the debate on the benefits of bilingual education by examining teachers' and students' beliefs related to the role of mother-tongue education for (a) academic achievement in the minority and dominant language; and (b) minority language maintenance. These questions were explored in a Slovene-medium high school in Gorizia, Italy, in an attempt to contribute to the understanding of secondary language minority education as a context that is increasingly becoming a central focus of research, yet still merits much greater attention (Faltis and Wolfe 1999). (Contains 4 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
8. Out of the Communist Frying Pan and into the EU Fire? Exploring the Case of Kashubian (EJ861988)
Nestor, Niamh; Hickey, Tina
Language, Culture and Curriculum, v22 n2 p95-119 Jul 2009
Descriptors: Language Minorities; Economic Status; Foreign Countries; Slavic Languages; Social Systems; Social Change; Language Maintenance; Role; Catholics; Religious Factors; Public Officials; Second Languages; Language Attitudes
Abstract: A language currently at the nexus of change is Kashubian (in Polish: "kaszubski"), a West Slavic language spoken in northern Poland in the province of Pomerania. Termed a "regional language" by the Polish government in preparation for the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (signed in 2003 and ratified in 2008), it presents interesting parallels with other minority languages at different phases, in terms of its weak economic status and a history of repression. The impact of Poland's accession to the EU in 2004 and the Polish government's recent revitalisation initiatives will be explored. The views of three prominent Kashubian activists are considered as they reflect on the past, present and future of Kashubian. Issues considered include the changing status of Kashubian and the impact of such change on identity, the role of Catholicism in supporting Kashubian and the need for development in the spheres of literature and education. Of particular interest is a consideration of the effect on the language's visibility and status as a result of having a Kashub, Donald Tusk, become Prime Minister in October 2007, following decades of neglect and denial of Kashubian's status as a language under Communism, and he is one of those interviewed here. (Contains 4 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
9. Language Attitudes and Heritage Language Maintenance among Chinese Immigrant Families in the USA (EJ861986)
Zhang, Donghui; Slaughter-Defoe, Diana T.
Language, Culture and Curriculum, v22 n2 p77-93 Jul 2009
Descriptors: Language Maintenance; Language Attitudes; Mandarin Chinese; Immigrants; Chinese Americans; Qualitative Research; Heritage Education; Parent Child Relationship; Ethnography; Parent Attitudes; Second Language Learning; Native Language Instruction; Language Minorities
Abstract: This qualitative study investigates attitudes toward heritage language (HL) maintenance among Chinese immigrant parents and their second-generation children. Specific attention is given to exploring (1) what attitudes are held by the Chinese parents and children toward Chinese language maintenance in the USA, (2) what efforts are engaged in by the Chinese parents in promoting children's HL maintenance, and how do the second-generation children respond to these efforts? Data for this paper are drawn from participant observations in two Chinese local communities in Philadelphia and ethnographic interviews with 18 Chinese immigrant families in the communities. Analysis of the data indicates that while the Chinese parents value their HL as a resource and take positive actions to maintain the HL in the next generation, the children fail to see the relevance of HL learning in their life and often resist parents' efforts in HL maintenance. The results of the study suggest that American mainstream schools should work together with immigrant parents and HL schools to incorporate children's HL in the official school curriculum and create a supportive environment for HL learning. (Contains 2 notes and 3 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
10. Speaking Spanish like a Boy Scout: Language Socialization, Resistance, and Reproduction in a Heritage Language Scout Troop (EJ859757)
Guardado, Martin
Canadian Modern Language Review, v66 n1 p101-129 Sep 2009
Descriptors: Speech Communication; Ideology; Socialization; Criticism; Discourse Analysis; Language Maintenance; Spanish Speaking; Heritage Education; Foreign Countries; Language Usage; Language Patterns; Ethnicity; Second Language Learning; Native Language Instruction; Values; Family (Sociological Unit); Extracurricular Activities
Abstract: This article offers a critical analysis of the language socialization of Spanish-speaking families in a Scout group in Metro Vancouver. Using tools of discourse analysis, the article examines the language use patterns of the participants, particularly focusing on the language ideologies to which they oriented themselves and the identities indexed by their linguistic actions. A key finding is that language ideologies and practices can unwittingly reproduce the very dominant ideologies they are designed to challenge. The concept of agency is addressed in terms of the families' appropriation of the values of the Scout Movement in order to assert their identities and in relation to their children's active roles in the process of socialization. Finally, the author problematizes the role of identity in heritage language (HL) development, calls attention to the need for language maintenance theory to acknowledge the complexities entailed for individuals, and draws attention to the existence of complex and potentially contradictory processes of socialization. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
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