Ecological planning towards language revitalization: The Torwali minority language in Pakistan

Abstract

AbstractThis article examines the steady revitalization of an endangered minority community in northern Pakistan to show that how the Torwali community strategically mobilizes limited resources to achieve a sustainable revival of its language and culture. The uniqueness of the planning rests in its holistic, identity‐based integrated approach that seeks to use identity building as a catalyst for language and culture revitalization. Alongside rebuilding the marred identity of the community, social development and empowerment also go hand in hand with the language and culture development process. The Torwali language and culture revitalization offers valuable theoretical and implementational insights as we learn that language revitalization does not work in isolation; rather it requires integrating language development with the identity‐building, educational, and overall human development of the community.