Heritage language revitalisation and music

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this introduction to the special issue ‘Heritage Language Revitalisation and Music', we consider how viewing the complex challenge of language precarity through the lens of music and music-making – and related modes of expression culture – reveals new solutions to language shift and loss. This volume's focus on language revitalization with and through music offers an innovative perspective in its emphasis on music as the primary point of encounter with languages. As such, it offers a previously unrecognized and undervalued means of supporting heritage languages – minority languages to which learners typically have exposure through community and family. After briefly defining ‘heritage languages' and ‘language revitalization,’ we review the literature that explores the intersections between music and language revitalization, focusing on its value to status planning, corpus planning, and language acquisition and use. We finish by summarizing the key contributions of the six articles comprising this special issue.