Keeping Tabs on Language Shift in New Zealand: Som e Methodological 1 Considerations

Abstract

Research on language maintenance and shift among ethnic minorities in New Zealand is still relatively sparse. Although the need for such research has been repeatedly invoked by those involved in discussions of New Zealand s incipient language policy, there are many communities about whose patterns of language use very little is known. This paper evaluates methods that have been used by New Zealand researchers to collect data on community languages, examines the relationship between theory and methodology, and suggests directions for future research.