Toward a new conceptualisation of language revitalisation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper outlines a new model of language revitalisation that understands language to be a characteristic of a nexus of social activities rather than an independent object. Language use is one of an overall set of factors contributing to the wellbeing of a particular community. Our model treats language as one node (or a cluster of nodes) in a complex system of interacting behaviours. Changes to another node or in the language node(s) itself can impact overall social wellbeing, something often ignored by linguists (but not by other social scientists working in Indigenous communities). Disruption to an existing network occurs within a time frame; the longer the disruption, the more likely that the network redefines the group. Variables that define the language ecology operate on multiple levels. For the group and for individuals within the group, there can be considerable variation in usage and proficiency over time. Sustainability cannot be reduced to simple cause-and-effect relationships between sociocultural variables. The next phase of language revitalisation projects should be built around the concept of language activity as part of promoting community wellbeing. The use of complex networks that have been applied to human wellbeing in other contexts support our argument.