Ethnic Minority Languages Research Articles

Ethnic Minority Bilingual Education and Language Variation

Ethnic minority bilingual education and language variation are both hot issues in ethnic minority language research and social linguistics, which seem no connection in separate field, this paper collects the main skeleton of both research and try to detect the potential connection between ethnic minority bilingual education and language variation.

Discussion on the Early History of the Formation of Beijing Mandarin

Beijing Mandarin is more than a thousand year ago Yan Yan dialect, based on the integration of the Central Plains Han and northern ethnic minority language components gradually formed. Beijing Mandarin before the formal formation of a long period of gestation, revealing the Sui and Tang dynasties before the formation of the Beijing Mandarin area early human history, for the understanding of Beijing Mandarin language situation is very important.

Лингвистический аспект как фактор внешней политики КНР в XXI в.

The analysis of the linguistic aspect of the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China is becoming more relevant today owing to the fact that the impact of soft power factors - methods to achieve the desired result without the use of violence - enhances in foreign policy processes. The foreign policy of China is not an exception. of the main elements of soft power is the language policy. The article is devoted to the linguistic aspect of China's foreign policy in modern conditions as an instrument of soft power. The definition of the concept soft power, the principal components and instruments of soft power in Eastern countries are underlined in the article. New principles and direction of China's diplomacy, pledged at the VIII Congress of the CPC, reflect the fact that soft power is used as one of the main tools of China's foreign policy. In addition, a special place is given to the language policy of the country. It is important to note that the language policy was chosen by the Chinese leadership as one of the priorities of foreign policy directions for a number of reasons, which include an increased interest in China after its reaching economic success and the rapid growth in the number of countries which co-operate with China. Moreover, big demand in specialists in the Chinese language is also significant. The attention is focused on the premises of the active implementation of the language policy of the PRC. An important step for the People's Republic of China was the beginning of the policy of reform and opening under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. In addition, a decisive role played the standardization of the Chinese language and the foundation of the State Office of the People's Republic of China on the spreading of the Chinese language and traditional culture abroad in 1984. The correlation of the new strategy of the Chinese leadership, One Belt - one way and the desire to spread the Chinese language and culture abroad is considered in the article as well. An important place is given to the consideration of the Russian-Chinese cooperation in the area of language, to main projects and activities carried out in this area. The language policy of the People's Republic of China is one of the determining factors of the country's foreign policy in the modern world. This linguistic aspect influences both the domestic and foreign policy of the Chinese leadership. The language policy of the PRC is multidirectional: it includes not only the spread of the Chinese language abroad, but also the desire to preserve the languages of ethnic minorities in the country, protection of cultural and linguistic diversity of China. Today, the international position of the country and its image directly depend on the success of the implementation of China's language policy.

Effectiveness of a tailored medical support to overcome the barriers to education, treatment and good metabolic control in children with type-1 diabetes from ethnic minorities.

Aim:To analyze the effectiveness of a tailored medical support to help children from ethnic minorities to achieve the same good metabolic control of autochthonous peers with type-1 diabetes (T1D).Methods:Children <10 years of age belonging to ethnic minority (EM) families (Group 1) were compared with autochthonous peers (Group 2) who received the diagnosis of T1D in 2014-2016. The Protocol for minorities included other than the standard protocol: booklets translated in ethnic minority languages; weekly visits at home or at school; family-guides; clinic visits supported by professional interpreters. After twelve months of this approach, parents of ethnic minority children answered a short questionnaire concerning satisfaction about educational tools for diabetes management.Results:From 1st January 2014 to December 31st 2016, 72 children received the diagnosis of T1D at the University Children Hospital of Parma, Italy. Nineteen children belonged to an EM family (26.38%), and were included in the Group 1. Twenty-one autochthonous peers were randomly recruited for the Group 2. T1D was diagnosed at the same mean age in Group 1 (5.2±2.2) and in Group 2 patients (5.7±2.4). Metabolic derangements at diagnosis were more severe in Group 1 than in Group 2 patients. However, patients of both Groups showed a similar decrease in HbA1c levels during the first 3 and 6 months post diagnosis. Patients did not differ in mean insulin doses at discharge and at follow up. The calls to the emergency toll-free telephone number were more numerous from the parents from Group 1 than from the parents of Group 2. Total cost to implement the tailored protocol in Group 1 was higher of 87% compared with the standard protocol used for Group 2 patients. Great majority of parents reported to be satisfied with the provided diabetes education program.Conclusions:1The results of this study suggested that children from EM families can achieve the same good metabolic control of autochthonous peers with T1D, providing a cost-effective tailored support to their family members. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Evolution and Development of Chinese Ethnic Minority Bilingual Education Research

Ethnic minority bilingual education research began in 1979. As a key branch, it has been one of the hot issues in the whole ethnic minority language research of China. The main content and hot topics experienced evolution of four different periods, the evolution and development is a good reflection of the whole ethnic minority language research skeleton. This paper describes the evolution process of ethnic minority bilingual education research, illustrates the influencing factors of hot topics in ethnic minority bilingual education research and analyzes the language view reflected by the evolution and development of hot issues based on high frequency key words in research papers.

The impact of urbanization and Han Chinese migration on the endangerment of languages and cultures in China

Through a case study on the Zijun Samatao community of Kunming City in Yunnan Province of China, this paper discusses the impact of urbanization and mass Han Chinese migration on the endangerment of an ethnic minority language and culture. Samatao of Kunming is a subgroup of the minority Yi nationality of China. Historically, Kunming was the original homeland of many Yi communities including the Samatao. With the fast pace of urbanization and increasing Han Chinese migration, the Samatao community is losing their language and has lost their traditional culture and religion. Urbanization has brought mass migration into Zijun village, accelerating the endangerment of the Samatao language. Of nearly three thousand registered Samatao people, fewer than 100 (including semi-speakers) have any level of active knowledge of their language and culture. Since 1994, the endangerment of Samatao language has dramatically increased, especially since 2003. Based on data from fieldwork in the community over more than twenty years, this paper explores how the ideals of the Samatao community about preserving their language and culture are challenged by the contextual reality of urbanization and mass Han Chinese migration.

‘Singing acts’ from the deep North: critical perspectives on northern exotics, contemporary ethnic music and language preservation in Sámi communities

This paper discusses the relationship of northernness and performances of contemporary ethnic popular music, within the context of critical geography and postcolonial theory. The focus is on the Sámi ethnic minorities of northern Finland. The North of Finland, ‘nature-Finland’, is understood here as an imaginative region which over the course of several centuries has been constituted through various forms of stereotyping, mystifying, exoticising and othering of Sámi minorities in accordance with the nationalist endeavours of Southern Finland. While these stereotypes and preconceptions of northernness have delimited northern cultural activity, contemporary ethnic music is conceived here as a strategic tool with which stereotypes of northernness can be contested and the work of the preservation of ethnic heritage put into action. The focus is on the works of Inari Sámi-singing rap musician Amoc, Skolt Sámi-singing heavy rock girl Tiina Sanila and the North Sámi-singing hard rock band SomBy. Their music is approached as ‘singing acts’ that work as tools for the preservation of ethnic culture and minority languages and for the deconstruction of stereotypes directed at northernness. The paper claims that contemporary contexts and genres within which singing in Sámi languages takes place may inspire the audience to ponder and reconsider their own ways of perceiving Sáminess and northernness.

NEW RESEARCH OF NEOGRAPHY: TOPICAL PROBLEMS OF THE ARCHIVAL ORIENTAL STUDIES (by the example of modern source study of the regional history of Kalmykia)

The article highlights the present situation in archaeography, new approaches in the study of the problem, describes the archaeography in southern Russia, shows a model of the main directions in the development of source studies in the modern times. The importance of in-depth study of the phenomenon of history of human memory, in addition to its academic value, has obvious practical significance, by virtue of the fact that namely retrospectively colored intentions have the most powerful impact on realization of the determining social memory not only in modern historiography, but also in future. The modern historiographic situation in science is not stochastic; historians begin to call the social project of science of the modern epoch as the next “world theory” or the “next myth”. The modern stage of the development of cognition is characterized by the process of purifying the object or subject of studies from mythologization of event statements of the history of Motherland and rethinking the history of development of national languages of ethnic minorities in Russia.

NOVUS ORTUS: THE AWAKENING OF LAZ LANGUAGE IN TURKEY

Laz (South Caucasian) language, which is spoken primarily on the southeastern coast of the Black Sea in Turkey, is being threatened by language endangerment. Having no official status, Laz language is considered to be an ethnic minority language in Turkey. All Laz people residing in Turkey are bilingual with the official language in the country, Turkish, and use Laz most frequently in interfamilial conversations. In this article, Laz language is removed from the dusty pages of Turkish history as a response to the threat of language attrition in the world. Accordingly, language endangerment is viewed in terms of a sociolinguistic phenomenon within the boundaries of both language-internal and -external factors. Laz language revitalization acts have also been scrutinized. Having a dekko at the history of modern Turkey will enlighten whether those revitalization acts and/or movements can offer a novus ortus (new birth) for the current situation of Laz language.

The Vitality &amp; Revitalisation of Minority Language: The Case of Dusun in Brunei Darussalam

Language extinction or language death is a sociolinguistic phenomenon that is often discussed among linguists or speakers in general (Aitchison, 2001; Crystal, 2000; Dalby, 2003; Mufwene, 2004; Nelson, 2007; Fishman, 2002; 2007). Due to rapid globalisation, the effect of superstratum and substratum is inevitable (Crystal, 2003), particularly to those languages of ethnic minorities; those in Brunei Darussalam are not the exception (Martin, 1995; Noor Azam, 2005; David, Cavallaro & Coluzzi, 2009; Clynes, 2012; Coluzzi, 2012). These minority languages are inclined to endangerment due to urbanisation, education system, migrations and others, which lead to language shift, and consequently – extinction. Brunei Darussalam is a multilingual country that has diverse population and cultures which generate variations of language and dialect (Nothofer, 1991; Fatimah & Poedjosoedarmo, 1995; Azmi Abdullah, 2001; Jaludin Chuchu, 2005; David, Cavallaro & Coluzzi, 2009). Recognised as one of the seven indigenous in Brunei under the Citizenship Status laws 1961 of the Constitution of Negari Brunei 1959, Dusun ethnic is alleged to have and practice their own code of dialect. In Brunei Darussalam, all dialects and languages spoken by indigenous ethnics are regarded as minority languages, except for the dialect of Brunei Malay. By focusing on Dusun dialect, this paper discusses the current situation of its language use and perceptions among the native speakers. The current study is an extrapolation from recent fieldworks research on the Dusun code-practice by Fatimah Chuchu & Najib Noorashid (2013a; 2013b; 2013c). This paper also reviews the efforts of revitalising the Dusun dialect – facing the globalisation. Result found Dusun dialect is still being practiced as an identity marker among the older generations, but declined in use among younger generations. Nevertheless, these native speakers are still aware of the importance of their mother-tongue. Efforts to revitalise Dusun are constantly executed, and interest towards it has also increased over time. Keywords : Language vitality, language revitalisation, language extinction, ethnic minority, Dusun, Brunei

중국 소수민족 언어의 위상 하락과 주변화의 추이: 법제적 분석을 통해 본 시진핑 시기의 억압적 소수민족 언어정책의 주요 이슈

중국 소수민족 언어의 위상 하락과 주변화의 추이: 법제적 분석을 통해 본 시진핑 시기의 억압적 소수민족 언어정책의 주요 이슈

From Silence to Voice: Empowering Heritage Language Speakers in the 21st Century

This report presents and discusses some salient properties of heritage languages. A heritage language is an ethnic or immigrant minority language which is the weaker of a bilingual speaker's two languages. Heritage speakers feel a cultural or family connection to their heritage language, but their most proficient language is the one that is dominant in their community. In the case of American heritage speakers of Spanish, that language is English.

Статус языков этнических меньшинств в Российской Федерации

“The Status of Ethnic Minority Languages in the Russian Federation”, by Midkhat Khabibovich Farukshin (Kazan Federal University): The position of ethnic minority languages are influenced by two main factors that reduce their functionality: globalization and the social environment in which these languages function. This article focuses on the status of national languages of ethnic minorities living in the Russian Federation.

IN SEARCH FOR GOOD PRACTICES IN MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION: COMPARISON OF MULTILINGUAL UNIVERSITIES’ MODELS

Multilingualism in European higher education is closely connected with issues of quality and attractiveness of tertiary education in many European countries, especially in the countries and regions whose geographical locations and historical backgrounds have greatly shaped their multilingual and multicultural identities. Universities in such regions may be considered as effective examples of how multilingualism can be supported at the higher education level administratively, academically, socially, etc. Multilingualism is viewed broadly – it does not only imply the knowledge of a mother tongue and mastery of the English language but also the knowledge of languages of neighbouring countries and languages of ethnic minorities. Hence, today universities’ concerns are connected with implementing multilingual educational models not limited to bilingual programmes focused on English medium teaching. The aim of this paper is to present the trilingual educational model of Narva College of the University of Tartu in comparison with other European multilingual universities’ models (Switzerland, Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg) and to discuss nowadays tendencies in their development. The Narva College’s model pays special attention to the support of multiculturalism and national identity, to students’ counselling and creating necessary pre-conditions for achieving language mastery at higher levels in three languages, it also values the role of cooperation with the community at all possible levels and in a variety of forms and formats. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7220/2335-2027.4.6

An Article Valued More Than a Book?!? Destruction of the Interpretative Sovereignty of Serbian Society

The article analyzes the consequences of the reductionist application of criteria characteristic to the natural, mainly laboratory sciences, in the evaluation of the results of the work of researchers and institutions in other scientific disciplines, mainly the field of social sciences and humanities in the Republic of Serbia. As an example of this trend, the analysis focuses on the absurd criteria, currently in effect, for the conducting of PhD studies in the field of social sciences and humanities, which exclude the scientific books written by lecturers and only value articles published in journals. After this, the ignorance, misapprehensions, logical fallacies and interests which might be behind these criteria are analyzed. Special attention in the analysis is given to the reduction of global to fundamental. It is concluded that the application of the criteria currently in effect leads to the loss of interpretative sovereignty, which occurs when institutions, authors, referees and editors who are highly competent experts in matters of regional and national issues are sacrificed in favor of foreign owners, institutions, authors, referees and editors that, by and large, possess less competence and expertise in regional and national issues, and have non-scientific interests and loyalties which don’t necessarily coincide with the interests of Serbian citizens. Finally, the consequences of the ongoing ethnocidal renunciation of scientific interpretative sovereignty are considered, especially the relinquishing of interpretations of history, identity and interconnected cultural issues and social problems to nonscientific discourses in Serbian society. Discourses which inevitably fill the empty room left in the public sphere by the ever-faster extinguishing of journals and publications in Serbian and the languages of ethnic minorities.

‘Telling the Brown Stories’: An Examination of Identity in the Ethnic Media of Multigenerational Immigrant Communities

Ethnic media models tend to categorise ethnic news media as alternative, diasporic, community or ethnic minority language media. This paper argues for a different way of looking at Pasifika news media that recognises identity as a dominant force in their construction and practice. Through analysis of the producers' discursive practices and the texts of two major Pasifika media in Aotearoa/New Zealand—Tagata Pasifika and Spasifik—this paper finds that identity work lies at the heart of what Pasifika news media do. Producers deliberately set out to do Pasifika identity and be the Pasifika voice: about and for all Pasifika. Yet, the texts studied here suggest that by emphasising identity, Pasifika news media risk falling back on well-established, often racialised, versions of Pasifika identity that misrepresent the diverse and shifting identities of New Zealand's Pasifika population, especially its New Zealand-born youth. An examination of ethnic minority news media in identity terms, then, can usefully illuminate powerful production forces, including the influence of minority communities and their elites on ethnic minority media.

Language Policy in Azerbaijan toward Sustainable Change

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Union. These years can be characterized as the times of nation building, language building, and reconstruction. During these years Azerbaijan has not only put forth a policy of improvement, but also as a young independent country has taken care of the ethnic minority groups and minority languages within Azerbaijani borders.

The Geology and Tectonic Settings of China's Mineral Deposits.

Franco Pirajno. Pp. 679. 2013. Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-4443-1. Price: €129.95. This is Pirajno’s fourth book, the first three being Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits – Principles and Fundamental Concepts for the Exploration Geologist (1992), Ore Deposits and Mantle Plumes (2000), and Hydrothermal Processes and Mineral Systems (2009). Prior to publication of this book, a similar topic was covered in a massive five-volume set, published in 1990 in China, covering 1,585 pages in more than 25 chapters, suitably authored by an editorial committee. This more modest and manageable hardback text by Pirajno covers a huge topic never before attempted by a single author. The book discusses China’s mineral deposits in eight chapters, including the Introduction, that are rather oddly grouped and “somewhat confusing,” as the author himself admits. The chapters are grouped by hosting tectonic blocks for all types of discussed mineral deposits regardless of deposit age. Although not entirely clear, it appears that the chapters treat older blocks first, and younger basin-hosted deposits later, with a special chapter on Pirajno’s apparently favorite topic, mantle plumes. The book’s introductory chapter covers a variety of topics, including an overview of China’s mining history and the development of the geological sciences. There is also a useful section on Chinese language styles and the confusion that can arise in their subsequent translation. As the author notes, consistent spelling can be a challenge in English versions of Chinese geological literature. However, notably absent from this section is the treatment of the many important unit names with roots in ethnic minority languages such as Kazakh, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Manchu. These have undergone progressively more Mandarin spellings over time. Examples include the Da-Hinggan block, Tarim basin, and Junggar basin. Given the consistent treatment of spelling in this chapter, …

External Cultural Ties and the Politics of Language in China

This paper utilizes the China Language Usage Survey to examine the political and social economic conditions under which language maintenance and shift occur. The empirical analysis of 54 ethnic minority groups in China shows that forces of modernization such as urbanization are positively correlated with the level of linguistic assimilation. Institutional support for ethnic minority language education is also a significant indicator for minority language retention. External forces are, however, even more significant in explaining linguistic assimilation and ethnic language retention. Minority groups that have relationships with external kin in neighboring countries should find it much easier to resist assimilative pressures from the domestic majority and the state than would other groups that do not possess such relationships with external kin groups.

Heritage languages and their speakers: Opportunities and challenges for linguistics

In this paper, we bring to the attention of the linguistic community recent research on heritage languages. Shifting linguistic attention from the model of a monolingual speaker to the model of a multilingual speaker is important for the advancement of our understanding of the language faculty. Native speaker competence is typically the result of normal first language acquisition in an environment where the native language is dominant in various contexts, and learners have extensive and continuous exposure to it and opportunities to use it. Heritage speakers present a different case: they are bilingual speakers of an ethnic or immigrant minority language, whose first language often does not reach native-like attainment in adulthood. We propose a set of connections between heritage language studies and theory construction, underscoring the potential that this population offers for linguistic research. We examine several important grammatical phenomena from the standpoint of their representation in heritage languages, including case, aspect, and other interface phenomena. We discuss how the questions raised by data from heritage speakers could fruitfully shed light on current debates about how language works and how it is acquired under different conditions. We end with a consideration of the potential competing factors that shape a heritage language system in adulthood.