Language Revitalization Movements Research Articles

Why language revitalization fails: Revivalist vs. traditional ontologies of language in Provence

Abstract This article asks why the Occitan language revitalization movement, which began in the 1850s, failed to convince the vast majority of Occitan speakers. Traditional explanations focus on social conflict, alienation, and diglossic ideologies. While essential elements, they may not provide a full account. Challenging the idea that patois is just a derogatory term pinned on what is in fact a language, this article proposes to take seriously the claim by traditional speakers that a patois is not a language. Drawing on fieldwork in Provence and historical data, I propose that the divergence is fundamentally ontological, revealing sharp differences that suggest that patois and language are indeed two separate things. The language movement's reduction of the patois/language issue to one of labels helps explain why traditional speakers and language advocates have been talking past each other for 150 years, raising practical questions for language movements worldwide. (Patois, occitan, ontologies of language, language revitalization, linguistic natures)*

Language revitalization through a social movement lens: grassroots Galician language activism

AbstractIn this article, a social movement lens is applied to examine the dynamics of an urbanbased language revitalization movement in the Autonomous Community of Galicia (North-western Spain). The potential of Resource Management Theory is explored as a way of systematically analysing the dynamics of urban-based language revitalization movements. It does this by identifying factors which both helped fuel the emergence and growth of this Galician grassroots movement as well as those constraining its potential development. Drawing on in-depth interviews and observations collected over six months of ethnographic fieldwork in one of Galicia’s main cities, social movement theory is used to analyse the role of Galician social movement activists as social agents in shaping the success of their language revitalization initiative. We argue that a social movement lens provides a useful analytical toolkit to focus on the grassroots efforts of social agents involved in peripheral ethnolinguistic mobilization in minority language contexts such as Galicia. Ultimately, we aim to show that these social movement revitalization initiatives go beyond language as an object and are centred around language-based struggles which not only address strategy dilemmas but also scaffold social relations and ties among speakers as they mobilize within particular institutional fields.

Forty Narratives in the Wyandot Language

Many people have heard of the concept of dead languages often assuming that precontact Indigenous languages have been lost or forgotten in the wake of colonization and colonialism. However, as John L. Steckley demonstrates in Forty Narratives in the Wyandot Language, these languages are not dead but, rather, are asleep and waiting to be found in the sources of the past. Alongside other modern Wyandot language revitalization movements, he helps wake up the Wyandot language by compiling an extensive collection of forty narratives that help explain Wyandot history, stories, values, and ideals from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Indeed, as Steckley states, “the Wyandot language is a teacher” providing ways to understand Wyandot perspectives of the past surrounding relationships, social organization, and spiritual beliefs (8).Steckley’s work uses Western-created source materials such as missionary dictionaries and anthropological studies by scholars like Pierre Potier and Marius Barbeau, who both lived among Wyandot communities during the dispersal. Barbeau himself, for instance, worked in Wyandot communities in Anderdon and Kansas, which allowed him to receive these narratives directly from Wyandot speakers such as Mary McKee (Anderdon, 1838–92), Smith Nichols (Oklahoma, c. 1826–1916), Catherine Coon Johnson (Oklahoma, 1844/5–97), among many others. Including these Wyandot speakers underscores that the Wyandot language was not lost postcontact in the dispersed nations but instead remained resilient during colonization and removal. Along with using these materials, Steckley engages in comparative analysis using dictionaries of sister languages of the Mohawk, Oneida, Seneca, Cayuga, and Tuscarora. Finally, he participates in community engagement with the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma, who helped support this project financially, and is currently the Oklahoma tribal linguist.The book comprises two parts. Part 1 offers the narratives in English. These stories include both pre- and postcontact aspects of Wyandot life and history and illuminate the leadership roles of Wyandot women. In “The Lion Fraternity,” for instance, a female leader known as White Otter had a vision in which she saw a four-day female ceremony known as the uhstura (ooh-stoo-rah) that became integrated into Wyandot ceremony (17). Other stories highlight challenges of colonialism and removal, such as starvation in “How a Famine Was Ended” (48). Including both pre- and postcontact elements in these stories emphasizes the resilience of Wyandot customs and the ability to adapt to the changing circumstances of settler colonialism and forced removals. Steckley’s work demonstrates that Wyandots continued many of their precontact traditions, including the centrality of women and female leadership, while also incorporating new survival strategies they deemed beneficial during the dispersal.Part 2 shows Steckley’s English dictionary translations of words and phrases of the original narratives in Wyandot. Equally as important as the narratives themselves, this dictionary breaks down difficult phrases of the Wyandot language in accessible ways so that individuals can learn the language. These translations help explain Wyandot understandings and worldviews, especially for certain words and phrases that do not have direct translations into English or other settler languages. Overall, this book is invaluable and will be a great teacher for Wyandots and those studying the Wyandot peoples.

Urban Indigenous Second-Language Learning

As the language revitalization movement progresses, the impacts of Indigenous language beyond the domain of language use are gaining recognition. Previous literature has identified links between Indigenous language revitalization efforts and Indigenous well-being, but to date, there are few studies that explore this topic thoroughly. The purpose of this study is to explore the impacts of Indigenous second-language learning on urban Indigenous perceptions of their well-being. Urban Indigenous populations are growing, and are particularly impacted by language loss; thus, it is vital that urban perspectives be represented. Indigenous language-learners from the Nêhiyaw (Cree) Language Lessons Program in Edmonton, Alberta participated in semi-structured interviews. Five exploratory themes emerged from thematic analysis. The results presented in this paper, while exploratory, are a meaningful addition to the existing scholarship in this field. They may be used as a departure point for future research on the topic of Indigenous language learning and how it impacts Indigenous well-being.

Waves of Language Diversity Loss in Japan: An Ecological and Theoretical Account

Linguistic diversity has seen two large waves of the loss of linguistic diversity across history. The first wave occurred with the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies, a process that started 11,000 years ago with the Neolithic revolution when agrarian societies colonized territories of hunter-gatherer communities. The second wave started with the establishment of modern nation states and the creation and diffusion of national languages. It is in the latter setting that the vast majority of language endangerment cases are set today. Endangered languages are predominantly replaced by national languages (and not by global English). The institutions of the ‘nation state’ and of ‘national language’ constitute fundamental problems for ethnolinguistic minorities, because their establishment entail the threat of either exclusion or assimilation of these minorities from the nation. In such a situation, minority language and their speakers do usually not fare well. Without altering the modernist language ecologies that exist in modern nation states, language maintenance and revitalization activities are bound to fail in their principal objectives. In this paper, I examine the rise of language nationalism in Japan in the Meiji period (1868-1912), depict how it led to language endangerment, and show how it continues to shape believes about language in contemporary Japan, also within endangered language revitalization activities and policies themselves. Language revitalization requires language ideological clarification, a recalibration of the relations between majority and minorities, and fundamentally new language policies. In the final part, I report on partial changes that can be seen in this direction for the case of the endangered Ainu and Ryukyuan languages in Japan, and analyze to what extent the local language revitalization movements and efforts have so far succeeded in “remaking social reality” (Fishman 1991: 411) together with the majority population of Japan.

World(build)ing in Mohawk- and Seneca-Language Films

Abstract This essay brings Zayin Cabot’s concept of “ecologies of participation” into conversation with contemporary Mohawk- and Seneca-language films and language revitalization movements. For Indigenous peoples, these participatory events are often interactive storying of worlds, whether told in film, social media, or oral tradition. As a particularly salient example, the essay considers Mohawk director Karahkwenhawi Zoe Hopkins’s adaptation of Star Wars: A New Hope in Star Wars Tsyorì:wat IV—Yonhská:neks (2013) in a comparative analysis with both the Navajo-language Star Wars: Episode IV and the Seneca-language films Kohgeh and Tših to highlight critical choices Karahkwenhawi makes in translation, both linguistic and visual, vis-à-vis settler colonial consumer culture. The essay concludes that her adaptation foregrounds supposed “advances” of Western technocratic capitalism; highlights the constructed, fallible, and ephemeral nature of these technologies; and potentiates other technologies and ecologies based in Mohawk ontologies.

Beyond Numbers, Colors, and Animals: Strengthening Lakota/Dakota Teaching on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation

In 2006 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe took on efforts to improve Lakota/Dakota language teaching in K-12 schools. These efforts have included collaborating with the Lakota Language Consortium to create classroom materials and language-learning resources, partnering with Sitting Bull College to develop various language-teaching and language-learning programs for adults, and coordinating among the K-12 schools on the reservation to ensure students receive better Lakota/Dakota language instruction. While the efforts to improve language education in K-12 schools have not achieved the kinds of proficiency-based results originally anticipated, they have enhanced the way Lakota/Dakota is taught and have instigated significant changes in how Lakota/Dakota language learning is conceived of in the community. Based on data from participant observation and interviews with program directors and teachers, this article provides a bird's-eye view of these efforts, which have formed the beginning of Standing Rock's recent, and growing, Indigenous language revitalization movement.

Beyond Numbers, Colors, and Animals: Strengthening Lakota/Dakota Teaching on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation

In 2006 the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe took on efforts to improve Lakota/Dakota language teaching in K-12 schools. These efforts have included collaborating with the Lakota Language Consortium to create classroom materials and language-learning resources, partnering with Sitting Bull College to develop various language-teaching and language-learning programs for adults, and coordinating among the K-12 schools on the reservation to ensure students receive better Lakota/Dakota language instruction. While the efforts to improve language education in K-12 schools have not achieved the kinds of proficiency-based results originally anticipated, they have enhanced the way Lakota/Dakota is taught and have instigated significant changes in how Lakota/Dakota language learning is conceived of in the community. Based on data from participant observation and interviews with program directors and teachers, this article provides a bird's-eye view of these efforts, which have formed the beginning of Standing Rock's recent, and growing, Indigenous language revitalization movement.

The Role of Teaching in Language Revival and Revitalization Movements

ABSTRACTTeaching is the main or even only way to pass on ancestral languages when intergenerational language transmission no longer takes place. The main reason for the interruption of natural language transmission is an increasing weakening of community bonds due to intermarriage, migration, and mobility. The formal or informal teaching of ancestral languages is therefore at the core of language revival and language revitalization movements. The article reviews favorable conditions and supportive factors for the teaching of ancestral languages from different parts of the world, and highlights the important role of dedicated community members in these endeavors.

In Memoriam: Sam L. No'eau Warner, July 24, 1954–July 19, 2016

Figure 1. Dr. Sam L. No`eau Warner. Photo­ graph courtesy of Moku Kaaloa. J O U R N A L O F A M E R I C A N I N D I A N E D U C A T I O N — 5 5 , I S S U E 3 7 In Memoriam Sam L. No`eau Warner July 24, 1954–­ July 19, 2016 ALOHA NŌ KA LAMA KŪ O KA NO`EAU. Ua hala. `A`ohe nàe he wā e pio ai ke kukui. Ua ola iā kākou haumāna. Dr. No`eau Warner, renowned researcher and teacher, taught countless students the value of speaking Hawaiian through his innovative approaches to language teaching. His work represents a tremendous contribution to the preservation and revitalization of the Hawaiian language. No`eau was a founder of thèAha Pūnana Leo, the Hawaiian “language nest” preschool and beginning of the Hawaiian-­ language immersion movement—­ a precursor and model for Indigenous-­ language education programs throughout the world. His Ke A`a Mākālei program, established with funds from a federal grant, was designed to introduce Hawaiian language to the arena of sports, thus increasing the number of ­ viable domains of use available to a growing community of speakers. This effort required an expansion of vocabulary and ways of speaking to accommodate the expression of novel thoughts. A new vocabulary was developed based on existing concepts in order to support this expansion. He even served as the public address announcer for Nā Koa Ānuenue’s Interscholastic League of Honolulu ’s football games. ­ Later, he researched and developed a set of 31­ children’s books that ­ were designed to strengthen appropriate Hawaiian-­ language use across a variety of topics. Again, ­ these ­ were produced with funds from a federal grant that afforded wide distribution of current literary materials, ­ free of charge, to all families of Hawaiian-­ language immersion school ­ children. He also worked with immersion teachers to develop a pedagogy that could accompany his books. Moreover, No`eau had begun to revolutionize the Hawaiian language pedagogy at the university by creating a grammatical schematic that is culturally relevant and simplifies the acquisition of abstract grammatical concepts. 8 J O U R N A L O F A M E R I C A N I N D I A N E D U C A T I O N — 5 5 , I S S U E 3 Although ­ these endeavors ­ were all part of his job, ­ whether on or off the clock, he was clearly driven to increase the number of participants in the Hawaiian-­ language revitalization movement. He would talk to students, colleagues, legislators, or anyone ­ else at any time in an effort to support their involvement in Hawaiian-­ language development. No`eau was first employed at the University of Hawai‘i (UH)-­ Mānoa in 1978 as a lecturer teaching Hawaiian 101 in the Indo-­ Pacific Language Department (IPLD). He continued to teach through spring 1984, ­ after which he left for a semester to take up an instructor position in Hawaiian at UH-­ Hilo. In spring 1985, he returned to IPLD as an instructor of Hawaiian. He continued in this position ­ until he was appointed assistant professor in 1994 with the Department of Hawaiian and Indo-­ Pacific Languages and Lit­ er­ a­ tures. In 2003, No`eau was promoted to associate professor, a position in which he held several leadership positions, including director of Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language. No`eau is survived by his ­ brother, Herbert, his ­ sister, Claudia, and his brother-­ in-­ law, Roy. He is also remembered with ­ great admiration and aloha by his colleagues and students: • Dr. J. Keawèaimoku Kaholokula: Although I did not have the good fortune of having No`eau as a Kumu, I have been taught and mentored by many excellent Hawaiian language instructors and Figure 2. Sam No`eau Warner. Photo­ graph by Alicia Perez. J O U R N A L O F A M E R I C A N I N D I A N E D U C A T I O N — 5 5 , I S S U E 3 9 professors...

Legacies of NALA: The Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act and Implications for Language Revitalization Policy and Practice

This article traces the development and implementation of the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act as a legacy of the 1990/1992 Native American Languages Act (NALA) as well as ongoing policy considerations within the larger context of the Native American language revitalization movement. While both educational and language policies for Native Americans remain highly complex and contradictory, NALA and Esther Martinez illuminate changing ideologies at both the local and national levels. This article explores how local community practice has changed whereby communities are choosing to revitalize and maintain their languages, creating official policies to support those languages and thereby creating new speakers. NALA as an official policy created a foundation for the possibility and development of other policies at the tribal, state and federal levels and has paved the way for policies like Esther Martinez as well as other local and tribal language policies.

Introduction to the Special Issue: The Native American Languages Act of 1990/1992 — 20 Years of Federal Support for Indigenous Language Revitalization

Introduction to the Special Issue The Native American Languages Act of 1990/1992 - 20 Years of Federal Support for Indigenous Language devitalization LarisaWarhol This commemorates (NALA) special of1990/1992 issue the20th of and anniversary the attendant Journal of federal the of Native American support American for Indian Native Languages Education American Act commemorates the20th anniversary oftheNative American Languages Act (NALA) of1990/1992 andattendant federal support for Native American languages. Begun asa grassroots effort byNative language activists andeducators inthelate1980s,NALA affirmed thefederal government's roleinpreserving andprotecting Native American languages. Thepolicy alsoestablished a grant program through theAdministration ofNativeAmericans (ANA) that serves as a primary resource forcommunityand school-basedNativelanguage revitalization programs. NALA has servedas a foundation formorerecent federal, stateand community-based policiesencouraging Nativelanguage education. Language andeducation policy intheUnited States, though, remains challenging and oftencontradictory, as the articlesin thisspecial issue demonstrate. Following NALA's passage, someargued that itcametoolate, with many communities already experiencing languageshift. Moreover, thepolicywas inherently limited as itwasa declaration lacking anyenforcement plans, andthe funding foritsprograms hasbeenmeager (Romaine, 2002;Schiffman, 1996). While these arguments reveal thelimitations ofofficial policy, NALAnonetheless reversed centuries ofsystematic linguistic andcultural eradication, demonstrated theself-determination of Nativecommunities to establish policydirectly in support oftheir goals,andcreateda foundation forNativecommunities to continue to buildpoliciesand changeideologiesabouttheimportance of strenthening Indigenous languages. NALAalsostands as theonly official stance thefederal government hastaken onlanguage todate.Itspassagemarks a shift inideology instate andfederal language andeducation policy, andintheways that Native communities viewthemaintenance oftheir languages as wellas in other socialdomains andinstitutions suchas schoolsanduniversities, many of Journal of American Indian Education -51,Issue3,2012 1 which havechosen tosupport communities' revitalization efforts. Whilemany communities hadbeenengagedinrevitalization work formany yearsprior to NALA,thelaw's passageheralded increased scholarly attention tolanguage revitalization within thefields oflanguage planning andpolicyandAmerican Indianeducation. Thus,NALA's importance to thelanguagerevitalization movement cannotbe over-emphasized. The remainder of thisintroduction provides background andcontext onNALA,including itsadministration bythe ANAfor thepast18years, andsituates thearticles inthisspecialissueas they address policyconsiderations andcurrent language revitalization activities in Indigenous communities throughout theUnited States. The NativeAmericanLanguagesActof1990/1992 NALAwaspassedbytheU.S. Congress in1990as a federal policy declaration insupport ofthepreservation andprotection ofNative American languages. The policy wasunprecedented for a variety ofreasons. First, historically federal policy hadaimedtoeradicate thesesamelanguages. Second,NALA recognized the connection between language andeducation achievement, andthird, itestablished anofficial federal stance onlanguage despite thefederal government's refusal toacknowledge anofficial U.S. language. NALAreaffirmed federal recognition ofthestatus ofNativelanguagesintheU.S. anditsposition towards those languages andtheir speakers. Simultaneously, thestatute reaffirmed Native American rights toself-determination andsovereignty as wellas theimportant connections between language, culture andchildren's academic achievement. (See policytextincludedin thisspecial issue.) NALA established thefederal government's responsibility inensuring thecontinuation ofNativelanguages, calledfor evaluation ofcurrent government programs inorder tofurther support Nativelanguages, and encouraged statesto use Nativelanguagesin state institutions, including schools. In 1992 NALA was amendedto includefinancial appropriations and provisions forcommunity languageprograms, training programs, materials development and language documentation. These grantprogramsare administered bytheANAwithin theAdministration for Children andFamilies. TheANAcurrently hastwotypes ofgrant programs: onefor assessing, planning orimplementing a community-based language project orprogram, andanother specifically for Native language immersion survival schools. Funding for the latter beganin2008 as an outcome ofthe2006 Esther Martinez NativeAmerican Languages Preservation Act(seethearticle byWarhol andthetext ofthislaw inthisspecialissue) - theresult ofanother grassroots movement tofurther amend NALAtoprovide for immersion schools asthey haddemonstrated success with both language revitalization andacademicachievement. Development ofNALA Theimportance ofNALAislargely connected totherationale for itsgenesis by Native language activists andeducators inthe1980s.Whilethepolicy beganas 2 Journal of American Indian Education -Volume 51,Issue3,2012 a resolution emerging from the1988Native American Language IssuesInstitute (NALI)/American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) conference inTempe, Arizona (McCarty, 1993),itsdevelopment andpassagewerea result ofa convergence ofefforts bybilingual educators andlinguists, theHawaiian language revitalization movement andtheinterests oftheSenateCommittee on Indian Affairs tofight a growing tideofstate-level English-only initiatives. NativeAmerican bilingual education beganinthe1960sontheNavajo reservation atRoughRock,Arizona andother community-controlled bilingual schoolssoonsprang upintribal communities throughout theU.S. (McCarty, 2002;St.Clair& Leap,1982;Watahomigie & Yamamoto, 1992).Thisadvent ofbilingual education established early collaborations between academic linguists andlocal Nativeeducators, leadingtothecreation ofregional institutes and national organizations thatbothreflected and lentcrucialsupport to these collaborations. Institutes andorganizations that emerged from federal policies suchas the1968Bilingual Education Actandthe1972IndianEducation Act includeAILDI, NALI, andtheshort-lived NationalIndianBilingualCenter (NIBC). The hallmark goalsoftheseorganizations weretosupport andtrain Nativeeducators andlinguists, provide professional development toschools servingNativestudents, and produceNativelanguageteachingmaterials (McCarty etal.,2001).Theseorganizations alsobecame important sites for tribal policydevelopment in support ofNativelanguageeducation andtheywere instrumental inestablishing a foundational network oflanguage educators and activists acrossIndianCountry. Concurrently, the Hawaiian...

Establishing new norms of language use: the circulation of linguistic ideology in three new Irish-language communities

Ideology can be understood as a guide to action, and therefore, language ideology can be viewed as a link between language ability on the one hand, and language use on the other. In this respect, language ideology plays a central role in the success of language revitalization movements. In an effort to understand how new language ideologies are advanced in language revitalization movements at the micro level, research was conducted on the circulation of language ideology in three new Irish-language communities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I use these three communities as specific examples of a general policy problem in revitalizing lesser-used languages: how does one establish new norms for the use of a threatened language in a given site or domain and how does one defend these new norms against the counter-ideology of an encroaching or dominant language?

Interpretive Sovereignty: A Research Agenda

In federal Indian law, the treaty operates as our foundational legal text. Reflecting centuries-old historical political arrangements between Indian nations and the United States, treaties remain vital legal instruments that decide dozens of legal cases each year. Yet, these treaties -- originally drafted in English by the federal government, following negotiations with tribal representatives who usually spoke their own languages -- present a number of ambiguities for contemporary courts. The dominant model of treaty interpretation is one in which judges interpret treaties in a manner they they believe to reflect Indians' understanding of treaty terms and, more generally, to promote the interests of Indian nations. While this liberal approach to treaty interpretation has secured a number of important Indian rights in the courts, it does not necessarily reflect the ways in which Indians actually perceived treaty terms in their own languages and cultures. Deeper investigation of treaty law reveals, however, that Indians have long been interpreting treaties for themselves. From their earliest encounters on the negotiating field to recent advocacy in the courts, Indians have, out of necessity or strategy, articulated what treaty provisions mean to them. Here I identify this much-overlooked practice as and define it as the interpretation of treaties through the lens of tribal cultures, and more particularly, through tribal languages. The practice of interpretive sovereignty has particularly great potential today as a tribal language revitalization movement sweeps Indian Country. Interpretive sovereignty may have the power to transform historical understandings of treaties and help tribes forge contemporary legal approaches that reflect tribal norms and values. Beyond federal Indian law, attention to the role of language differences can inspire reflection on the interpretation of other legal texts. For these reasons, this Essay calls for research into the role of tribal languages in treaty interpretation and begins to contemplate some of the challenges associated with such work.

Regional dialect and cultural development in Japan and Europe

Linguistic revitalization is not confined to minority languages or endangered languages alone but includes regional dialects. This paper examines the case of Japan, starting with the experiences of the Ryūkyū archipelago and then that of other regions in mainland Japan. Following this discussion, the case of Jersey in the Channel Islands will be discussed for the sake of comparison. It is argued that dialectal revitalization movements are cultural phenomena of developed countries. Language revitalization movements are analyzed mainly from a sociological point of view. In particular, the relationship of the private sector and public authorities, involvement of local intellectuals and activists, intergenerational problems, cultural linkage, traditional festivals and cultural and economic effects on local populations are investigated. As a representative example, the dialect movement of Okinawa Island is discussed in greater detail here. Okinawan movements must be considered threshold cases between minority language and dialect revitalization movements. The Amami island group furthermore provides us with a comparative case to Jersey. Although dialect revitalization movements draw less attention than those concerning minority languages, they are also affected by changing language regimes. We can, therefore, expect that these movements will continue to influence language attitudes toward regional dialects as well as toward standard languages.

Translating Ireland Back into Éire: Gael Linn and Film Making in Irish

Without films in Irish all the work done for the language in the schools, on the radio and by voluntary organisations is doomed to ultimate failure no matter how effectively it is done. Films in Irish, anonymous booklet published in 1950 by the Comhdhail Naisiunta na Gaeilge The translator invades, extracts, and brings home. George Steiner, After Babel THE language revitalization organization Gael Linn is rightly famous for its embrace of modern technology in its work trying to revive Irish as Ireland's vernacular tongue. (1) While its traditional music label is perhaps the most widely known of these initiatives, equally important were its forays into film making. Here I offer a short examination of these forays, focusing on the newsreel series Amharc Eireann (A View of Ireland, 1956-64) and on George Morrisson's two films, Mise Eire (I Am Ireland, 1959) and Saoirse? (Freedom?, 1961). Two aspects of these films are particularly important; one is their Griersonian character--and I will explain John Grierson's ideas about cinema--and the other is their quality as translations, translations of a mostly English-speaking country into a series of Irish-speaking images. Gael Linn seemed to visualize film as something that was social and nation-building rather than commercial, an orientation that went against the otherwise capitalist-oriented development policies of the Lemass government. In this regard its film production strongly resembled those of the National Film Board of Canada and the film units of the United Kingdom's General Post Office and Empire Marketing Board, all of which were at some point run by Grierson. That Gael Linn sought to put this idea of film into action through the use of translation brings to light some interesting tensions in the role of translation in Ireland's ongoing process of cultural definition. A mixture of the progressive/social-democratic and the nostalgic/conservative are, we will see, problems that plague both the language revitalization movement and the Griersonian idea of cinema. Thus, these Gael Linn films, far from being merely a cine-historical curiosity, are in fact embodiments of deeply paradoxical moments in both film history and Irish history. John Grierson (1898-1972) was an extremely influential figure in documentary cinema, though his legacy is a contradictory one. Born in Scotland, he first came to international prominence when he ran the film units of the Empire Marketing Board (1926-33; hereafter EMB) and the General Post Office (1933-38; hereafter GPO), both in the UK. This period is loosely known as the British Documentary Movement, and Grierson oversaw the production of a number of films that stand as monuments of documentary, such as Drifters (EMB, John Grierson, 1929), Song of Ceylon (EMB, Basil Wright, 1933) and Night Mail (GPO, Basil Wright and Harry Watt, 1936). Grierson went to Canada in 1938, charged with surveying the country's film production; he subsequently became the first head of the National Film Board of Canada, whose original brief was primarily the production of wartime propaganda films. He also consulted on film commissions in New Zealand and Australia, and did film work for UNESCO from 1946 to 1948. Overall Grierson's vision involved a socially oriented, non-commercial model for film, a model that was closely linked to strong government and national unity. He was influenced by Soviet cinema, whose important figures such as Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevlod Pudovkin saw film as a means to consolidate and unify the new, postrevolutionary state. Although many of the films made under his supervision (or by people influenced by his vision) were overly earnest or idealistic about working-class life, excessively dry, and vaguely patronizing in that educational-documentary sort of way, many Grierson-era films are also wonders of modernist aesthetics. Night Mail, for instance, features an editing style heavily influenced by Soviet film of the 1920s, a score by Benjamin Britten, and a W. …

Who Is Takatāpui? Māori Language, Sexuality and Identity in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Keywords: Homosexuality, language, identity, indigeneity Ka ngaro reo, ka ngaro taua, pera i ngaro o moa If the language be lost, man will be lost, as dead as the moa --Maori proverb presented at the Waitangi Tribunal on the Te Reo M[Symbol Not Claim (1986)IntroductionIn Aotearoa/New Zealand(1) the dominant language of everyday life for the majority of the country's population is English. It is also a society in which gay is the most commonly utilized term for in public institutions such as the government and media as well as in more informal day-to-day conversations. However, New Zealand is also home to an indigenous population known as M[Symbol Not who consist of approximately 15% of the national population (Te Puni K[Symbol Not Transcribed]okiri: 2000, 13). Prior to colonization, the M[Symbol Not spoke a language which is today referred to as te Reo M[Symbol Not Transcribed]aori (the M[Symbol Not language; sometimes referred to as Reo), although in contemporary Aotearoa, it is estimated that only between 4 and 8% of the M[Symbol Not population are fluent in this language. According to most reports, despite a major language revitalization movement spanning over 20 years, Reo M[Symbol Not remains in danger of disappearing or being reduced to a language of ritual only.However, in M[Symbol Not media and in discussions with a number of M[Symbol Not individuals and groups(2) over the past five years, I have noted an increase in the use of a Reo M[Symbol Not term--takat[Symbol Not Transcribed]apui--as a way of identifying oneself as homosexual and M[Symbol Not Transcribed]aori.(3) The increasing presence of this term raises a number of questions about language in relation to sexual and other identifications: How does language figure in the negotiation of same sex desires and identities amongst an indigenous group who live as a minority in an Anglo-European colonized society? How central is language to these negotiations? Are there distinct forms of same sex talking and text-making amongst this group whose primary language is that of the colonizer and whose native language is only spoken fluently by a minority? Is language the primary boundary marker for sexual and ethnic identifications? What other socio-political boundaries does language interact with (or transgress) in identity-making projects?This article is an introductory investigation into questions addressing the complex relations between sexuality, language and identity in Aotearoa. I am particularly interested in teasing out the socio-political implications and linguistic practices of identity discourses, and analyzing the multiple interpretative possibilities that occur when a subaltern or minority language (or specific terms derived from that language) is utilized in relation to sexual identification in a postcolonial settler society. I argue that while the development of minority language terms to replace English sexual terminologies and the insertion of these terms into predominantly English language contexts are empowering for some, there may be others who do not agree with or feel comfortable utilizing this terminology for a variety of reasons. The different reactions to just one minority language term for sexual identity that are presented here indicate the complex relations that individuals of a minority group have with issues of identity and sexuality in a society created through colonization.This paper therefore not only underlines a foundational principle in sociolinguistic inquiry--that language is a key domain of struggle over difference and inequality and a means of conducting that struggle (Heller, 2001)--it also contributes towards a more nuanced understanding of the generation of terms for sexual identities, or to put it slightly differently, it highlights the intersectional character of sexuality through analyzing how sexual subjectivities are linked to language. …

Te Wharekura o Rakaumangamanga: The Development of an Indigenous Language Immersion School

In the early 1980s, the Maori people of New Zealand began a dynamic language revitalization movement. The establishment of Maori immersion programs in state funded schools constituted one major aspect of the movement. This article describes the development of the Maori language immersion program in one New Zealand school for children ages 5 to 17. In 1985, the first immersion classroom of 5-year-olds was established. Immersion classrooms were added year by year as the first class of children progressed through primary school, junior high, and high school. The first class completed the final year of high school in 1997, and students entered polytechnics or university programs in 1998. The article briefly summarizes the historical background, cultural context, and program of the school. Indicators of school performance, including student achievement on national examinations, are considered. The findings are examined in terms of a selection of the research and theoretical literature. This case study has implications for researchers and educators who are working in indigenous language schooling and for those who are interested in theoretical explanations relating to the success or failure of minority students in school.