Minority Language Research Articles

Modern approach to studying the language situation: slavic experience and Ukrainian realities

The article analyzes the use of the phrase language situation (linguistic situation) in diffe rent national scientific traditions and approaches to describing the language situation in Slavic countries. It was found that, despite the similarity of the general definitions of this concept, in specific studies the attention is mainly focused on one of three possible aspects — the relationship between the functioning of various idioms within society, the situation with the use of a certain idiom in a certain territory or in a certain community or on the intra- language proper situation, that is, the internal differentiation of language to meet the va- rious needs of society. The choice of research direction is determined primarily by the con- figuration of the language situation itself, i.e., whether it is endo- or exogenous, whether the state language has an established literary tradition and traditions of stylistic differentia- tion, a powerful dialect base, how widespread it is outside the range of the main distribu- tion of the language, etc. Ukrainian society is characterized as being in the process of transformation from an exogenous (characterized by mass bilingualism) to a predominantly endogenous (predomi- nance of the Ukrainian language) language situation. In this regard, there is a great need for research related to the analysis of language behavior of persons who are on the path of changing language preferences. Against the background of active migration processes pro- voked by the war, the problem of language adaptation of previously Russian-speaking citi- zens in a new language environment for them and the functioning of the Ukrainian lan- guage outside of Ukraine (as a diaspora and foreign language) becomes especially important. Given the limited possibility of making statistically reliable quantitative measurements of the language situation, the importance of studying individual language biographies of persons who have changed or are changing their language behavior is increasing. Keywords: language situation, language behavior, language policy, Slavic countries, language functioning, language corpus planning, majority language, minority language, Ukrainian lan- guage abroad.

Bible Translation as Justice

The translation of the Bible into minority languages has the potential to affirm the dignity and worth of translating communities as people created in the image of God (imago dei). For my own people—the Ghomala’ of Cameroon—the use of the mother tongue was crucial for local acceptance of Christianity and identification as children of God. This article shows how biblical concepts of justice as both primary and restorative relate to the mission of God and the imago dei of all human beings. BIBLE TRANSLATION AS JUSTICE regards Bible translation as not just a pragmatic tool, but a fundamental issue of justice that enables people to have a right relationship with God and others. Minority language communities around the world bear witness to the potential for Bible translation to empower, transform, and contribute to a sense of value and confidence. As a result, Bible translation is not only a key to human flourishing but for Christians a way of following Jesus in his incarnation.

Minority Languages from Death to Life:Applied to the Nobian Language

Minority Languages from Death to Life:Applied to the Nobian Language

The Teaching of ‚Other‘ Minority Languages in the Italian Constitutional System

The Teaching of ‚Other‘ Minority Languages in the Italian Constitutional System

Analysis of the first report of Ukraine on implementation of the European Charter for regional or Minority Languages

Analysis of the first report of Ukraine on implementation of the European Charter for regional or Minority Languages

“Minority Voices and Languages in English-Speaking Cinema and Television”

“Minority Voices and Languages in English-Speaking Cinema and Television”

The Element Selection and Analysis of Visual Transformation of Wenzhou Dialect

Wenzhou dialect, as a unique dialect, is not only known by the people all over China, but also plays a positive role in promoting the spread of Chinese culture and Wenzhou culture as Wenzhou merchant spread all over the country and even around the world. At the same time, like dialects in many areas of the country, Wenzhou dialect is also facing the possibility of shrinking the range of dissemination and audience, and shrinking or even disappearing of dialect user groups. In recent years, China’s language resources protection project is actively promoting the construction. While vigorously promoting the national standard language, it can also scientifically protect Chinese dialects and minority language resources, and promote the development and utilization of language resources. Dialect protection and dialect inheritance, as the most important resources, naturally belong to the core part, but the research on the visual transformation of dialects has rarely been involved. This paper tries to explore the selection and analysis of design elements in the visual transformation of Wenzhou dialect pronunciation.

СТАН ВИВЧЕННЯ ІНОЗЕМНИХ МОВ У ЗАКЛАДАХ ЗАГАЛЬНОЇ СЕРЕДНЬОЇ ОСВІТИ В КОНТЕКСТІ ІНТЕГРАЦІЇ УКРАЇНИ В ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКИЙ ОСВІТНІЙ ПРОСТІР

This article presents the findings of a study on the current state of foreign language learning and teaching in the languages spoken by national minorities and indigenous peoples in general secondary education institutions (GSEIs). The authors conducted an analysis of scholarly sources and contemporary legislative acts related to these topics. It is determined that promoting foreign language acquisition is crucial for developing individuals capable of intercultural communication, which is increasingly important in the context of European integration and globalisation. Based on statistical information, the authors analysed trends in the study of foreign languages as independent subjects and as elective courses, as well as the teaching of languages spoken by national minorities in GSEIs. Currently, Ukrainian schools offer instruction in 30 foreign languages worldwide, the most common being English, German, French, Polish and Spanish. A comparative analysis of these findings with data from the European Statistical Office reveals that English language proficiency levels in Ukraine are comparable to those in European Union countries, while proficiency levels in German, French, and Spanish are slightly lower. The article also discusses the results of the analysis of teaching minority languages in GSEIs. Given the diversity of languages taught, a key issue highlighted is the availability and training of teachers with appropriate qualifications. Consequently, the article examines the number of graduates with higher education in philology through state-funded programmes.

Glossodiversité : Quand ? Comment ? Pourquoi ?

This article explores the concept of glossodiversity by examining the relationship between linguistic diversity and biodiversity, while challenging the reductive view that links languages to identities. The author highlights the importance of languages in the construction of individual identity and warns against the risks of their loss. Furthermore, the article calls for an awareness of the crucial role of glossodiversity in fostering creativity, adaptability, and collective survival. It emphasizes the importance of minority languages and language policies in this context. Ultimately, the article advocates for the preservation and promotion of diversity in all its forms to build a supportive and responsible future.

The role of minority language bilingualism in spotting agreement attraction errors: Evidence from Italian varieties.

Bilingual adaptations remain a subject of ongoing debate, with varying results reported across cognitive domains. A possible way to disentangle the apparent inconsistency of results is to focus on the domain of language processing, which is what the bilingual experience boils down to. This study delves into the role of the bilingual experience on the processing of agreement mismatches. Given the underrepresentation of minority bilingual speakers of non-standard varieties, we advance a unique comparative perspective that includes monolinguals, standard language bilinguals, and different groups of minority language bilinguals, taking advantage of the rich linguistic diversity of the Italian peninsula. This comparative approach can reveal the impact of various sociolinguistic aspects of the bilingual experience across different bilingual trajectories. We developed an auditory acceptability judgement task in Italian, featuring Subject-Verb agreement mismatches. Participants evaluated the stimuli on a 5-point Likert scale and reaction times were recorded. The results do not reveal significant differences between the speakers of standard languages: Italian monolinguals and Italian-Spanish bilinguals. Instead, significant differences are found between monolinguals and the two groups of minority language bidialectals, as well as between the bidialectal groups themselves: Italian-Pavese bidialectals were faster than both Italian-Agrigentino bidialectals and Italian monolinguals, while Italian-Agrigentino bidialectals were less accurate than both Italian-Pavese bidialectals and Italian monolinguals. This intricate picture is explained through variables associated with second language use and language switching. Our findings suggest that if bilingualism is viewed as a yes/no phenotype, it is unavoidable that the bilingual experience will remain a mystery linked to intensely debated results. If, however, one accepts that bilingual adaptations are shaped by the environmental ecology of each trajectory, variation across bilingual processing outcomes is unsurprising. Overall, we argue that specific sociolinguistic factors behind each bilingual experience can reveal where bilingual adaptations on language and cognition stem from.

Jezički pejzaž mesta Kovačica

In researching the linguistic landscape of Kovačica, we analyze the linguistic diversity of this multicultural town with a focus on both official and public inscriptions. The aim was to ascertain how minority language policies regulate public language use, as well as to examine whether one of the languages is more dominant than the other and whether a certain language is used for certain domains. The research corpus consisted of 152 photographs and accompanying notes taken during fieldwork. Through a detailed analysis of the corpus, we come to the conclusion that the linguistic landscape of the town of Kovačica is diverse and in accordance with the structure of the population and the languages that are in official use in the territory of the municipality of Kovačica. Regarding official inscriptions, we notice that Serbian, as the official and majority language in the Republic of Serbia, is more dominant than Slovak, except for some situations, for example street names and inscriptions on local historical monuments. On the other hand, the Romanian and Hungarian languages appear only on official signs as a feature of a multinational municipality in which four languages are in official use, which means that those two languages do not appear in other domains of the language landscape of Kovačica. In addition, English is becoming more prevalent in the official language landscape of Kovačica, especially in the tourist sector, which reflects the impact of globalization and the need to communicate with a wider international audience. When public written signs are concerned, our analysis shows the indisputable dominance of the Serbian language, which indicates a tendency towards monolingualism in the public space. In addition, there are occasional deviations in the spelling and correct use of both the Serbian and Slovak languages in the public space. Overall, the linguistic landscape of Kovačica reflects the town's rich traditional culture and confirms that the official use of languages is in line with Serbian legislation, but the private sphere does indicate a gradual shift from multilingualism towards monolingualism.

Sulla definizione di coerenza testuale. Dizionari e ricerca a confronto verso un modello operativo per le classi del ciclo superiore

This study presents reflections on developing a grammar of Val Badia Ladin. For minority languages undergoing processes of standardisation and normalisation primarily based on the synchronic system of the language, the creation of a normative grammar for the linguistic community necessitates a discussion on the interplay between the norm and linguistic variation. Furthermore, the paper casts some light on the significance of acquiring both written and oral data to comprehensively analyse language use within various communicative contexts. Lastly, three examples are provided to delineate the challenges concerning variation and normativity within a mainly normative grammar.

Proporre una grammatica per una lingua di minoranza: l’esempio del ladino della Val Badia

This study presents reflections on developing a grammar of Val Badia Ladin. For minority languages undergoing processes of standardisation and normalisation primarily based on the synchronic system of the language, the creation of a normative grammar for the linguistic community necessitates a discussion on the interplay between the norm and linguistic variation. Furthermore, the paper casts some light on the significance of acquiring both written and oral data to comprehensively analyse language use within various communicative contexts. Lastly, three examples are provided to delineate the challenges concerning variation and normativity within a mainly normative grammar.

Afrikaans in Film: From Apartheid Propaganda to Cultural Preservation

This article delves into the transition of Afrikaans from a hegemonic language to a minority language post-1994. Afrikaans was one of the two official South African languages in the 20th century. Afrikaans films enjoyed privileges because the government manipulated racial and cultural identities through subsidies and audience segregation. However, in the post-apartheid era, Afrikaans filmmakers had to find new funding models, such as relying on the Afrikaans satellite channel, kykNET, to commission content for cinema distribution. The article briefly discusses the symbiosis between the Afrikaans language and its film industry and how Afrikaans film remains sustainable despite not being one of South Africa’s most spoken languages.

Language (re)vitalization

Abstract Many small languages are in danger of extinction. How to stop and reverse this process is an important topic in the sociolinguistic literature. In addition to the revitalization of languages, there are also some examples of vitalizing (bringing to use) “new” languages, for example the introduction of Ivrit (modern Hebrew) in Palestine/Israel. Generally speaking, for a language to be used, no matter which language, the users must find it attractive and useful. At least two factors are important here: the value attributed to the language by its users as a means of communication and as a carrier of culture and identity. It is assumed that these factors can be influenced by language-policy measures. The impact of various measures on the vitality of the language is an empirical matter. However, one can draw some general conclusions regarding which measures are sensible in order to vitalize or revitalize which languages when the financial resources of the policy-maker are limited. In this introductory text to the theme issue, we apply the methodology of cost-effectiveness analysis to discuss the connection between the types of the policy measures employed and characteristics of the language communities addressed, such as size, social status, and residential patterns. The cost-effectiveness ratio of street signs in a minority language might, for instance, be higher for a community spread over a whole country than for a community of the same size concentrated in one geographically limited jurisdiction. On the other hand, a decision to publish the texts of laws and decrees of a country in a minority language will have approximately the same effect for both types of minorities. The articles in this special issue of LPLP address and evaluate different types of policy measures for different linguistic minorities and illustrate important aspects of the main questions in this paper.

Is minority language use a right or a privilege?

Abstract This paper demonstrates how European institutions bend to the idea of the mono-ethnic and monolingual nation-state. Instead of encouraging the use of minority languages and accepting them as a value, minority languages are treated as a tolerated but voluntarily assumed handicap. This is in stark contrast to the treatment of other types of protected identities, such as religion, gender and sexual orientation. Against this background, there is a desperate need for clear value-setting by the European institutions and for a clear message that language shaming is not a venial sin of the monolingual nation-state but a no-go zone even for populists. For this, however, language chauvinism should not be condoned but condemned.

Legitimation of Linguistic Hegemony Through Language in Education Policy in Nepal: A Critical Discourse Analysis

The constitutional provision of equal right to all languages as a medium of instruction claims that linguistic justice over all the languages has been maintained in Nepalese Education system. However, this 'positive self-representation' of the constitution and the government seem to implicitly marginalize the 'other languages' through legitimation of domination of powerful languages such as, English and Nepali. Based on this issue, this paper critically analyzes the discourse of Language in Education Policy (a part of National Education Policy 2019) in order to examine how hegemony of dominant languages such as, English and Nepali over other minority languages is legitimized through language in Education Policy in the context of Nepal. Critically analyzing the discourse of language in education policy of Nepal through the lens of ideology, power and double voicedness, the paper reveals that even though Nepalese language in education policy seems to adopt mother tongue-based multilingual education policy, hegemony of two dominant languages (English and Nepali) is still prevalent. The hegemony of these dominant languages is legitimized, reinforced and maintained by the nation through language in education policies.

Northern Kresy Polish – a Summary of Research

This article presents a concise overview of research on the Northern Kresy variety of the Polish language (polszczyzna północnokresowa). There is extensive literature on the subject, but there is still no comprehensive bibliography which would accurately document the rich legacy of several generations of researchers working in this field of study. Northern Kresy Polish is a variety of the Polish language which formed in the historical Slavic-Baltic borderland, mainly as a result of the processes of Polonisation of the local population. Contacts between various ethnolinguistic communities resulted in significant social and territorial diversity of Northern Kresy Polish in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The differences between its variants consist mainly in the frequency of features and the scale of influence of local languages and dialects on the grammatical system and vocabulary of Polish. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify a set of constitutive features of Northern Kresy Polish which function throughout its entire geographical area. Currently, Northern Kresy Polish is defined as the language of the Polish minority in Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia. It is apparent that the Polish language in all of these countries is in decline.

Two millennia of language policies in China

Abstract This scholarly investigation delves into the metamorphosis of China’s language policies across three distinct epochs spanning over two millennia, tracing from ancient China to contemporary times. Employing a sociolinguistic lens, the analysis elucidates the historical trajectories of these policies, accentuating their theoretical and pragmatic implications, particularly in the realms of linguistic strategies for ethnic minorities and the overarching national language. The derived conclusions highlight a nuanced amalgamation of subjectivity and diversity within these policies, encompassing both the elevation of Mandarin and the preservation of minority languages. By deciphering historical patterns, this study aspires to furnish insights that could inform prospective orientations in China’s linguistic policy formulation, set against the evolving backdrop of global interconnectedness, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the nation’s overarching developmental objectives.

Syntax in transition

This paper is an investigation of a language contact phenomenon currently taking place in Aanaar (Inari) Saami, an indigenous minority language of Finland. Aanaar Saami people have been in contact with Finnish speakers for centuries, so much so that the language community has become bilingual. This has resulted in the borrowing of both numerous Finnish loanwords and even some syntactic constructions into Aanaar Saami and seems to herald a larger change in the language. The present study focuses on a type of syntactic change called differential argument marking, which is examined in three Aanaar Saami clause types: transitive clauses, existential clauses, and passive verb clauses. Finnish exhibits complex argument marking, characterized by a total–partial distinction, whereas traditional Aanaar Saami does not have differential argument marking in subjects or objects. However, new Aanaar Saami shows multiple emergent types of differential argument marking that vary between individual speakers and, while clearly influenced by Finnish, do not always mirror their Finnish equivalents one-to-one. This, and the observation that differential argument marking is non-existent in older language materials, suggests that the phenomenon is recentFinnish influence.