International Journal of the Sociology of Language· 2015Q1
New speakers of minority languages: the challenging opportunity – Foreword
- 388citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
This special issue introduces the concept of "new speakers" who acquire minority languages outside of traditional home or community settings, highlighting how globalization is reshaping minority language communities and sociolinguistic research.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Introduces the "new speaker" concept for individuals acquiring minority languages outside traditional contexts.
- Highlights globalization's role in creating new speaker profiles and changing minority language communities.
- Examines how the "new speaker" concept challenges fundamental sociolinguistic research principles and language planning.
- Features analyses of "new speaker" communities in various European regions like Catalonia, Ireland, and the Basque Country.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
In this special issue we examine and reflect upon the emergence of “new speakers” in the context of some of Europe’s minority languages. The “new speaker” label is used here to describe individuals with little or no home or community exposure to a minority language but who instead acquire it through immersion or bilingual educational programs, revitalization projects or as adult language learners. The emergence of this profile of speaker draws our attention to the ways in which minority linguistic communities are changing because of globalization and the new profiles of speakers that this new social order is creating. The concept also focuses our attention on some of the fundamental principles which had for a long time been taken for granted in much sociolinguistic research and in particular, language planning associated with linguistic revitalization. The authors of the eight articles included in this volume engage with these issues through their analyses of new speaker communities across a variety of European contexts including the Basque Country, Brittany, Catalonia, Corsica, Galicia, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Occitania.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Linguistics and Language
Linguistics and LanguageSocial Sciences