Chapter 9. Revitalising contested languages
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Paolo Coluzzi
Abstract
This chapter opens with an introduction to the Lombard language and its institutional and sociolinguistic situation, including the reasons why the term “language” is used and not the commonly used “dialect”. The second and main part of the chapter looks at what has been done to date and what is currently being done to try to reverse the ongoing language shift that is constantly reducing the number of speakers and the domains where the language is used. This includes a detailed account of corpus planning, particularly the phase known as ‘graphisation’ (writing systems, including the latest polynomic system for all Lombard varieties), status planning and acquisition planning, all of which have been carried out by committed individuals and private associations. The chapter closes with a short discussion on the present status of Lombard with reference to the recent regional law for the protection and promotion of the Lombard language.
Abstract
This chapter opens with an introduction to the Lombard language and its institutional and sociolinguistic situation, including the reasons why the term “language” is used and not the commonly used “dialect”. The second and main part of the chapter looks at what has been done to date and what is currently being done to try to reverse the ongoing language shift that is constantly reducing the number of speakers and the domains where the language is used. This includes a detailed account of corpus planning, particularly the phase known as ‘graphisation’ (writing systems, including the latest polynomic system for all Lombard varieties), status planning and acquisition planning, all of which have been carried out by committed individuals and private associations. The chapter closes with a short discussion on the present status of Lombard with reference to the recent regional law for the protection and promotion of the Lombard language.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- Chapter 1. What are contested languages and why should linguists care? 3
-
Section 1. The broader picture
- Chapter 2. Contested languages and the denial of linguistic rights in the 21st century 21
- Chapter 3. Democracy 41
-
Section 2. Identifying and perceiving contested languages
- Chapter 4. Mixing methods in linguistic classification 59
- Chapter 5. The cost of ignoring degrees of Abstand in defining a regional language 87
- Chapter 6. Deconstructing the idea of language 105
- Chapter 7. Surveying the ethnolinguistic vitality of two contested languages 125
- Chapter 8. Contested orthographies 143
- Chapter 9. Revitalising contested languages 163
-
Section 3. Working with contestedness
- Chapter 10. Community-based language planning 185
- Chapter 11. Teaching Piedmontese 199
- Chapter 12. Publishing a grammar and literature anthology of a contested language 209
- Chapter 13. Which Sardinian for education? 221
-
Section 4. Beyond contested languages
- Chapter 14. Citizenship and nationality 237
- Chapter 15. The language ideology of Esperanto 247
- Index 269
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- Chapter 1. What are contested languages and why should linguists care? 3
-
Section 1. The broader picture
- Chapter 2. Contested languages and the denial of linguistic rights in the 21st century 21
- Chapter 3. Democracy 41
-
Section 2. Identifying and perceiving contested languages
- Chapter 4. Mixing methods in linguistic classification 59
- Chapter 5. The cost of ignoring degrees of Abstand in defining a regional language 87
- Chapter 6. Deconstructing the idea of language 105
- Chapter 7. Surveying the ethnolinguistic vitality of two contested languages 125
- Chapter 8. Contested orthographies 143
- Chapter 9. Revitalising contested languages 163
-
Section 3. Working with contestedness
- Chapter 10. Community-based language planning 185
- Chapter 11. Teaching Piedmontese 199
- Chapter 12. Publishing a grammar and literature anthology of a contested language 209
- Chapter 13. Which Sardinian for education? 221
-
Section 4. Beyond contested languages
- Chapter 14. Citizenship and nationality 237
- Chapter 15. The language ideology of Esperanto 247
- Index 269
