Effort to promote an endangered language or revive a dead language
Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one.[1][2] Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, or governments. Some argue for a distinction between language revival (the resurrection of an extinct language with no existing native speakers) and language revitalization (the rescue of a "dying" language). There has only been one successful instance of a complete language revival, the Hebrew language, creating a new generation of native speakers without any pre-existing native speakers as a model.[3]
Languages targeted for language revitalization include those whose use and prominence is severely limited. Sometimes various tactics of language revitalization can even be used to try to revive extinct languages. Though the goals of language revitalization vary greatly from case to case, they typically involve attempting to expand the number of speakers and use of a language, or trying to maintain the current level of use to protect the language from extinction or language death.
Reasons for revitalization vary: they can include physical danger affecting those whose language is dying, economic danger such as the exploitation of indigenous natural resources, political danger such as genocide, or cultural danger/assimilation.[4] In recent times[when?] alone, it is estimated that more than 2000 languages have already become extinct. The UN estimates that more than half of the languages spoken today have fewer than 10,000 speakers and that a quarter have fewer than 1,000 speakers; and that, unless there are some efforts to maintain them, over the next hundred years most of these will become extinct.[5] These figures are often cited as reasons why language revitalization is necessary to preserve linguistic diversity. Culture and identity are also frequently cited reasons for language revitalization, when a language is perceived as a unique "cultural treasure".[6] A community often sees language as a unique part of their culture, connecting them with their ancestors or with the land, making up an essential part of their history and self-image.[7]
Language revitalization is also closely tied to the linguistic field of language documentation. In this field, linguists try to create a complete record of a language's grammar, vocabulary, and linguistic features. This practice can often lead to more concern for the revitalization of a specific language on study. Furthermore, the task of documentation is often taken on with the goal of revitalization in mind.[8]
^Tsunoda, Tasaku. Language Endangerment and Language Revitalization. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter, 2005. p. 169. Print.
^Pine, Aidan; Turin, Mark (29 March 2017). "Language Revitalization". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.8. ISBN 9780199384655.
^Grenoble, Leonore A.; Whaley, Lindsay J. (2005). Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0521016520. Hebrew is cited by Paulston et al. (1993:276) as 'the only true example of language revival.'
^Crystal, David (2010). "Language Planning". In Crystal, David (ed.). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (Third ed.). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. pp. 382–387.
^"Endangered Languages". Archived from the original on 9 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
^Grenoble, Leonore A.; Whaley, Lindsay J. (2005). Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0521016520.
^Tsunoda, Tasaku. Language Endangerment and Language Revitalization. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter, 2005. Print.
^New Perspectives on Endangered Languages. Ed. José A.F. Farfán and Fernando F. Ramallo. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2010. pp. 1-7. Print.
and 29 Related for: Language revitalization information
Languagerevitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language...
Welsh (Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ]) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken...
stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic languagerevitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and...
and boost its confidence in the success of languagerevitalization efforts. Irish language Official Languages Act 2003 Gaeltacht – Irish speaking regions...
Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use...
Extinct language Lists of extinct languages International auxiliary languageLanguage contact Language movement Language policy Languagerevitalization Language...
"Keeping the fire alive: a decade of languagerevitalization in Mexico" showing the experiences of languagerevitalization in South Mexico. The following is...
mention of language education and how it should be carried out. The focus at this point was on Ainu culture revitalization rather than Ainu language revitalization...
important in growing languagerevitalization. Research has been done in Ojibwe communities to prove the important role languagerevitalization has in treating...
helped spread awareness of languagerevitalization. Bilingual programs for languagerevitalization are tricky; each language is different, and there is...
created to help revitalize the language. Since 2019, more recent Hopi languagerevitalization programs have been reported, involving language immersion for...
ceremonial contexts. Presently, Gabrielino is also being used in languagerevitalization classes and in some public discussion regarding religious and environmental...
language. The first is language documentation, the second is languagerevitalization and the third is language maintenance. Language documentation is the...
Brantford, Ontario. As of 2022, an active languagerevitalization program is underway. Seneca is an Iroquoian language spoken by the Seneca people, one of the...
Iroquois Linguistics for Language Learners, is designed for students and language teachers working in languagerevitalization. Six Nations Polytechnic...
Leo connection in Hawaiian languagerevitalization. In L. Hinton & K. Hale (Eds.), The green book of languagerevitalization in practice (p. 147-177)....
Whaley, Lindsay J. (2005). Saving Languages: An Introduction to LanguageRevitalization. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-521-01652-0...
determination and revitalization of indigenous language and education. Article 13 1. Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and...
Wallace published a paper called "Revitalization Movements" to describe how cultures change themselves. A revitalization movement is a "deliberate, organized...
as the Boasian Trilogy. Languagerevitalization is the practice of bringing a language back into common use. The revitalization efforts can take the form...
intended "to lead a Lakota LanguageRevitalization Initiative that will focus on the creation and operation of Lakota language immersion schools and identifying...
of the Yola language today. Language death LanguagerevitalizationLanguage policy Minority language Regional language "Living languages". AIATSIS. Retrieved...
surge of revitalization efforts to encourage cultural awareness of indigenous customs and traditions. Of these, the Blackfoot revitalization effort has...
graduate eighth grade and they have high rates of poverty. Most languagerevitalization efforts have been in rural communities and these efforts have been...
department of Chickasaw Language with a 24-member Chickasaw Language Committee. In 2007, the tribe founded the Chickasaw LanguageRevitalization Program. Four levels...
Squamish to be the official language of their people, a declaration made to ensure funding for the language and its revitalization. In 2010, the First Peoples’...
Na-Dene language family. Extensive effort is being put into revitalization programs in Southeast Alaska to revive and preserve the Tlingit language and culture...
saved the Serrano language from complete extinction. After Dorothy Ramon's death, the language is now considered dormant, as revitalization efforts have allowed...
revitalization efforts. Around 200 speakers of the Eastern (also referred to as the Middle or Kituwah) dialect remain in North Carolina, and language...
Global Information