Reclaiming languages: Contesting and decolonising ‘language endangerment’ from the ground up
- Haley De Korne
- Wesley Y. Leonard
Abstract
The papers in this volume contribute to the increasingly interdisciplinary discussion about ways to address language endangerment by examining language reclamation strategies, or place-specific actions through which individuals and/or groups are countering forms of marginalisation experienced by minority language speakers and communities. Focused on such responses from the ground up, the papers illustrate practices through which linguists, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders may contribute to or directly engage in initiatives that support the needs and goals of language communities. These ground-up strategies emerge from and respond to the pressures and opportunities of specific contexts, and represent some of the possible answers and actions aimed at shifting power imbalances in situations of language endangerment.
In taking this approach, the papers in this volume critically examine the movement to revitalise endangered languages, which is often associated with certain discourses and knowledge production practices that are characteristic of language documentation, categorisation, and ethnic essentialism – arguably the most publicly visible responses to language endangerment on a global scale.
Keywords: language endangerment, language reclamation, endangered languages, revitalization, strategies, criticism, decolonization
How to Cite:
De Korne, H. & Leonard, W., (2017) “Reclaiming languages: Contesting and decolonising ‘language endangerment’ from the ground up”, Language Documentation and Description 14, 5-14. doi: https://doi.org/10.25894/ldd145
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