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Language Majorities and Minorities

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1 Definitions

Different types of minorities

• Language minorities

• lesser-used languages

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2 Features of minority / lesser-used languages

widespread bilingualismlanguage shift towards dominant languagelack of competence in lesser-used language

influences from language contact

political/legal discourseeducationscientific discourse and technologyworld of workprint media/electronic mediaarts music, sportsreligious discourseinterpersonal relationships/family

loss/lack of domains

language considered poor and inadequateattempts at marginalisation/ eradication from within or outsidelack of a generally accepted (written) standard

loss/lack of status

geographic displacementdecline in the number of speakersloss or lack of linguistic hinterlandloss or lack of urban centre

loss/lack of territorial base

ElementsFactors

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3 Assessing Language Communities: Ethnolinguistic VitalityEV focuses on relationships between language groups in

interaction: “that which makes a group likely to behave as a distinctive

and active entity in intergroup situations” (Giles 1977: 308).

Three factors: • Status: economic, social, socio-historical and language

status in and outside language community• Demography:

– distribution: national territory concentration and proportion of language community in society

– numbers: absolute numbers, birth rate, mixed (exogamous) marriages, immigration/emigration

• Institutional support: mass media, education, government services, industry, religion, culture, politics

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4 Languages in Competition: “Language Vigour”

4.1 Types of languages in a state or society• local languages

– either proficiency desirable / never questioned, vital for economic survival and social mobility

– or important for political, cultural or social reasons, not (necessarily) socio-economically

• languages needed for wider communication (tourism, globalised economy)

• languages spoken by powerless minority (migrants, refugees, indigenous people)

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4.2 Factors determining Language Vigour

currency

how widely a language is used or usable

territory

where the language is used

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4.2.1 The notion of “Currency”

“Linguistic exchange … is also an economic exchange which establishes within a particular symbolic relation of power between a producer, endowed with a certain linguistic capital, and a consumer (or a market), and which is capable of procuring certain material or symbolic profit. … [t]he relation between linguistic competences … helps to determine the law of price formation that obtains in a particular exchange. (Bourdieu 1991: 66-67, emphasis added)

“Price formation” determines the value of codes in a communicative exchange

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(4.2.1) Analysing the metaphor of “currency”: an aside

lesser-used languages (not “convertible” outside their limited market places)Migrant languages

many Third World national currencies, but locals prefer more convertible currency

Swiss German, Finnish, DanishIcelandic etc.

in some former Eastern Block countries, only legitimate currency is local

English (also French and German as main EU language)

US dollar anywhere in the world

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(4.2.1) Factors making up currency

recognition language is recognised in the setting even by non-native speakers

response interlocutors respond in the language when addressed

desirability proficiency in the language is seen as “a good thing”

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(4.2.1) Five typical situations

1. Language A is local language. ..

2. Language B is recognised by non-native interlocutors, most respond or attempt to respond in it; it is perceived as important

3. Language C recognised by non-native interlocutors, some can respond; more might like to

4. Language D recognised by most non-native interlocutors, who can’t respond; few would like to

5. Language E not recognised, no response; minute interest in being able to

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(4.2.1) High level of currency of a language means:

• It is spoken and understood by most if not all members of a given societal setting.

• Proficiency is obviously important for socio-economic status and mobility.

• It is used in many / all domains.

• A substantial body of written texts exists in many / all genres

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4.2.1.2 The notion of “Territory”

Definition: A language community • is indigenous to a region or has inhabited it for a

long time / historically• considers itself resident in a hereditary homeland

Simple but fraught: Problems over territory claims• Palestine and Israel• Former Yugoslavia• territorial boundaries drawn by

– colonialists or – a majority (or powerful elite) to suit their interest

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(4.2.2) Issue of territory for less vigorous languages: IrelandIrish language was a marker of Irish (Nationalist) identity in the form of the Gaelic League, but not for long:

“The work of the Gaelic League ... is done …: the beginning of the Irish Revolution. Let our generation now not shirk its deed, which is to accomplish the revolution.” (Pearse, leader of Easter Rising in 1916, in 1913, quoted in Mansergh, 1965: 247)

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(4.2.2) Issue of territory for less vigorous languages: Ireland b)

loss of domains

erosion of traditional territories

non-contiguous

language islands

fewer contacts between speakers /more need to communicate in English

more bilinguals with problematic language attitudes

increased trend towards more vigorous language

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(4.2.2) Attrition of Romansh territory since 1860

Rumansh as main language 1860

Rumansh as main language in family, school and/or profession 2000 (Source: Lia Rumantscha)

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(4.2.2) Problematic aspects of territory

• definition of language borders• stability of the borders• homogeneity of the speech community in

its territory• problem of territory typical for non-

sedentary ethnic groups (Rom) or semi-sedentary peoples (Native Americans, Sami, etc.)

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(4.2.2) Issues pertaining to “territory”

• How large is the language territory?• Are the borders stable?• Is the territory contiguous or is it a series

than isolated pockets?• Is there a demographic focal point: urban

centre?• Do in-migrants adopt the language or not?

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4.3 Relative language vigour

+-

Type B

superposed, lingua franca, language of

wider communication

Type D

migrant language, indigenous language

-

Type A

secure regional / official language

Type C

regional, lesser-used language, dialect,

sociolect

+

currency

territory

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4.3.1 Type A: language with territory and currency

• Icelandic approx. 320’000 speakers.

• Swiss-German 4’900’000 million speakers

• French as majority language in Quebec; Romandie

• Italian in Ticino

• Belgium: 3 Type A, each with a guaranteed territory.

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4.3.2 Type B: language without territory, but currency

• English, Spanish, Arabic, etc. languages for wider communication, lingua franca

• French in German-speaking Switzerland (?)

• English, French, Dutch, etc. in continued use in ex-colonies

• Some domains in Type A language areas

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4.3.3 Type C: language with territory, but without currency

• Lesser-used languages– Welsh, Gaelic, Irish (?)– French minority languages (Alsation, Breton,

Provençal, Occitane, etc.)• Language minorites

– Kurdish – Hungarian in Slovakia

Problems for such language groups: • lack of transmission language death• support from (middle-class) activists in the

community, diaspora and well-meaning outsiders

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4.3.4 Type D: language without territory or currency

• Migrant languages– South-Slavonic languages, Portuguese, (Spanish?) Tamil,

etc. in Switzerland– Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Chinese in US, UK, Canada

• Aboriginal languages– Koorie languages in Australia, – Maori in NZ, – Native American languages in US– First Nation languages in Canada– Sami in Finnland, Sweden and Norway

• Languages of non-sedentary ethnicities– Rom, Jenisch

• Belgium: 3 Type A, each with a guaranteed territory.

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4.3.5 Consequences for C and D Types• Loss of domains• Stigmatisation of language• Lack of transmission• Loss, erosion or absence of territory• Communicative exchanges increasingly in

dominant language• Attrition of subordinate language (grammar,

vocabulary)• Loss of speakers

Language Death (or Language Suicide)