Translation- Revitalizing the Amazigh Language (2011) (original) (raw)
Related papers
Endangered Languages.:Endangered Languages
Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 1995
lems, which arise more from availability than from lack of oversight, Genre and the New Rhetoric is a significant contribution to our understanding of a multiplicity of issues related to genre, such as rhetoric, philosophy of language, speech act theory, literacy, and language education. Endangered Languages. Robert H. Robins and Eugenius M. Uhlenbeck, eds. Berg Oxford, 1991.273 pp.
Amazigh Language Endangerment FELXII
The aim of the present paper is to investigate language endangerment in Morocco. The focus is on the interplay between bilingualism and language endangerment. The study also investigates the role of teaching and transmission in language maintenance and revival. Two hypotheses underlie the present study: (i) Amazigh -Darija bilingualism is transitional and a stage towards Darija monolingualism (ii) Amazigh teaching cannot guarantee the maintenance of a language whose speakers are progressively and consciously choosing not to transmit it to the future generations. The study is concerned with the situation of Amazigh in Morocco in general and the Beni Iznassen community in particular. It adopts a qualitative approach inscribed in an eclectic framework based on an exhaustive fieldwork investigation (linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse analysis, anthropology, sociology, etc.). The analysis reveals that despite the changes in the authorities' attitudes and discourse, Amazigh is still perceived as a non-prestigious language given its status on the Moroccan linguistic market and the importance of foreign languages, especially French for social mobility. We can claim that teaching may help revive the language and delay its death, but it will not help maintain it as a community language.
Speaking of endangered languages: issues in revitalization
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2014
of Arabic and Islamic schools, and the curricula considered only French civilisation, history and values. Destroying the rich Islamic tradition of education, colonialism almost erased Arabic as well. With independence, Algeria (like other countries) was confronted with the task of strengthening the place of Classical Arabic in the face of the predominance of French. The third chapter describes the ensuing linguistic situation. The most ardent supporters of the Arabisation policy were the purists or traditionalists, motivated by nationalistic considerations. The policy is a reaffirmation of a national identity that had been obscured during the years of colonisation. It was forcefully implemented, however, and ignored the multilingual nature of the country. It was, indeed, a political strategy on the part of ruling elite, implementing measures that endorsed particular post-colonial nationalist ideologies while confirming their own claims to power. Arabisation is not merely a matter of language promotion; rather, it entails the preferment of a particular state-centred vision of language and culture. Rapid post-independence Arabisationwithout adequate staffingbrought about a dramatic lowering of standards and profoundly divided Algerian society. The fourth chapter deals with the conflict between French and English. Arabisation has enhanced the role of English to the detriment of French, in the sense that the latter no longer remains prominent, while the former is not connected to political considerations and is not viewed as a sign of colonialism. The fifth chapter examines language conflict among Algerian writers since the end of the nineteenth century, and describes some of the tragic consequences of French linguistic assimilation. The book ends with an epilogue describing the language policy in Algeria as a top-down and undemocratic one, since policy-makers do not take into consideration people's attitude and no surveys are implemented. Although the author provides a fascinating examination of language conflict in Algeria and has made an effort to draw on published studies of other North African countries (namely, Morocco and Tunisia), it is surprising that there is no mention of other Middle East states, given that they share a common language (Arabic). Benrabah might have better engaged the wider literature about language conflict in the Arab world. Suleiman's work, for instance, could have enriched the first chapter, where the author presents the book's themes and outlines his arguments. As well, the book would have been of more interest if Benrabah had closely investigated the conflict between Algerian and Standard Arabic. Although Classical Arabic has survived linguistic rivalry and French dominance, a new contender is entering the ring. More specifically, Classical Arabic is facing tremendous challenges from the Algerian dialectal variety; in modern Arab thought, Arabic dialects are construed as the opponents to Standard Arabic. Despite the reservations and minor objections noted above, however, Benrabah's book provides a convenient overview of the language situation in Algeria and illustrates the rich potential for further investigation.
Language endangerment, a global phenomenon, is accelerating and 90 percent of the world's languages are about to disappear in 21 st century, leading to the loss of human intellectual and cultural diversity. When Europe colonized the New World and the South, an enormous body of cultural and intellectual wealth of indigenous people was lost completely and it was appreciable only through the language that disappeared with it (Hale, 1998). This research deals with the problem of language loss in the world and seeks answer to critical questions: What does language extinction mean for humankind? What is to be done to save languages from loss? Some scholars suggest that linguists should find solutions whereas others disagree that it is linguists' responsibility to maintain and preserve the currently disappearing languages. Moreover, the research indicates that not only language specialists are participating in this process but also general public, particularly members of the communities whose languages are declining, are contributing their efforts in saving languages from loss.
A CRITICAL READING ON LANGUAGE ENDANGERMENT: FOCUSING ON ENDANGERED LANGUAGES IN IRAN
Journal of Critical Applied Linguistics Studies, 2022
Endangerment of diversity is among the great problems of modern era, deterioration of linguistic diversity of the world being among its clear illustrations. This study is based on this idea that causes of deterioration of biodiversity and sociolinguistic diversity are similar, not to say being the same. Therefore, after explanting the "introduction", "review of the literature" and "theoretical base of the research", we have focused on Iran's endangered languages, to present some suggestions seeming to be suitable for increasing the vitality of these endangered languages. This study underlines the importance of the size of a speech community, the declining prestige of the language, and the decrease of the usual functions of it as the main factors leading to the endangerment and ultimate demise of a language. As a result, increasing the solidarity of a speech community, maintaining the usual functions of endangered languages, and promoting their prestige among their speakers are among the ways mentioned for preserving such languages and dialects of Iran.
Revitalizing Endangered Languages
Revitalizing Endangered Languages, 2021
Of the approximately 7,000 languages in the world, at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of the twenty-first century. Languages are endangered by a number of factors, including globalization, education policies, and the political, economic and cultural marginalization of minority groups. This guidebook provides ideas and strategies, as well as some background, to help with the effective revitalization of endangered languages. It covers a broad scope of themes including effective planning, benefits, wellbeing, economic aspects, attitudes and ideologies. The chapter authors have hands-on experience of language revitalization in many countries around the world, and each chapter includes a wealth of examples, such as case studies from specific languages and language areas. Clearly and accessibly written, it is suitable for non-specialists as well as academic researchers and students interested in language revitalization. This book is also available as Open Access on Cambridge...
Thinking on Endangered Languages
Th e wo r ld is a p e rp e tu a l c a r ic a tu re o f it se lf ; a t e ve r y m o m e n t it i s th e m o c ke r y a n d th e c o n t ra d ic ti o n o f wh a t it i s p re t e n d i n g to b e. G eor g e San tay an a ____________________________________________________________________________ Özet Tarih boyunca toplumsal, dilsel ve kültürel süreçlerde çeşitli olumsuz pratikler izlenmiş olsa da, gelecek için umut besleyebilmemiz mümkün gözükmekte. Bu kısa yazının amacı da, farklı düzeylerde tehlike içinde olduğu düşünülen dillerin durumuna ve bu dillerin durumunu olumsuz yönde etkileyen politik, ekonomik ve toplumsal etmenlere karşın, iyi niyetli çabalarla yürütülen çalışmaların başarıya ulaşabileceğine vurgu yapmak. Çok kolay olmasa da, bu ütopyayı sağlayabilmek tarihsel olarak dilsel ve kültürel haklara ve değerlere ilişkin yerleşiklik kazanmış olumsuz tutumları ve uygulamaları değiştirebilmekten, ciddi ve samimi politik kararları yerel ve küresel olarak uygulamaya koyabilmekten; dolayısıyla yeni bir bilinci 'güç' olarak belirleyerek, bu anlayışı evrensel olarak paylaşılan bir 'bilgi' birimi biçimine getirebilmekten geçiyor. Bunun ne ölçüde gerçekçi olabileceği ise zaman içinde görülebilecek. Abstract No matter what different ideology-based negative practices might have been observed on a variety of social, linguistic and cultural issues so far, the future seems not to be without hope. This short piece of writing aims to put an emphasis on the fact that, despite the negative phenomena observed in different parts of the world concerning the languages at various degrees of endangerement, a series of conscious attempts can work out once the well-intended attempts are seriously supported by sincere and well-planned local and global political decisions. Only then can the historically established negative attitudes towards the local linguistic and cultural rights and values be inverted and become part of a collective human truth globally shared.
Endangered Languages: in Search of a Comprehensive Model for Research and Revitalization
Reviving languages depends on a shared commitment. Every word is a fresh hope. Every hope is a fresh word (Abley 2005: 239) Setting the goals Paradoxically, never before have languages been disappearing at today's pace, and yet never before has preserving them been so difficult, despite all technological and economic or scientific resources available to humanity and despite awareness of this process. Although the term language revitalization is most often used to cover a wide range of situations of speech communities as well as varying degrees and constellations of language endangerment, many different concepts and approaches have been developed by scholars and activists to deal with the problem of language loss. Language maintenance can be an essential aim for communities still using their language, but exposed to pressures associated with a dominant language/s and factors
Review of New Perspectives on Endangered Languages
2013
1. OVERVIEW. This volume establishes a new perspective by bringing together scholars with a range of approaches to endangered languages, thus living up to its name: the very act of bringing these authors together provides a new perspective on the connections between documentation, sociolinguistics, and language revitalization. Specifically, it illustrates how language documentation can and should be informed by sociolinguistic considerations if it is to help promote language revitalization. The question, then, is what should documentation consist of? While the authors propose different answers to this question, there is a certain amount of consistency among them, and a picture emerges from this volume of the factors that are considered most relevant. summarizes the factors mentioned in each chapter. ('Mentioning' may consist of actual reporting on that factor for the community in question, or of recommendations that such factors should be considered.)