New speakers of new and old languages: an investigation into the gap between language practices and language policy (original) (raw)
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Language policy and ‘new speakers’: an introduction to the thematic issue
Language Policy, 2019
In recent years, sociolinguistic research on minority languages in Europe, particu-larly in the Galician context, has chiefly contributed both theoretically and empiri-cally to the growing attention given to ‘new speakers’, as well as to the emergence of a European research network in 2013 entitled ‘New Speakers in a multilingual Europe: Opportunities and challenges’ (www.nspk.org.uk). As documented in spe-cial issues and edited volumes, the research activities in the network not only aimed at adding the term ‘new speaker’ to the growing pool of analytical terminology in critically oriented sociolinguistics. Employing ‘new speaker’ as a lens rather than as a clear-cut notion is what we—as editors—had in mind when giving shape to this volume, drawing on discussions during the final phases of the above-mentioned research network. This seemed especially useful because such a broad take on ‘new speakerness’ opens up avenues for comparative research under a common label. In sum, it is certainly worth the effort to continue delving deeper into the notion of ‘new speakers’, and particularly to do that from the perspective of language policy. The articles collected in this thematic issue aim at contributing into that direction.
‘New speakers’ and language policy research: thematic and theoretical contributions to the field
Language Policy, 2019
In this article, we reflect on the extent to which ‘new speaker’ research feeds into recent theoretical discussions in language policy scholarship, especially in con‑nection to the discursive and ethnographically oriented perspectives which of late have become increasingly prominent. We begin with a brief overview of the ‘new speaker’ concept, its theoretical and empirical origins, and then we situate the dis‑cussions on ‘new speakers’ against the background of traditional language policy research. Thereafter the bulk of the article is dedicated to developing two main argu‑ments: first, we provide an overview of the language policy themes that are already present in ‘new speaker’ research; and secondly, we elaborate on how ‘new speaker’ studies can contribute to current discussions in the field of language policy. We conclude with a short overview of future research directions that, in our view, can strengthen the link and the mutual benefits of the connection between ‘new speaker’ and language policy scholarship.
Journal of Language Policy, 2023
Language Policy and the New Speaker Challenge traces the emergence of the new speaker phenomenon as a focus of academic interest. Initially, the concept referred to speakers who learn a minoritised language outside of the home and face specific challenges to incorporate it in all domains of life. Later, the concept was extended to migrant, transnational, and refugee speakers who have to learn a nation-state language under the language regimes of a new polity. Addressing the conundrum faced by policy-makers to translate research on new speakers into mainstream policy, the monograph argues that research-led evidence provided by the COST action IS1306 new speakers network (2013-2017) has not sufficiently engaged with the policymaking domains the COST action sought to influence. Due to the fuzziness of the concept, Williams argues in the introductory chapter that academics should further concretise it for policy-makers so the latter can more easily integrate it in prospective public policy strategies. In Chap. 2, key opportunities and challenges of new speaker research are assessed with a view to increasing policy impact as well as advocating for more efforts to further explore the migrant and refugee spectrum deemed understudied. The author then examines the following minority language jurisdictions as case studies in subsequent chapters: Wales, Scotland, Ireland, the Basque Autonomous Community and Navarre, Catalonia and Galicia. Chapter 3 extensively addresses the Welsh context by exposing policy stakeholders' scepticism about new speakers as a clear-cut category needing specific policies. Chapter 4 offers a fine-grained analysis of the polarising dynamics of the Scottish gaelic context characterised by persisting frictions between the divergent but unequivocally urgent needs to preserve fragile traditional communities and integrate new speakers to ensure the very survival of the language, all the while government agencies take a rather lukewarm approach.
What does it mean to say you support minority languages? Historically, minority language policy has been about enabling speakers of smaller languages to speak them freely. But the last few decades have seen a growth of efforts to recruit entirely new speakers of minority languages. This goes well beyond encouraging younger generations of minority language communities to maintain their language. Witness instead the rise of “new speakers” – individuals “with little or no home or community exposure to a minority language but who instead acquire it through immersion or bilingual education programs, revitalization projects or as adult language learners” (O’Rourke et al. 2015: 1). A key example is the Welsh Government’s explicit goal of a million Welsh speakers by 2050 (roughly doubling the current number). This includes areas of Wales that have long ceased to be ‘heartlands’ of Welsh language use. Other similar examples include Catalan, Basque, Breton, Cornish, Irish, and Scottish Gaelic, where the state has committed to recruiting new speakers. I discuss all this in light of the human rights theory of capabilities – the idea that people should be enabled to improve their material wellbeing and achieve things like sustenance, civic engagement, justice, and other tenets of social inclusion. To what extent can the promotion of “new speakers” relate to capabilities? Is this about helping people improve their material wellbeing, or something more abstract? Can we really speak of the ‘human right’ to speak a language with which you have no heritage connection? Lastly, I ask what this might mean for the future of language policy. After all, in many cases there are clear signs of new speakers beginning to outnumber traditional speakers; so the minority language planning of tomorrow may look like a very different endeavour, requiring different explanations. • O’Rourke, Bernadette, Joan Pujolar & Fernando Ramallo. 2015. New speakers of minority languages: the challenging opportunity – Foreword. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 23(1): 1-20.
Contesting sub-state integration policies: migrant new speakers as stakeholders in language regimes
Language Policy , 2019
This paper aims to illuminate the role of sub-state languages in the integration process of migrants in two sub-state regions: Wales in the UK and the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain. We investigate how language and the idea of 'belongin-gess' based on language learning and knowledge are constructed in the integration policies in these two officially bilingual regions. We analyse policy documents on the topic of integration of migrants in the respective state and sub-state regions, as well as exploring how the role of language is in turn understood, accepted or contested by migrants. Using ethnographically oriented methods of enquiry such as observations of linguistic practices as well as semi-structured interviews with migrant learners of Welsh and Basque, this analysis seeks to contribute to the growing field of LPP as a multifaceted area of study, and in this case, position migrants as agents in policy-making processes. We find that despite distinctive and ambiguous roles ascribed to the respective official languages of each region, migrant new speakers ascribe certain values and roles to each language, which are not necessarily acknowledged or envisaged as such in integration policies. We propose that taking the voice of migrant new speakers learners into account would improve language and integration policymaking in these two sub-state regions and help to redefine the role of language resources in national 'belongingess' according to the needs of the stakeholders involved.
Language Education Policy in Late Modernity: (Socio) linguistic Ethnographies in the European Union
Language Policy journal
Focusing on developments in research on language education policy, this introduction to the thematic special issue begins with a sketch of the new problem space emerging at the intersection of intensified transnational mobility, expanding economic neo-liberalisation and institutionalised of multilingualism. It then identifies situated practice, commodification and declining state authority as key perspectives and themes in the study of language policy, and outlines the methods required to address these. After that, it provides an overview of the articles in which these issues are addressed. Keywords: Language education policy; Late modernity; European Union; Multilingualism; Sociolinguistic ethnography
Language Policy in Practice: Re-bordering the Nation
International Migration, 2013
We present findings from an anthropological field study on the role of language and language policy in migration from Poland to Norway, and the larger implications for emerging language and immigration policy in Europe. Initial fieldwork in Norway found that Polish workers without knowledge of the Norwegian language struggled to secure employment in the formal economy. The 2008 financial crisis intensified competition in the labour market and underscored fluency in Norwegian as a means of discriminating among workers. Comparative case studies of language schools revealed that these organizations are active participants in channeling Polish migrants' movements into a segmented labour market, often in ways that involve cooperation between private companies and the State. We frame the Norwegian case within the larger context of Europe and the trend there toward favoring integration over multiculturalism. The emergence of restrictive language policies in Europe may be interpreted as a legally and culturally acceptable means for discouraging access to rights associated with permanent residency or citizenship by work migrants from CEE countries, while at the same time permitting them access to the labour market for temporary work. The long-term consequences of such policies for European society are uncertain.