Language revitalisation initiatives are often faced with numerous socio- economic and political challenges which, if not mitigated, could overwhelm them. Using three schools of thought on language ...revitalisation, namely the Proponents, the Pessimists, and the Opponents, this article examines how internal and external challenges affected the language revitalisation initiative of the endangered Tonga speech community in Zimbabwe. It argues that endangered speech communities are often misconstrued as homogeneous and willing to fight and die for their languages. This study, however, reveals that endangered speech communities are intricate heterogeneous entities in which competing interests may jeopardise the revitalisation process. The study identifies six factors which obstructed the process of Tonga revitalisation. The most significant factors were the lack of a standardised variety of Tonga, the legacy of discriminatory language policies in Zimbabwe, and the opposition of politicians.
Language activists, teachers and policymakers in Scotland and Nova Scotia often allude to the role that new speakers may play in ensuring the future maintenance of Scottish Gaelic on either side of ...the Atlantic. In many ways, globalisation and greater digital connectivity have mitigated the effects of physical distance between Gaelic speakers on either side of that ocean, whilst simultaneously cementing the dominant position of English. Meanwhile, second language teaching is increasingly utilised to create new cohorts of speakers, as intergenerational transmission continues to decline. Based on five years of ethnographic research in Scotland and Canada, this paper examines six new speaker narratives concerning future prospects for language revitalisation in each country. Challenging sociodemographic circumstances in the remaining Gaelic-dominant communities contrast with current discourses concerning the language's future prospects. In particular, I consider Nova Scotian new speakers' relative sense of optimism for the future of their language in the province.
•Concisely explains the unique sociolinguistic, historical and language policy contexts.•Offers innovative approach to qualitative, interview data gathered over the past 5 years across two projects.•Compares and contrasts current language policy to create ‘new’ Gaelic speakers of Gaelic in Scotland and Nova Scotia, Canada.•Assesses outcomes of such policy in each country in terms of new speaker language ideologies.•Suggests possible reasons for contrasting evaluations and ideologies around Gaelic policy in the two contexts.
Se analiza la producción de materiales didácticos para la enseñanza del mapuzugun en contextos formales y no formales, desde la experiencia y perspectivas de enseñantes/educadores. Se realizaron ...entrevistas semiestructuradas, siguiendo la práctica del nütram (expresión del arte verbal mapuche), a diez educadores/as mayoritariamente mapuche. Mediante un estudio de casos múltiples y análisis cualitativo, se identificaron aspectos como el origen del material y modalidad de producción, fuentes y contenidos socioculturales, tipos de materiales, criterios para elaboración y perspectiva de las y los educadores/as. Los resultados revelan el carácter ampliado de los materiales didácticos, donde todo lo que circunda el contexto educativo es considerado como tal. La recurrencia del territorio como tema central plantea el desafío de traducir didácticamente estos recursos. Asimismo, se advierte una noción extendida de materiales vinculada con la participación de estudiantes como coproductores. Sin comparar los contextos, se informan las especificidades y aspectos comunes destacados.
