[WS113] Language Policy for Indigenous, Immigrant, and Ethnic Minority Languages

 

Authors : Teresa McCarty, Tamara Borgoyakova

Title : Language Policy for Indigenous, Immigrant, and Ethnic Minority Languages: New Directions and Enduring Dilemmas in Linguistic Diversity and Rights

There is growing recognition in the field of language planning and policy (LPP) of tensions between the local and the global, as minoritised communities – Indigenous, immigrant, diaspora, and ethnic minority – confront ongoing dilemmas of language maintenance in the face of “unprecedented globalization” (Ricento & Wiley, 2002, p. 2).  As the homogenising pressures of globalisation mount, there are calls not to lose sight of the local (Canagarajah, 2005).  The goal of this session is to critically examine the dynamics of interacting globalising and localising forces within and across the EU, Russian Federation, and USA, and to consider the implications for the promotion of multilingualism and linguistic human rights (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000).  Drawing on linguistic ecological models (Hornberger, 2003; Mühlhäusler, 2003), sociolinguistic theories of globalisation that interrogate linguistic hierarchies across temporal and spatial scales (Blommaert, 2010), and critical ethnographic approaches to LPP (Hornberger & Johnson, 2007; McCarty, 2011), the papers will investigate new directions and ongoing challenges in multilingual language planning and policy. 

The session will begin with an introduction by the co-organizers to the framing ideas and methods for the workshop as a whole.

In the first paper, “The Impact of the Global Economy on Language Policy,” by Sonja Novak Lukanovic (Institute for Ethnic Studies, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), the author uses the case of Slovenian LPP to illuminate how the linguistic marketplace (Bourdieu, 1991[2005]; Grin, 2006) functions to promote, accommodate, or repress minoritised languages in this national setting. 

The second paper, “Ethnic Languages in a Globalising Epoch: The Russian Federation,” by Aisa Bitkeeva (Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences), examines the co-functioning of ethnic minority languages in Russia, focusing on Mongolian language practices and rights.

The third paper, “Khakass in a Regional Multicultural Setting: Bringing an Indigenous Language Forward,” by Tamara Borgoiakova (Research Institute of Humanities and Sayano-Altay Turkology of the Khakass State University, Khakassia) analyses contemporary domains in which Khakass, one of the primary (and endangered) Indigenous languages of the Russian Republic of Khakassia, is represented, looking at how the Khakass ethnonym is used in mass media. 

The next two papers address LPP for language minority, heritage language, and Indigenous language communities in the USA. In “Rights to Language and Accommodation in the USA: The Return of ‘States’ Rights,’” Terrence Wiley (Center for Applied Linguistics, USA) analyzes the relationships between language, education, and political and economic access, focusing on counterpoised state, national, and local policies that alternatively restrict or accommodate heritage/minoritised languages and their speakers. 

The final paper, “Language Rights in Indigenous America: Perspectives from the New Language Policy Studies,” by Teresa L. McCarty (Arizona State University, USA) examines the stratification of sociolinguistic resources within Native North American communities alongside Indigenous grassroots language revitalisation efforts, situating the analysis in the “New Language Policy Studies,” a critical sociocultural, ethnographic approach to investigating linguistic inequalities (Collins, 2011; McCarty et al., 2011)

The session will conclude with commentary by Dónall Ó Riagáin (Linguapax, Dublin, Ireland), and time for audience questions and dialogue. The format for the workshop is as follows: Introduction (10 minutes), paper presentations (20-30 minutes each), discussant commentary (15-20 minutes), audience question-and-answer period (15-20 minutes). 

Precisions for abstract submission

All paper contributions have been invited by the co-organizers and will be vetted for scientific quality through an external peer review process coordinated by the co-organizers.  Each presenter has agreed to seek her/his own funding for conference participation.

References

Blommaert, J. (2010).  The sociolinguistics of globalization.  Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Bourdieu, P. (1991[2005]).  Language and symbolic power.  Cambridge: Polity Press.

Canagarajah, A. S. (ed.) (2005).  Reclaiming the local in language policy and practice. Mahwah, NJ and New York: Lawrence Erlbaum/Routledge.

Collins, J. (2011).  Language, globalization, and the state: Issues for the New Policy Studies.  In T. L. McCarty (ed.), Ethnography and Language Policy (pp. 128-135).  New York and London: Routledge.

Grin, F. (2006). Economic considerations in language policy.  In T. Ricento (ed.), An introduction to language policy (pp. 77-94).  Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Hornberger, N. H. (2003).  Continua of biliteracy: An ecological framework for educational policy, research, and practice in multilingual settings.  Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Hornberger, N. H., & Johnson, D. C. (2007).  Slicing the onion ethnographically: Layers and spaces in multilingual language education policy and practice.  TESOL Quarterly, 41(3), 509-532.

McCarty, T. L. (2011).  Ethnography and language policy.  New York and London: Routledge.

McCarty, T. L., Collins, J., & Hopson, R. K. (2011).  Dell Hymes and the New Language Policy Studies: Update from an underdeveloped country.  Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 42(4), 335-363.

Mühlhäusler, P. (2003).  Language of environment – Environment of language: A course in ecolinguistics.  London: Battlebridge.

Ricento, T., & Wiley, T. G. (2002).  Editors’ introduction: Language, identity, and education and the challenges of monoculturalism and globalization.  Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 1(1), 1-5.

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000).  Linguistic genocide in education — Or worldwide diversity and human rights? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

25.07.2013   10:30-12:30

Title: Language Policy for Indigenous, Immigrant, and Ethnic Minority Languages: New Directions and Enduring Dilemmas in Linguistic Diversity and Rights
Chair: Teresa MCCARTY

10:30 - 10:45 Tamara BORGOIAKOVA et al.
Introduction to the Session: Themes, Dilemmas, and New Directions in Linguistic Human Rights
10:45 - 11:15 Sonja NOVAK LUKANOVIC
The Impact of the Global Economy on Language Policy
> read abstract...
11:15 - 11:45 Aisa BITKEEVA
Ethnic Languages in a Globalising Epoch: The Russian Feeration
> read abstract...
11:45 - 12:15 Tamara BORGOIAKOVA
Khakass in a Regional Multicultural Setting: Bringing an Indigenous Language Forward
> read abstract...
12:15 - 12:30 Teresa MCCARTY et al.
Discussion

25.07.2013   14:00-16:00

Title: Language Policy for Indigenous, Immigrant, and Ethnic Minority Languages: New Directions and Enduring Dilemmas in Linguistic Diversity and Rights
Chair: Tamara BORGOIAKOVA

14:00 - 14:30 Terrence WILEY et al.
Rights to Language and Accommodation in the USA: The Return of 'States' Rights'
> read abstract...
14:30 - 15:00 Teresa MCCARTY
Language Rights in Indigenous America: Perspectives from the New Language Policy Studies
> read abstract...
15:00 - 15:30 Dónall Ó RIAGÁIN
Discussant Commentary: "New Directions and Enduring Dilemmas in Linguistic Diversity and Rights"
15:30 - 16:00 Teresa MCCARTY et al.
Discussion, Synthesis, and New Directions