Language Revitalization Mohican Clan Mother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3hl7DAEkV0 Menominee Revitalization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcLPCe1t7fE Ojibwe Language School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPbzwUnmoo Ho Chunk Language Apprentice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2fet9FhN9U I. Language revitalization efforts raise a lot of questions about the nature of language , the relationship of particular languages to its speech community, and the links between language and culture that we discussed at the beginning of class (e.g. around Sapir-Whorf). A. The stakes of language endangerment change depending on how we think about language, culture and linguistic diversity. 1. Many peoples facing language shift think of language in similar terms: as having a strong, inherent or essentialized link to culture & identity. 2. Might imagine a stronger link than academic linguists and anthropologists would agree with. B. Given what we’ve learned about questions of culture and identity in class- that culture is changing , that identity is complex and a matter of negotiation , not of static, essential categories, we should expect that the questions raised by language endangerment and revitalization movements would be more complex . C. Patrick discusses both strategic benefits and the dangers of assuming an essential link between language, culture and identity. II. Today, thinking about politics of revitalization movements . Using Canada as a case study: A. A country with an explicit commitment to multiculturalism; recognition of cultural diversity and the rights of people to maintain and practice their culture; and support for the maintenance of cultural heritage (including linguistic heritage). B. Also a country that has two official languages, English and French, as well as a multitude of indigenous languages belonging to First Nations and other native peoples (and of course many immigrant languages). C. Compare politics of language protection/revitalization b/w French and aboriginal languages . III. French is recognized as an official language , however it is a minority language in the country as a whole and outside of Quebec. A. In Quebec French is the dominant/majority language, is used alongside English in public signs, information, publications– all according to official state policy. 1. Bilingual education system is asymmetrical: French-dominant schools are bilingual (French is primary medium but English also taught), English-dominant schools offer French only as an optional “foreign language,” 2. In general French speakers are bilingual, English speakers monolingual. 3. Some French-sp. communities, esp. minorities outside Quebec, find themselves under pressure to use English at the expense of French. B. The situation is complicated for some communities by the fact that there is more than one variety of French : C. Boudreau and Dubois write about the town of Clare in an area called Acadia in ...

1. Language Revitalization
Mohican Clan Mother:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3hl7DAEkV0
Menominee Revitalization:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcLPCe1t7fE
Ojibwe Language School:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPbzwUnmoo
Ho Chunk Language Apprentice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2fet9FhN9U
I. Language revitalization efforts raise a lot of questions about
the
nature of language
, the relationship of particular languages to its speech
community, and the
links between language and culture
that we discussed at the beginning of class (e.g. around Sapir-
Whorf).
A. The
stakes
of language endangerment change depending on how we think
about language, culture and linguistic diversity.
1.
Many peoples facing language shift think of language in similar
terms: as having a strong, inherent or
essentialized
link to culture & identity.
2.

2. Might imagine a stronger link than academic linguists and
anthropologists would agree with.
B. Given what we’ve learned about questions of culture and
identity in class- that
culture is changing
, that
identity is complex and a matter of negotiation
, not of static, essential categories, we should expect that the
questions raised by language endangerment and revitalization
movements would be
more complex
.
C. Patrick discusses both strategic benefits and the dangers of
assuming an essential link between language, culture and
identity.
II. Today, thinking about
politics of revitalization movements
.
Using
Canada
as a case study:
A.
A country with an explicit commitment to
multiculturalism;
recognition of cultural diversity and the rights of people to
maintain and practice their culture; and support for the
maintenance of cultural heritage (including linguistic heritage).
B.
Also a country that has two official languages, English and
French, as well as a multitude of indigenous languages
belonging to First Nations and other native peoples (and of

3. course many immigrant languages).
C.
Compare politics of language protection/revitalization b/w
French and aboriginal languages
.
III. French is recognized as an
official language
, however it is a minority language in the country as a whole
and outside of Quebec.
A. In Quebec French is the dominant/majority language, is used
alongside English in public signs, information, publications– all
according to official state policy.
1. Bilingual education system is asymmetrical: French-dominant
schools are bilingual (French is primary medium but English
also taught), English-dominant schools offer French only as an
optional “foreign language,”
2. In general French speakers are bilingual, English speakers
monolingual.
3. Some French-sp. communities, esp. minorities outside
Quebec, find themselves under pressure to use English at the
expense of French.
B. The situation is complicated for some communities by the
fact that there is
more than one variety of French
:
C.
Boudreau and Dubois
write about the town of Clare in an area called
Acadia
in the Baie Sainte-Marie region of Nova Scotia. In the province
as a whole English is the majority language, but this area is
majority French speaking, with a distinct local French
vernacular called
Acadjonne

4. (Acadian).
D.
Among those who want to preserve French as a vital part of
local identity there is a
controversy
causing a
deep split in the community
: make standard French the dominant form, or preserve and
promote public use of Acadjonne?
Acadjonne tied to a distinctive & unique local history &
identity, while standard French tied to the larger French-
speaking world (
la francophonie
) and to broader notions of
correctness
and
prestige
associated with it.
The stakes of this conflict:
1.
Tourism promotion (what image to promote, to whom?)
2.
Economic opportunities and social mobility for Acadians
3.
State funding and support for language maintenance
4.
A sense of cultural identity.
Question for both sides: which variety of French is best suited

5. to ensure the community’s linguistic and cultural survival?
Main point of disagreement: Acadjonne is a
hybrid
language, preserving many distinct features of archaic French
spoken in the era of colonization (includes features of 17
th
-C French) but also incorporated a lot of borrowing from
English (as a result of long-term mingling with local majority
population).
A.
For those who favor standard French, it’s the presence of
English in Acadjonne that make it unsuitable for public use &
preservation—it’s not “pure” French (they are not so bothered
by Archaic French elements).
a.
Also worried about prospects for being part of the larger
French-speaking world (fear of linguistic prejudice from
standard French Speakers)
b.
Getting jobs outside the area—economic opportunities.
c.
Able to be included under wider state support for French as
official language.
B.
For those who support Acadjonne, it’s precisely these features
that best capture the unique history and distinct identity of the
community.
C.

6. Also make it most appealing to tourists and eligible for cultural
funding to support language maintenance.
D.
Also feel that if Acadjonne speakers become confident in and
proud of their own language, they will be better able to resist
language shift toward English.
Debate centered on a local community radio station—when
switched to Acadjonne, including ads, listenership went up.
Part of the issues: two distinct
language ideologies
: should language be “pure” or should it be reflective of the
distinctiveness of its community, even if that means hybridity?
In the case of indigenous communities, both the history and
situation vis-à-vis official state language policy more variable,
less clear.
Aboriginal/indigenous peoples very diverse: no one language,
culture or set of circumstances applicable to all groups.
•
National policy set in the Indian Act of 1876 treats all First
Nations, Innuit and Metis communities as one homogenous
category.
No Aboriginal/Indigenous languages are counted as official
languages in Canada, but there is at least theoretical gov’t
support for cultural and linguistic heritage and rights.
•
This recognition by the state of the rights of native communities
is relatively recent; comes after a long history of assimilationist

7. policies aimed at wiping out native traditions.
•
Language revitalization movements are part of larger
movements to revitalize & preserve indigenous cultures, gain
political and economic justice for these communities.
Debates over value of language & its revitalization center on
claims about links between language and
local knowledge and culture
, value of
cultural diversity for the nation as a whole
, and links that language provides to tangible and intangible
heritage that constitute a source of
identity for these communities
.
In the discourse of indigenous language revitalization
movements, language is also strongly tied to
land
— knowledge of and based on land & its inhabitants (human
and nonhuman)—in context of ongoing legal disputes b/w First
Nations and the state over land rights.
Another link to environmentalist discourses.
Patrick talks about the use of
strategic essentialism
in indigenous language rights and language revitalization
movements—its benefits and dangers.
A.
Essentialism refers to the idea that a phenomenon has necessary
and inherent set of attributes; in this context referring to the
link between language and culture as necessary and inherent
(like a strong version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis).

8. B.
Patrick refers to the claims of some indigenous language
activists that their language is an essential part of their culture,
such that the loss of language is directly and necessarily linked
to the loss of culture, as strategic essentialism, because while
the discourse is used strategically, it is still essentialist: it
assumes things about the nature of language that linguists &
anthropologists would not agree with.
a.
Benefits: such claims can help to unify and mobilize the speech
community; can be used to make legitimate claims for state
support, funding and recognition for language revitalization
(esp. in a state with explicit multicultural commitments like
Canada).
b.
Drawbacks: not all indigenous people live on the land of their
ancestors, live according to all aspects of “traditional culture”—
does this mean they don’t also have rights or do not deserve
support for such movements? By linking together language and
culture this discourse can force native peoples to “perform”
their authentic indigenous identity in order to garner support for
language revitalization. By emphasizing cultural identity and
moving justice to the background, it can make access to
economic/political justice dependent on being/performing
“authentic Indian-ness.”