scholarly journals Transatlantic Context for Gaelic Language Revitalisation

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Stuart S. Dunmore
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
North America ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Current Policy ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Language Revitalisation

Abstract The notion of the ‘new speaker’, and its salience particularly in relation to minority language sociolinguistics, has become increasingly prevalent in the last decade. The term refers to individuals who have acquired an additional language to high levels of oracy and make frequent use of it in the course of their lives. Language advocates in both Scotland and Nova Scotia emphasise the crucial role of new speakers in maintaining Gaelic on both sides of the Atlantic. As a result, Gaelic language teaching has been prioritised by policymakers as a mechanism for revitalising the language in both polities. This article examines reflexes of this policy in each country, contrasting the ongoing fragility of Gaelic communities with new speaker discourses around heritage, identity, and language learning motivations. Crucially, I argue that challenging sociodemographic circumstances in Gaelic communities in Scotland and Nova Scotia contrast with current policy discourses, and with new speaker motivations for acquiring higher levels of Gaelic oracy in North America.

scholarly journals Emic and essentialist perspectives on Gaelic heritage: New speakers, language policy, and cultural identity in Nova Scotia and Scotland

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart S. Dunmore
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Heritage Language ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Ethnolinguistic Identity ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Language Revitalisation ◽  
Nova Scotian ◽  
Frequent Reference

Abstract The concept of the ‘new speaker’ has gained currency in the sociolinguistics of minority languages in the past decade, referring to individuals who have acquired an additional language outside of the home and who make frequent use of it in the course of their daily lives. Policymakers and language advocates in both Scotland and Canada make frequent reference to the role that new speakers may play in the future of the Gaelic language on both sides of the Atlantic, and Gaelic language teaching of various kinds has been prioritised by policymakers as a mechanism for revitalising the language. This article examines reflexes of this policy in the two countries, juxtaposing the ongoing fragility of Gaelic communities with new speaker discourses around heritage, identity, and language learning motivations. In particular, I consider Nova Scotian new speakers’ sense of identity as ‘Gaels’, an ethnonym largely avoided or problematised by Scottish new speakers. (Ethnolinguistic identity, heritage, language revitalisation, new speakers)*

Prize and Prejudice

1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Margaret Kert
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Nova Scotia ◽  
North America ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
War Of 1812 ◽  
Atlantic Canada ◽  
Legal Evolution ◽  
Negative Reputation

This journal examines privateering and naval prizes in Atlantic Canada in the maritime War of 1812 - considered the final major international manifestation of the practice. It seeks to contextualise the role of privateering in the nineteenth century; determine the causes of, and reactions to, the War of 1812; determine the legal evolution of prize law in North America; discuss the privateers of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and the methods they utilised to manipulate the rules of prize making during the war; and consider the economic impact of the war of maritime communities. Ultimately, the purpose of the journal is to examine privateering as an occupation in order to redeem its historically negative reputation. The volume is presented as six chapters, plus a conclusion appraising privateering, and seven appendices containing court details, prize listings, and relevant letters of agency.

scholarly journals JALT2015 Conference Article: On Emotions in Foreign Language Learning and Use

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Anxiety ◽  
Foreign Language Anxiety ◽  
Language Classroom

Emotions are at the heart of the foreign language learning process. Without emotion, boredom would reign and very little learning would take place. I report on some recent work that has investigated the role of emotion in the foreign language classroom, both positive (foreign language enjoyment) and negatives ones (foreign language anxiety). It seems that both learners and teachers play a crucial role in managing emotions in the classroom. I also report on the difficulties associated with the communication of emotions in a foreign language and on their relative absence in foreign language course books and during classes. This leaves learners ill-prepared to recognise and express emotions appropriately in a foreign language, which is an essential part of sociopragmatic competence. 外国語学習過程の中心には「感情」がある。感情がなければ飽きるのも早く、学びも限られてしまう。本論では、外国語の授業で感情が果たす肯定的な（例：外国語学習の楽しみ）および否定的な（例：外国語学習不安）役割について報告する。そして最近の研究を基に、いかに学習者と教員双方がクラスでの感情のコントロールに深くかかわっているかを考察する。また、外国語で感情を伝えることの難しさについても触れ、外国語の教科書や授業で感情表現が扱われることの少なさが、社会語用論的能力の主な要素である感情表現の理解不足につながっていることを指摘する。

scholarly journals Phloeocharis subtilissima Mannerheim (Staphylinidae: Phloeocharinae) and Cephennium gallicum Ganglbauer (Scydmaenidae) new to North America: a case study in the introduction of exotic Coleoptera to the port of Halifax, with new records of other species

Zootaxa ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 781 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER MAJKA ◽  
JAN KLIMASZEWSKI
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
North America ◽  
New Records ◽  
Port Cities ◽  
European Data ◽  
First Time

Phloeocharis subtilissima Mannerheim (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Phloeocharinae), a Palearctic staphylinid, and Cephennium gallicum Ganglbauer (Coleoptera: Scydmaenidae: Cephenniini) are recorded for the first time for North America from Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The bionomics of both species are discussed based on European data in addition to new observations of their ecology in Nova Scotia. The role of port cities, such as Halifax, in relation to the introduction of exotic Coleoptera is discussed with examples of other species introduced to North America from this location. The earliest known record of Meligethes viridescens (Fabricius) for North America and the second and third reported locations of Dromius fenestratus Fabricius are also presented.

Theoretical Framework for Communicative Adjustment in Language Acquisition

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Miyazaki
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Negotiation Of Meaning ◽  
Narrow Sense ◽  
Language Learning Strategies ◽  
Comprehensible Input ◽  
The Relationship

Although much of the work in the study of negotiation of meaning subsequent to Krashen (1982, 1985) support the notion that negotiation of meaning leads to comprehensible input, which in turn results in acquisition, I question the prevailing assumption based on four reasons. Firstly, negotiation studies show a tendency to under-estimate the role of adjustment. Secondly, it is questionable whether the negotiation for comprehensible input plays a crucial role in language acquisition where the input obtained by the learner is merely simplified input, not optimal input. Thirdly, the study of negotiation of meaning focuses upon meaning in the narrow sense of the word. Limiting the study of negotiation to lexical inadequacies does not guarantee an understanding of successful acquisition. I agree with Neustupný that interactive competence is an ingredient for acquisition. This notion embraces three areas of competence: sociocultural, sociolinguistic and linguistic which are inseparable for understanding language acquisition. Lastly, the relationship between negotiation and acquisition needs to be considered in terms of language learning strategies. The above four points indicate that the framework of negotiation for language acquisition needs to be reconstructed through a focus on the adjustment of inadequacies.

‘New’ Scottish Gaelic speakers in Glasgow: A phonetic study of language revitalisation

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 553-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Nance
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Scottish Gaelic ◽  
Phonetic Variation ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
Language Revitalisation ◽  
Phonetic Study

AbstractThis article analyses phonetic variation among young people who have learned a minority language in immersion schooling as part of revitalisation measures. Such speakers are increasingly referred to as ‘new speakers’ in an expanding body of literature. The variable phonetic features analysed are vowels, laterals, and intonation in the speech of new Gaelic speakers from Glasgow and the Isle of Lewis. Results support previous work suggesting that new speakers will sound different from ‘traditional speakers’. These results are discussed in terms of language contact, modes of acquisition in revitalisation situations, and the differing perceptions and ideologies surrounding how new speakers use Gaelic. The data also necessitate an examination of some of the assumptions in sociolinguistic models of change and their applicability to contexts of rapid social evolution. (New speakers, language revitalisation, minority languages, Scottish Gaelic, laterals, vowels, intonation)*

Multilingual professionals in internationally operating companies: tensions in their linguistic repertoire?

Multilingua ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin van der Worp ◽  
Jasone Cenoz ◽  
Durk Gorter
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Regional Government ◽  
Language Management ◽  
Global Context ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Global Language ◽  
New Policies ◽  
Local Languages

AbstractSeveral studies on multilingualism in the workplace have emphasized the role of English as a lingua franca. Other studies have paid attention to the interaction between English and local languages in workplaces where global orientations and local languages co-occur. The present study focuses on internationally oriented workplaces in the bilingual Basque Autonomous Community (BAC). The study aims to analyze the use of the minority language Basque in the workplace and the challenges it faces in an emerging multilingual global context. The promotion and use of the minority language in internationally oriented workplaces is related to language policies of the regional government, the role of ‘new speakers’ of Basque, and the possible tensions between the efforts to revitalize Basque and the use of English as a global language, mediated by the position of Spanish as a strong international language. Our conclusion is that there is a need to establish new policies that are truly multilingual as well as to raise awareness in companies about the importance of adequate language management practices.

scholarly journals Why Do Adults Decide to Learn a Minority Language? A Study of the Motivation(S) of Potential New Speakers of West Frisian

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillem Belmar ◽  
Cindy van Boven ◽  
Sara Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Tripartite Model ◽  
Motivation To Learn ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Personal Motivation ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Socioeconomic Success ◽  
Language Revitalisation

Summary This study focuses on the motivation of adults learning a minority language, based on a tripartite model: integrative and instrumental (Gardner & Lambert, 1959; 1972) and personal (see Benson, 1991) motivation. Adults learning a minority language are potential new speakers, a group that has been described as central to language revitalisation (see Pujolar & O’Rourke, 2018). Since the motivation to learn these languages does not seem to be linked to economic success or wider job opportunities, researchers have taken interest in knowing what drives people to learn a minority language (e.g., O’Rourke & DePalma, 2016). In this study, (potential) new speaker motivations were investigated by means of ten open-ended interviews with adult learners of West Frisian—a minority language spoken in the Netherlands—in two different settings: Afûk Frisian courses (a more traditional learning setting) and Bernlef Frisian courses (a student association that offers informal courses for their members). The results show a predominance of integrative and personal motivation (also found in O’Rourke & DePalma, 2016), but not exclusively (as suggested by Jaffe, 2015) since the language appears to be tightly linked to the province and it is deemed beneficial—to a certain extent—for socioeconomic success in the province.

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