Continuity and hybridity in language revival: The case of Manx

This article presents a typology of phonological, morphosyntactic, and lexical features illustrative of factors conditioning the usage of speakers and writers of Revived Manx, including substratal influence from English; language ideologies prevalent within the revival movement, especially forms of linguistic purism; and language-specific features of Manx and its orthography. Evidence is taken primarily from a corpus of Revived Manx speech and writing. The observed features of Revived Manx are situated within Zuckermann's (2009, 2020) framework of ‘hybridization’ and ‘revival linguistics’, which takes Israeli Hebrew as the prototypical model of revernacularization of a non-L1 language. However, Manx arguably provides a more typical example of what to expect when a revived minority language remains predominantly an L2 for an indefinite period, with each new cohort of speakers able to reshape the target variety in the absence of a firmly established L1 norm. (Manx, Celtic, language revival, language ideology, language shift, language contact)*

Revivalistics is Not Documentary Linguistics

Summary This article introduces a new field of enquiry called revivalistics, and explores its trans-disciplinarity and various ethical, aesthetic and utilitarian benefits. Revivalistics is an emerging global, trans-disciplinary field of enquiry studying comparatively and systematically the universal constraints and global mechanisms on the one hand (Zuckermann, 2003; 2009; 2020), and particularistic peculiarities and cultural relativist idiosyncrasies on the other, apparent in linguistic reclamation, revitalization and reinvigoration across various sociological backgrounds, all over the globe (Zuckermann, 2020; Zuckermann & Walsh, 2011; 2014). The article focuses on the crucial differences between revivalistics and documentary linguistics. It provides examples from the field that demonstrate the complexity of the revivalist’s work and how the revivalist’s work is distinct from that of the documentary linguist. Too many documentary linguists mislead themselves to believe that they can easily be revivalists too. But there are two crucial differences between revivalistics and documentary linguistics, which are at war between themselves: (1) Whereas documentary linguists put the language at the centre, revivalists put the language custodians at the centre. (2) Whereas in documentary linguistics the Indigenous/minority people have the knowledge of the language, in revivalistics the revivalist is the one with that knowledge. Given that the Aboriginal/minority people are the language custodians, and given that the language custodians are at the centre of the revivalistic enterprise, the revivalist must be extremely sensitive. A revivalist is not only a linguist but also a psychologist, social worker, teacher, driver, schlepper, financial manager, cook, waiter, babysitter, donor etc. A revivalist must have a heart of gold, “balls” of steel and the patience of a saint. Language revival is similar to co-parenting. But the revivalist is only a step-father. The important biological mother is the Indigenous/minority community. If you are the step-father and your spouse, who is the biological mother, makes what you perceive to be a mediocre decision with regard to your children, you cannot just disapprove of it. After all, the children are your spouse’s more than they are yours. You must work together for the best possible outcome. Similarly, if the community supports a decision that is not linguistically viable, the revivalist can try to inspire the community members, but must accept their own verdict. That would be difficult for a documentary linguist with poor social skills.

A receding paradigm as a tool of language discrimination

The 1Sg forms of ik-verbs are identical in the definite and indefinite conjugations in Standard Hungarian. The use of nonstandard forms can evoke discrimination despite the fact that it has been well-known for a long time that by the 18th century the ik-paradigm survived only in some eastern and western dialects of the language (Simonyi, 1906a, p. 14; Brassai, 2011, p. 253; Benkő, 1992, p. 213). In the early 19th century the language revival movement revived the disappearing ik-conjugation (Révai, 1806) and made it part of the educated, literary, and later standard variety.The present paper demonstrates how a paradigm that almost completely receded became the tool of language stigmatization as a result of the actions of those with linguistic power, and shows, on the basis of a questionnaire based study, to what extent the ik-paradigm is present in the language use of 14–19-year-olds at the beginning of the 21st century.

The Death and Subsequent Revival of the Cornish Language

Cornish is the vernacular language of Cornwall, the most South-Western part of Great Britain. It is widely believed the language died out in the eighteenth century with the death of Dolly Pentreath, the so-called last speaker of the language. What caused the language to become extinct, and why do minority languages fall into disuse? After the subsequent Cornish language revival at the beginning of the twentieth century, what lessons can the language community learn from linguists who have researched language extinction and revival?

Ideologically Reviving Javanese: Romantic Intellects, Signage Prayers, Linguistic Solidarity

The Javanese language has, as of late, seen a flux in its revival. The Javanese government sees the revival of Javanese as a very necessary identity marker, as a reflexive stance to transnationalism. Here, various sectors of Javenese society are contributing to the revival of the language, such as the arts, poltics, commerce, and domestic environments. The paper seeks to document Javanese in various sectors, buy observing its use in the above sectors, and elsewhere. The study observes the engineering of this language revival, and from which, the ideologies of Javanese are extrapolated, so as to expose anthropological patterns. The study thus contributes to work on language revitalization, linguistic landscapes, language ideologies and linguistic anthropology in general.

The Use and Abuse of Classics

This chapter offers a broad-ranging discussion of the ways in which Classics could be viewed as both imperialist and anti-imperialist: so T. S. Eliot saw Britain as heir to the Roman Empire, while James Joyce’s Ulysses uses the classics disruptively. At various times the putative coordination of the Latin language with an imperial mentality was deconstructed. The use of Latin in Ireland after the Penal Laws against Catholics could be read as a challenge to the imperial Latin of the British. Later the disparaging attitude towards the Irish language by classicist J. P. Mahaffy and philologist Robert Atkinson collided with the Irish language revival, the supporters of which (e.g. Daniel Corkery) objected to classical languages, yet were paradoxically comparable to Eliot in fetishizing tradition. An alternative view is pointed out by Howard Brenton in The Romans in Britain (1981), which shows the British and the Irish to have common Celtic roots.

Language Revival and Educational Reform in Ireland and Hungary: Douglas Hyde, Patrick Pearse, Arthur Griffith

Patrick Pearse’s editorial in the journal of the Gaelic League, An Claidheamh Soluis, is the starting point of this essay that explores Irish perceptions of the Hungarian language question as it panned out during the early nineteenth century. Arthur Griffith’s The Resurrection of Hungary: A Parallel for Ireland (1904), to which Pearse refers in his editorial, is the focal point of the discussion, with the pamphlet’s/book’s reference to Count István Széchenyi’s offer of his one-year land revenue to further the cause of the Hungarian language at the Hungarian Diet of Pozsony (present-day Bratislava) in 1825. Széchenyi’s aspirations are examined in the essay in comparison with the ideals of Baron József Eötvös, Minister of Religious and Educational Affairs (1848; 1867–71), in order to indicate the strong connection that existed between the question of language use and religious and educational matters in Hungary. Similar issues were discussed in Ireland during the nineteenth century, providing further points of reference between Ireland and Hungary in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. Finally, the debate between language revivalists and reformists is studied in some detail, comparing the case of Hungary between the 1790s and the 1840s with that of Ireland between the 1890s and the 1920s.

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES OF NEPAL: A STUDY OF PREVENTION BARRIERS AND PRESERVATION STRATEGIES

Purpose of the study: In Nepal, indigenous languages are in danger of disappearing and if the situation does not improve, the dying trend will continue to increase in the future. Thus, this paper aims to explore barriers to indigenous language activities and strategies for revitalizing these dying languages of Nepal. Methodology: To address this objective, the study adopted the qualitative research method, using the data collected from the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and secondary sources such as the existing literature through print and online sources. The results were presented thematically and discussed for qualitative analysis. Main findings: The overall results of the study indicated that an inclusive language policy should be adopted by the government to accommodate indigenous languages of Nepal, indigenous language communities should be encouraged by the government to insist on speaking their languages, and language communities are also required to collaborate with the government to address the issues related to improving the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages of Nepal. Applications of this study: The outcome of this particular research can be a beneficial act for engaging indigenous communities of Nepal in language revival and protecting threatened languages from extinction. It is the responsibility of the researchers that are expected by each of various indigenous language communities in particular and the Nepali society at large. Novelty/Originality of this Study: Indigenous languages are often considered by many as 'heritage languages' and are used to describe languages that are often in the endangered list. No studies are found on the use of indigenous languages and language revival efforts in the study area such as barriers that prevented indigenous language groups from participating in language activities and ways that can preserve and promote such dying languages in the study area.

Language Revitalization: A Case Study of the Khoisan Languages

This paper introduces the concept of endangered languages and the corresponding solution of language revitalization. It first illustrates the importance of language preservation and the process of language endangerment and death. The two principal strategies of thwarting language death are discussed, with an emphasis on the language revitalization as the more effective option due to the difficulties that language revival faces. The most commonly successful approaches to language preservation are discussed such as establishing cultural pride and identity, education, and utilizing modern technology. These strategies are discussed in detail through the presentation of a case study: the Khoisan language family.