Language management of Nahuatl in Mexico This thesis describes the current status of Nahuatl language, and disccus its functioning and position within the institutional structures of Mexican society, as well as language community in the municipality of Chicontepec in northeastern Mexico. Nahuatl is one of the best-known indigenous languages with wider distribution across the Mexico and according to the latest census, there are one and half million speakers of the language. The aim of this paper is to present the key moments of the relationship between Spanish and Nahuatl. The paper analyzes how to manage the problems associated with the language problems associated with Nahuatl and other indigenous languages from the second half of the twenty century to the present. On the basis of empirical data describes in detail the use of Nahuatl and the transmission within the selected families and communities in the bilingual Chicontepec. In four communities discussed the linguistic behavior of the population with emphasis on intergenerational language transmission. The Nahua community have experienced over the past 30 years, the linguistic dynamic changes that result in different language skills in different generations, genders and social groups. One of the main conclusions is that the administration of Nahuatl...

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2017-03-17T12:49:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvia Regina Delong_.pdf: 8998481 bytes, checksum: 57898c9b8112b89d4edced0bf4c6e3d0 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-17T12:49:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvia Regina Delong_.pdf: 8998481 bytes, checksum: 57898c9b8112b89d4edced0bf4c6e3d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-12 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta tese tem como objetivo analisar como são constituídas as identidades étnico-linguísticas de um grupo de descendentes de poloneses residentes em uma comunidade da zona rural, no interior do Estado do Paraná. No estudo, identificam-se alguns eventos de letramento que ocorrem em polonês, tanto no contexto escolar quanto fora dele, com o intuito de verificar como esses eventos contribuem para a construção das identidades e a vitalidade da língua polonesa nessa comunidade. Esta pesquisa tem como referencial teórico a construção de identidades (HALL, 2005, GEE, 2000), as práticas de letramento (STREET, 1984), bem como a vitalidade das línguas minoritárias (TERBORG e GARCÍA LANDA, 2011). A pesquisa é de natureza qualitativo-interpretativista, baseada na etnografia da linguagem (GARCEZ e SCHULZ, 2015), tendo como instrumentos de geração de dados as gravações audiovisuais feitas nas aulas de língua polonesa, questionários respondidos por alunos, professora e pedagoga da escola. Também foram feitas entrevistas semiestruturadas com algumas pessoas da comunidade, anotações em diário de campo e gravação das entrevistas em áudio. Além disso, foram analisados vários documentos, como os do Celem (Centro de Línguas Estrangeiras Modernas), relativos à implantação da Língua Polonesa na escola; o Livro Tombo, documentos da paróquia relacionados à comunidade e, no Museu, os documentos históricos ligados à cultura polonesa, os quais deram subsídios para o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa. Os resultados mostram que a tradição religiosa é um dos aspectos identitários mais arraigados e presentes até hoje nessa comunidade. Entretanto, alguns eventos de letramento que ocorriam na igreja local e que mantinham a vitalidade dessa língua, infelizmente, não existem mais. O único evento de letramento na igreja que ainda está sendo preservado nessa língua é a reza do terço antes das missas dominicais. No âmbito familiar, a língua polonesa é utilizada frequentemente, misturando-se com o português (code switching). Por essa razão, algumas expressões como “polonês entrecortado”, “polonês brasileiro” ou “polonês caipira”, são formas utilizadas pelos participantes da pesquisa para se classificar como falantes de polonês, porém, muitas vezes denotam uma baixa autoestima em relação a si e aos outros. Quanto à identidade étnico-linguística, esta se alterna entre a identidade polonesa e a brasileira, dependendo dos seus interlocutores e das circunstâncias que os cercam. E, por último, os resultados mostram que, em geral, as mulheres (“fazedoras” e “invisíveis”) de Santa Faustina assumem diversos papeis, principalmente dentro de casa e na igreja, mas não são empoderadas na presença da comunidade. / This dissertation aims to analyze the constitution of ethnic and linguistic identities of a group of Polish descendants who live in a rural community in the countryside of the State of Paraná, Brazil. In the study, we identified some literacy events which occur in Polish, both at school and out of it, aiming at verifying how these events contribute to identity construction, and the vitality of the Polish language in that community. This research is theoretically based on identity construction (HALL, 2005; GEE, 2000), literacy practices (STREET, 1984), as well as on the vitality of minority languages (TERBORG; GARCÍA LANDA, 2011). The nature of the research is qualitative-interpretative with an ethnographic perspective, based on the ethnography of language (GARCEZ e SCHULZ, 2015), and the instruments for data generation are audiovisual recordings made of Polish language classes and questionnaires answered by learners, the teacher, and the school pedagogue. Semi structured interviews were also conducted with people in the community, as well as notes in a field journal and audio recordings of the interviews. Besides, several documents were analyzed, as the ones from CELEM (Centro de Línguas Estrangeiras Modernas – Center for Modern Foreign Languages), referring to the school´s implementation of the Polish language; the official registration book, which contains the community´s parishional documents, and at the Museum, where the historical documents connected to the Polish culture were studied, which subsidized the development of this research. The results show that religious tradition is one of the identitary aspects which are more rooted and present in the community to this day. However, some literacy events which happened at the local church, and maintained the vitality of that language, unfortunately are no longer held. The only literacy event which is still kept in church, in Polish, is the recital of the rosary before dominical masses. In the familiar scope, the Polish language is frequently used, it is a Brazilian Polish, mixed with the Portuguese language (code-switching). For this reason, some expressions like “broken Polish”, “Brazilian Polish”, or “countryside Polish” are expressions used by the participants to refer to the Polish language they speak; it often indicates low self-esteem regarding themselves and others. As to the ethnic-linguistic identity, this alternates between Brazilian and Polish identities, depending on their interlocutors and the circumstances surrounding them. Finally, the results show that, in general, the women (“doers” and “invisible”) in Santa Faustina take on several roles, especially in the house and the church, but they are not empowered amidst the community.

L’arménien occidental est classé comme langue en danger depuis 2010, mais il est enseigné dans un réseau d’écoles arméniennes à travers une diaspora mondiale, crée par un génocide en 1915. Les inscriptions sont en déclin dans les écoles du Moyen-Orient depuis quatre décennies, alors qu’en France on observe un développement des écoles privées. Toutes les écoles sont confrontées à une culture éducative en évolution. Les données sont collectées à Beyrouth, Amman, Paris et Marseille, et des participants venant d’Alep. L’approche est interdisciplinaire, poststructuraliste et constructiviste, dans le but de comprendre le rôle des politiques scolaires dans l’attractivité des écoles et dans la transmission linguistique et dans la promotion de la vitalité de la langue dans chaque contexte. L’analyse de discours est employée pour analyser les représentations de la langue et des écoles aux niveaux personnel et structurel. Les théories de la vitalité ethnolinguistique et de la socialisation linguistique aident à éclairer les liens entre la politique, le choix des parents, et la vitalité de la langue. Le choix des parents est approché du point de vue de la psychologie de la consommation, et finalement c’est la notion de l’habitus (de Bourdieu) qui éclaire le mieux les dynamiques de ce choix et pourquoi il constitue souvent une rupture définitive avec l’institution. L’étude montre que les politiques au-delà de l’institutionnel ont moins d’influence sur le maintien de la langue que l’inscription à l’école et les discours dominants. Des préconisations sont formulées pour des changements de la politique scolaire et de la pédagogie. / Western Armenian was declared “definitely endangered” in 2010, although the language is taught in private Armenian schools across a global diaspora created by a genocide in 1915. Enrollment in Armenian schools in the Middle East has been declining for four decades, while the Armenian schools of France are growing & evolving & all are facing a rapidly changing educational climate. Conducted in Beirut, Amman, Paris & Marseille, and involving participants from Aleppo, this study analyzes data from more than 100 diasporan Armenians and a dozen schools. An interdisciplinary, post-structuralist & constructivist approach is taken to understanding the roles of school policies in attracting parents to Armenian schools, in effectively transmitting the language to students, & promoting the vitality of the language in each of the four contexts. Discourse Analysis is applied to both structural & personal representations of the language & of the schools. Ethnolinguistic Vitality & Language Socialization theories are used to understand the connections between policy, parent school choice & the wider vitality of the language. Parent school choice is looked at in terms of consumer psychology, and ultimately Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is the most apt for explaining why Armenian parents choose non-Armenian schools, & why this often becomes a definitive family break from the institution. Policy above the school level is found to have less impact on vitality than school enrollment & dominant discourses on language maintenance. Recommendations are made for policies & pedagogy.

L’arménien occidental est classé comme langue en danger depuis 2010, mais il est enseigné dans un réseau d’écoles arméniennes à travers une diaspora mondiale, crée par un génocide en 1915. Les inscriptions sont en déclin dans les écoles du Moyen-Orient depuis quatre décennies, alors qu’en France on observe un développement des écoles privées. Toutes les écoles sont confrontées à une culture éducative en évolution. Les données sont collectées à Beyrouth, Amman, Paris et Marseille, et des participants venant d’Alep. L’approche est interdisciplinaire, poststructuraliste et constructiviste, dans le but de comprendre le rôle des politiques scolaires dans l’attractivité des écoles et dans la transmission linguistique et dans la promotion de la vitalité de la langue dans chaque contexte. L’analyse de discours est employée pour analyser les représentations de la langue et des écoles aux niveaux personnel et structurel. Les théories de la vitalité ethnolinguistique et de la socialisation linguistique aident à éclairer les liens entre la politique, le choix des parents, et la vitalité de la langue. Le choix des parents est approché du point de vue de la psychologie de la consommation, et finalement c’est la notion de l’habitus (de Bourdieu) qui éclaire le mieux les dynamiques de ce choix et pourquoi il constitue souvent une rupture définitive avec l’institution. L’étude montre que les politiques au-delà de l’institutionnel ont moins d’influence sur le maintien de la langue que l’inscription à l’école et les discours dominants. Des préconisations sont formulées pour des changements de la politique scolaire et de la pédagogie. / Western Armenian was declared “definitely endangered” in 2010, although the language is taught in private Armenian schools across a global diaspora created by a genocide in 1915. Enrollment in Armenian schools in the Middle East has been declining for four decades, while the Armenian schools of France are growing & evolving & all are facing a rapidly changing educational climate. Conducted in Beirut, Amman, Paris & Marseille, and involving participants from Aleppo, this study analyzes data from more than 100 diasporan Armenians and a dozen schools. An interdisciplinary, post-structuralist & constructivist approach is taken to understanding the roles of school policies in attracting parents to Armenian schools, in effectively transmitting the language to students, & promoting the vitality of the language in each of the four contexts. Discourse Analysis is applied to both structural & personal representations of the language & of the schools. Ethnolinguistic Vitality & Language Socialization theories are used to understand the connections between policy, parent school choice & the wider vitality of the language. Parent school choice is looked at in terms of consumer psychology, and ultimately Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is the most apt for explaining why Armenian parents choose non-Armenian schools, & why this often becomes a definitive family break from the institution. Policy above the school level is found to have less impact on vitality than school enrollment & dominant discourses on language maintenance. Recommendations are made for policies & pedagogy.

Mgr. Lenka Picková Vitality of the current Galician language Abstract: Never in the field of human history has the dying out of languages been as intense as it is in the present day. The goal of this paper is to assess the vitality of the one of the co- official languages in Spain, the Galician language. After an indispensable definition of the social-historical context, a deep, qualitative and quantitative analysis of nine factors is performed: inter-generational language transmission, education, the absolute and relative number of speakers, trends in existing language domains and media, governmental and institutional language attitudes, and, above all, the attitudes of Galician citizens toward their languages. In the final chapter, a summary of the results of these individual factors, as well as an assessment of their influence on the vitality of the Galician language, is provided. Key words: endangered languages, assessment of language vitality, Galician, language attitudes, minority languages, diglossia, languages in contact, national identity, speaker's attitudes.

Ce projet vise la documentation et la description du mako, une langue autochtone parlée par environ 1200 personnes dans l’Amazonie vénézuélienne et pour laquelle le seul matériel accessible à date se limite à 38 mots. L’objectif principal est de créer une collection de textes ethnographiques annotés et, à long terme, une grammaire de la langue qui puisse servir comme point de départ pour des activités d’appui au maintien de la langue dans la communauté et pour avancer la recherche linguistique. Un objectif secondaire est d’établir le degré de vitalité de la langue telle que parlée chez les différentes communautés mako. Cette recherche mènera à une description des différents aspects de la grammaire de la langue, par exemple sa phonologie, sa morphologie et sa syntaxe. En plus de contribuer à l’étude et description des autres membres de la famille linguistique sáliba et à la reconstruction de leur proto-langue commune, les données du mako contribueront aussi à des discussions sur comment le langage fonctionne et seront donc un apport précieux pour la théorie linguistique. Cette recherche fera avancer la théorie de la documentation des langues et pourra donc faciliter les efforts de documentation et maintien des langues d’autres communautés indigènes. Le projet constitue une application du modèle de travail de terrain Community-Based Language Research. / This dissertation focuses on the documentation and description of Mako, an indigenous language spoken in the Venezuelan Amazon by about 1000 people and for which the only available published material at the start of the project were 38 words. The main goals of the project were to create a collection of annotated ethnographic texts and a grammar that could serve as a starting point for both language maintenance in the community and for further linguistic research. Additionally, the project sought to assess the language’s vitality in the communities where it is spoken and to understand the relationship of Mako to the two other extant Sáliban languages, namely Piaroa and Sáliba.This research has thus led to an assessment of language vitality in the Mako communities of the Ventuari River, a comprehensive description of the Mako language—heretofore undescribed—, and an evaluation of the genetic relationship between the three Sáliban languages. The description of the language covers a wide range of topics in areas such as phonetics and phonology, nominal and verbal morphology, and syntax of both simple and complex sentences. Discourse-level morphology and discourse-organization strategies are also covered. Aside from facilitating the study of other members of the Sáliban family and reconstruction of the common ancestral language, the description of Mako also contributes to the typology of Amazonian languages and to our understanding of the pre-history of this area of the Orinoco basin. The products of this project also have the potential to be mobilized in language literacy efforts in the Mako communities.

L’arménien occidental est classé comme langue en danger depuis 2010, mais il est enseigné dans un réseau d’écoles arméniennes à travers une diaspora mondiale, crée par un génocide en 1915. Les inscriptions sont en déclin dans les écoles du Moyen-Orient depuis quatre décennies, alors qu’en France on observe un développement des écoles privées. Toutes les écoles sont confrontées à une culture éducative en évolution. Les données sont collectées à Beyrouth, Amman, Paris et Marseille, et des participants venant d’Alep. L’approche est interdisciplinaire, poststructuraliste et constructiviste, dans le but de comprendre le rôle des politiques scolaires dans l’attractivité des écoles et dans la transmission linguistique et dans la promotion de la vitalité de la langue dans chaque contexte. L’analyse de discours est employée pour analyser les représentations de la langue et des écoles aux niveaux personnel et structurel. Les théories de la vitalité ethnolinguistique et de la socialisation linguistique aident à éclairer les liens entre la politique, le choix des parents, et la vitalité de la langue. Le choix des parents est approché du point de vue de la psychologie de la consommation, et finalement c’est la notion de l’habitus (de Bourdieu) qui éclaire le mieux les dynamiques de ce choix et pourquoi il constitue souvent une rupture définitive avec l’institution. L’étude montre que les politiques au-delà de l’institutionnel ont moins d’influence sur le maintien de la langue que l’inscription à l’école et les discours dominants. Des préconisations sont formulées pour des changements de la politique scolaire et de la pédagogie. / Western Armenian was declared “definitely endangered” in 2010, although the language is taught in private Armenian schools across a global diaspora created by a genocide in 1915. Enrollment in Armenian schools in the Middle East has been declining for four decades, while the Armenian schools of France are growing & evolving & all are facing a rapidly changing educational climate. Conducted in Beirut, Amman, Paris & Marseille, and involving participants from Aleppo, this study analyzes data from more than 100 diasporan Armenians and a dozen schools. An interdisciplinary, post-structuralist & constructivist approach is taken to understanding the roles of school policies in attracting parents to Armenian schools, in effectively transmitting the language to students, & promoting the vitality of the language in each of the four contexts. Discourse Analysis is applied to both structural & personal representations of the language & of the schools. Ethnolinguistic Vitality & Language Socialization theories are used to understand the connections between policy, parent school choice & the wider vitality of the language. Parent school choice is looked at in terms of consumer psychology, and ultimately Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is the most apt for explaining why Armenian parents choose non-Armenian schools, & why this often becomes a definitive family break from the institution. Policy above the school level is found to have less impact on vitality than school enrollment & dominant discourses on language maintenance. Recommendations are made for policies & pedagogy.

The study investigated language policy and planning in relation to minority languages and specifically Tshwao, a Khoisan language, in Zimbabwe. The purpose of the study was to establish its impact on the current sociolinguistic status of Tshwao. The ultimate goal was to suggest guidelines for the implementation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment No. 20) Act, 2013 which officially recognised sixteen languages including ‘Koisan’ and to make recommendations for future language planning for endangered languages in general. The study is qualitative in nature. It used interviews, document analysis, observation and focus groups to gather data. Critical Discourse Analysis and Ethnolinguistic Vitality were the main theories which guided the study. The study showed that even though Tshwao is the Khoisan language that is popular, there are several other varieties such as Jitshwa, Xaise, Cirecire and Ganade and they are all endangered with very low demographic, status and institutional support. The Khoisan people have shifted to Ndebele and Kalanga, languages which are spoken by their neighbours. Both linguistic and extra-linguistic factors were shown in the study to have affected the maintenance of Khoisan languages. Numerical domination of the Khoisan by the Bantu people, subjugation by Mzilikazi during his conquests as well as selective development of languages by missionaries led to assimilation and language marginalisation. The implementation of discriminatory land, wildlife and language polices by the colonial government also resulted in relocations, language contact situations and dispersed settlements, all of which affected language maintenance. In the post-independence era, political instability, official and unofficial language policies were shown as having perpetuated the plight of Khoisan languages, including Tshwao. The constitution emerged as a milestone towards upholding minority languages. Its effectiveness is however compromised by inaccuracies and ambiguities in the manner in which provisions are crafted. The study concludes that Khoisan language endangerment spans from history. Formal and informal language policies contributed to the current state of endangerment. It further concludes that if effective revitalisation is to be done in line with implementing the constitution, all the factors which contributed to endangerment have to be taken into account. The study also suggests a separate guideline for the promotion of minority languages in general and displaced and endangered languages like Tshwao in particular. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Phil. (Linguistics)

No description available.