This thesis is a comparative investigation into the use of Italian of an extended Italian family in language contact situation in three countries: the United States, Australia and France. This study is undertaken and described in the context of the different policies on migrant integration and minority languages in the three migration countries. / The investigation uses the ‘Case Study’ methodology in the format of an embedded multiple case-study project. / The third generation was made the focus of the study to investigate Fishman’s “intergroup social dependency” theory. According to this theory, when the immigrant experience is viewed from a perspective of three or more generation time depth, the immigrant group generally loses its language due to its dependency on the host society for its survival. Fishman contends that only an effective and strict ‘compartmentalisation of language functions’ between the minority language and the host language can help the minority group maintain its language. / The findings indicate that for people of Italian background living as a minority group in language contact situation compartmentalisation is not a viable alternative. Nor do they consider the ‘maintenance’ of their community language important. When in the migration country bilingualism is valued, it is the standard variety of the heritage language that is chosen for maintenance and further learning. / The study presents recommendations towards the achievability of bilingualism beyond the limitations of compartmentalisation.

Our aim in this study is to investigate what attitudes exist among young Chilean peopletowards Mapudungun. Our other objectives are to establish the interest of learningMapudungun and to investigate if any of the informants identify themselves as mapuche. Thisstudy has been conducted among a small sample of informants in the region Los Lagos inChile. The sample consists of 21 informants between the ages 20 to 30.They answered a questionnaire consisting of two parts. In the first part we establish the ethnicidentity of the informants, and their desire to learn the language. Based on this they weredivided into three groups (mapuche, not mapuche and unsure) to investigate if the attitudesdiffer depending on their ethnicity. The second part of the questionnaire consists of the items.The informants have expressed their agreement or disagreement towards 20 positive ornegative items toward Mapudungun.The results of the analysis indicate that the attitudes towards Mapudungun are positive.However, the results show that the attitudes differ between the groups. We found a morepositive attitude in the mapuche group. We have also established an interest in learningMapudungun among the informants, even those that are not mapuche.

This thesis aims to explain the correlation between supply and demand of materials published in the national minority language Yiddish within the context of Swedish public libraries. It proposes to answer the questions of what the demand and supply look like at the time of the study, how supply and demand relate to each other, and if the supply satisfies the demand. The methods were based on a qualitative approach that helped to disclose the situation. As part of this approach interviews were conducted with librarians, Yiddish users, publishers and other interested parties and a questionnaire was distributed among Yiddish users. Further, the current supply of Yiddish materials in public libraries was examined. The findings from these investigations contributed to a conceptual map on the relation between supply and demand. The data was further analysed from a conceptual framework based on theories regarding minority-majority relations, the library as a democratic and linguistically inclusive space, and supply and demand in a library setting.  The conclusions from the study were that the supply for Yiddish materials is limited, and that there exists a demand exceeding the supply. It was further concluded that user dissatisfaction is a result of the minority not feeling included and made visible to the majority.

語言是人類重要的溝通工具，其目的是用來傳達思想、交流觀念和意見等，故語言除可傳承各民族特有的文化、教育和藝術資產外，完善的多語政策，更有利於各民族互相尊重以減少紛爭。歐盟於1973年至2007年歷經了6次擴大，自2007年加入羅馬尼亞和保加利亞後，會員國從6國增加至27國，語言的多樣性不僅包含23種官方語言，亦包括60多種區域與少數語言；本研究除探討歐盟東擴後所產生60多種區域與少數語言對歐盟的重要性外，並以此為例，研究歐盟多語政策下，如何有效保護境內區域與少數語言，以達最終整合目標。 / Language is an important tool for human communication, which aims to covey concepts, exchange ideas and opinions. In addition to passing down unique cultures, education and art assets, language can educate people to show mutual respect so as to reduce conflicts differences. From 1973 to 2007, the European Union experienced six expansions. Ever since Romania and Bulgaria joined EU in 2007, Member States have increased from six countries to twenty-seven countries. Linguistic diversity includes not only twenty-three official languages, but also sixty kinds of regional and minority languages. This study is to pinpoint the important influences these sixty regional and minority languages have brought to EU since the expansion. Take EU multilingualism policy as an example to better understand the ways to protect regional and minority languages in order to reach the goal of final integration.

The dissertation is an analysis of the history, current state, and possible future directions of the development of language policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Although language planning in the republics of the former Soviet Union has been a major subject of debate on government nation building agendas over the last two decades, the situation and implementation of language policies significantly differ in Kazakhstan due to the conditions of multilingualism and diglossia, in addition to other geographic and historical factors that resulted in the extended penetration of the Russian language during the Soviet era (Isayev, 1977:20). In the first chapter of the study, I trace the history of language legislation and political practices throughout the period of Russian-Kazakh diglossia (Fishman, 1967), a language situation in which the use of two unrelated languages (Kazakh and Russian) performed as high and low varieties at different levels prestige, and provide an analysis of important aspects of implementing legislative decisions and practices aimed at the development and promotion of the Kazakh language. The second and third chapters of this study are devoted to legislative documents and practices aimed at the modernization of Kazakh, especially with regards to the proposed switch from a Cyrillic to a Latin orthography, and amendments to the trinity of the Kazakh, Russian and English language status policies. This study of "language modernization" (switching from Cyrillic to Latin) is an attempt to define linguistic, literary, and social conditions and challenges, especially in the remote areas. The analysis of the modernization is based on the results of an extensive review of 1) official documents related to language policies; 2) on-line/magazine/newspaper and scholarly articles on Kazakh history, culture, language, education, and politics; 3) interviews with the officials of the educational departments, schools and language specialists.

The thesis is based on an argument that the minority language Rarámuri, as well as other indigenous languages of Mexico, is found in unequal position to the Spanish language, coinciding with the indigenous communities' socioeconomic conditions in a comparison to the central majority of the Spanish-speaking population. The indigenous mother tongue is often percieved by its speakers as an obstacle for achieving a better socioeconomic situation and experiencing the modernized lifestyle of the majority. Often, it is one of the first cultural attributes that is being abandoned. The speakers of minority languages are also an object of the state's educational policies that are presented as supportive for vernacular cultures and languages, however they have mostly opposite effect, which reveals the fact their essential intention is an assimilation. In this study I focus on three aspects of this sociolinguistic issue: firstly, the general approach and educational politics of Mexican State in regard of indigenous population in the twentieth century. Secondly, the description of main extralinguistic factors that condition vitality of a language, in this case it is the Rarámuri language. And thirdly, a field work research of language situation in selected communities with different meassures of bilingualism....

This thesis considers the initiatives of civil society organizations involved in efforts to revitalize the endoglossic minority languages in Zimbabwe in the period following the attainment of political independence in 1980. The study sought to understand how particular organs of civil society in Zimbabwe, such as the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe, Silveira House, Save the Children Fund (United Kingdom), and the African Languages Research Institute, have contributed to the development and promotion of linguistic human rights in Zimbabwe. These civil society organizations have worked with grassroots organizations formed by speakers of the endoglossic minority languages, such as the Tonga Language and Cultural Organization and the Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association. This thesis traces the initiatives undertaken by these organs of civil society through the formation of collaborative networks involving the various actors who collectively mobilized for the linguistic human rights of minority language groups in Zimbabwe. A qualitative approach to research was adopted for this study. Data was collected through qualitative interviews with key informants as well as through documentary materials that were collected from the identified organizations involved in the minority language revitalization project in Zimbabwe. Drawing on analytic frameworks of language revitalization efforts advanced by Fishman (1991, 2001), Crystal (2000), Skutnabb- Kangas (2000) and Adegbija (1997), I argue that the minority language revitalization efforts in Zimbabwe targeted two main domains of language use; education and the media. I further identify three main strategies that were adopted in advocating for an increased presence of the minority languages in these domains. The first strategy involved what Fishman calls the search for “ideological consensus” and “prior value consensus”. This strategy involved efforts by the language activists to mobilize the grassroots members of the minority language-speaking community to assume an ideological orientation whereby the minority languages were viewed as a resource and a right, and to actively participate in developing and promoting their languages. The second strategy arose from the focus on the state’s language ideology as constituting the basis on which the marginalization of their languages was legitimated. This second strategy, identified as an ideological or politically-oriented language revitalization strategy, involved instituting measures that challenged the state’s language policy as the manifestation of an exclusionary and linguicist state language ideology. The third strategy, identified as a language-based and technically-oriented language revitalization strategy involved initiatives geared towards corpus development of the minority endoglossic languages. This thesis concludes that these language revitalization initiatives were successful because as a result of these initiatives, the Government of Zimbabwe made concessions that gave the minority language groups a bigger stake in their targeted domains: the Ministry of Information and Publicity set up a radio station broadcasting exclusively in the minority languages, and the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture put in place new provisions on the learning and teaching of minority languages which allowed for the teaching of minority languages up to Grade 7 by 2005, with room for annual progression to secondary school level.

O presente estudo tem como tema a manutenção e/ou revitalização de línguas minoritárias, tomando por base dois contextos de comunidades de imigração pomerana, Santa Maria de Jetibá (ES) e Canguçu (RS). São objetivos do estudo (1) compreender os fatores que determinam a dinâmica de manutenção e/ou substituição de uma língua minoritária e (2) entender as medidas ou ações de intervenção que buscam manter e/ou revitalizar a língua pomerana com base nos fatores anteriormente identificados. Com isso, busca-se responder às seguintes perguntas de pesquisa: (1) Quais fatores motivam os falantes ao uso e manutenção da língua minoritária de imigração? (2) Como se pode intervir no processo de perda e substituição linguística, a fim de manter e/ou revitalizar uma língua minoritária? (3) Em que medida as políticas linguísticas contribuem para esse processo e incorporam em suas ações medidas educativas de promoção do pomerano como patrimônio cultural imaterial? (4) Como são significadas ou percebidas essas políticas pelos falantes e não falantes de pomerano? Em outras palavras, essas políticas incluem ou excluem membros da comunidade em sua totalidade? (5) A quem deve se dirigir essa política linguística de revitalização da língua minoritária? Para responder a estas perguntas, torna-se imprescindível combinar pressupostos teóricos da área de política linguística com métodos de análise e interpretação da sociolinguística de estudo do plurilinguismo e de contatos linguísticos. A análise comparativa dos dois contextos selecionados segue o princípio da pluridimensionalidade (cf. THUN, 1998), considerando para isso o comportamento linguístico de grupos etários distintos (dimensão diageracional), com nível de escolaridade mais baixo ou mais elevado (dimensão diastrática), falantes e não-falantes de pomerano (dimensão dialingual), em diferentes situações e práticas sociais (dimensão diafásica), além da observação participante, incluindo anotações em diário de campo. Nesse modelo, a variável a ser analisada aqui é o <uso ou não uso da língua minoritária>, sobre a qual recai a interpretação a ser feita neste estudo em relação às perguntas de pesquisa colocadas. Como variantes possíveis de serem registradas nos dois contextos em estudo, podemos considerar os “estados de manutenção da língua” previstos no documento da UNESCO (2013) e no modelo de Edwards (1992), além de observações e acréscimos sugeridos com base nos resultados do presente estudo. Esses resultados apontam que ainda há um alto grau de manutenção da língua pomerana nas localidades em estudo. Entretanto, apesar do estado atual da língua ainda ser bastante presente nos diversos âmbitos da comunidade, como o comércio, os espaços da igreja, dentre outros, a língua pomerana encontra-se em um contínuo crescente de perda linguística e substituição para o monolinguismo em português. A maior problemática recai na transmissão diageracional da língua materna para as gerações mais novas (GI), as entrevistas e a observação in loco comprovam as dificuldades de ensinar a língua pomerana em casa, fator que é agravado por uma escolarização excludente, que não problematiza a conscientização linguística (language awareness) dos indivíduos falantes e não falantes de pomerano. Nesse aspecto, uma política linguística de revitalização, principalmente, para a geração jovem, futuros pais, que reconheça a centralidade da família na manutenção da língua de imigração, se mostra urgente em ambas as localidades analisadas. Para abrigar as diferenças locais, ou seja, a diversidade e a pluralidade aí existente, o caminho que, a partir da pesquisa, se oferece como o mais eficaz e conciliador parece ser o de uma identidade plural e de uma política que defenda uma postura plural, em que os benefícios do plurilinguismo se coloquem à frente da defesa de línguas em particular. / The subject of the present study aims to discuss the maintenance and/or revitalization of minority languages, based on the examination of two cases of Pomeranian immigration communities in two different contexts, Santa Maria do Jetibá (ES) and Canguçu (RS). The purpose of this study is (1) to comprehend the factors that determine the maintenance and/or substitution of a minority language’s dynamic and (2) to understand the intervention steps or actions that preserve and/or revitalize the Pomeranian language, based on the facts previously mentioned. Therefore, it is pertinent to respond the following research questions: (1) Which factors motivate the speakers to the usage and maintenance of an immigrant minority language? (2) How can one interfere in the process of linguistics loss and substitution, in order to preserve and/or revitalize a minority language? (3) In what level the linguistics policies contribute to this process and incorporate to their actions educational steps that promote the Pomeranian as intangible cultural heritage? (4) How are these policies perceived by speakers and non-Pomeranian speakers? In other words, does these policies include or exclude the community members in their totality? (5) To whom this minority language’s revitalization linguistics policy must be directed? To respond to these questions it is indispensable to combine linguistics policy field’s theoretical assumptions to sociolinguistics interpretation and analysis’ methods of plurilingualism study and linguistic contacts. The comparative analysis of the two selected contexts follow the multidimensionality principle (cf. THUN, 1998), considering, therefore, the linguistic behaviour of different age groups (diagenerational dimension), with lower or higher educational level (diastratical dimension), speakers or non-Pomeranian speakers (dialingual dimension), in distinct situations and social practices (diaphasic dimension), in addition to the participant observation, including field notes. In this model, the variable to be analyzed is the <use or non use of the minority language>, over which lies the interpretation to be made in this study, taking into account the research questions previously presented. As possible variants to be registered in the two given contexts, we could consider consider the "states of language maintenance" foreseen in the UNESCO’s document (2013) and Edwards model (1922), as well as the observations and additions suggested based on the results of the present study. These results indicate that there is still a high degree of maintenance of the Pomeranian language in the study sites. However, although the current state of the language is still very present in the various spheres of the community, such as commerce, church spaces, among others, the Pomeranian language is in a growing continuum of linguistic loss and substitution for monolingualism in Portuguese. The main problems are in the diagenerational transmission of the mother tongue to the younger generations (G1), interviews and on-site observation prove the difficulties of teaching the Pomeranian language at home, a factor that is aggravated by an exclusionary schooling, which does not problematize the linguistic awareness of speaking and non-Pomeranian speakers. In this aspect, a revitalization language policy, mainly for the younger generation, future parents, is urgent in both locations focus the research. Revitalization actions that give importance to the importance of the family for the maintenance of the immigrant language, is from the recognition of its plural identity and a policy that defends a plural position that emphasizes the benefits of plurilingualism.

Cette thèse explore l'impact du contexte historique (culturel, politique, démographique) et des politiques européennes sur l’éducation dans les langues des minorités nationales dans la Province autonome de Voïvodine de la République de Serbie au cours de la période 2001-2012.Nous avons analysé en détail les politiques et pratiques éducatives relatives aux minorités nationales en Voïvodine, du niveau primaire au niveau supérieur : les modèles d’enseignement, le réseau scolaire et la participation des élèves, l’accès des minorités nationales à l'enseignement supérieur et la formation des enseignants dans les langues minoritaires, la mise en oeuvre de l’autonomie culturelle dans le domaine de l’enseignement par les conseils nationaux des minorités nationales, et, enfin, la promotion du plurilinguisme au sein du système éducatif.Une étude empirique, conduite principalement à l’aide d’entretiens auprès des acteurs de terrain, démontre que malgré la diminution du nombre des personnes appartenant aux minorités nationales depuis la fin de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, le système éducatif en Voïvodine est fondé sur le respect des droits linguistiques des minorités nationales tel que défini au niveau européen et international. L’approche historique de notre recherche nous a permis d’identifier les traditions historiques comme un facteur clé des évolutions récentes de l’éducation dans les langues des minorités nationales.Si l'Union européenne ne dispose pas d'un modèle de référence pour l’évaluation du droit des minorités nationales à l’enseignement dans la langue maternelle, elle a néanmoins joué, à travers sa politique d’élargissement, un rôle important dans la mise en place d’une autonomie culturelle dans le domaine de l’éducation dans la langue maternelle des minorités nationales. / This thesis explores the impact of historical context (cultural, political, demographic) and of European policies on education in the languages of national minorities in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina of the Republic of Serbia during the period 2001-2012.We analyzed in detail the educational policies and practices relating to national minorities in Vojvodina, from primary to higher education: teaching models, the school network and the participation of pupils, the national minorities' access to higher education and training of teachers in minority languages, the implementation of cultural autonomy in the field of education by the national councils of national minorities, and finally, the promotion of plurilingualism in the education system.An empirical study, based mainly on interviews with actors in the field, shows that despite the decrease in the number of persons belonging to national minorities since the end of World War II, the education system in Vojvodina is based on respect for language rights of national minorities as defined at European and international level. The historical approach to our research has allowed us to identify historical traditions as a key factor in the recent developments in education in the languages of national minorities.Although the European Union does not have a reference model for evaluating the right to education of national minorities in their mother tongue, through its enlargement policy, it nevertheless played an important role in the establishment of cultural autonomy in the field of education in mother tongue of national minorities.

This dissertation is a description of the grammar of Belep [yly], an Austronesian language variety spoken by about 1600 people in and around the Belep Isles in New Caledonia. The grammar begins with a summary of the cultural and linguistic background of Belep speakers, followed by chapters on Belep phonology and phonetics, morphology and word formation, nouns and the noun phrase, verbs and the verb group, basic clause structure, and clause combining. The phonemic inventory of Belep consists of 18 consonants and 10 vowels and is considerably smaller than that of the surrounding languages. This is due to the fact that Belep consonants do not contrast in aspiration and Belep vowels do not contrast in length, unlike in Belep’s closest relative Balade Nyelâyu. However, like-vowel hiatuses—sequences of heterosyllabic like vowels—are common in Belep, where the stress correlates of vowel length, intensity, and pitch do not generally coincide. Belep morphology is exclusively suffixing and fairly synthetic; it is characterized by a large disconnect between the phonological and the grammatical word and the existence of a number of proclitics and enclitics. Belep nouns fall into four noun classes, which are defined by their compatibility with the two available (alienable and inalienable) possessive constructions. Belep transitive verbs are divided into bound and free roots, while intransitive verbs are divided between those which require a nominative argument and those which require an absolutive argument. While the surrounding languages have a split-ergative argument structure, Belep has an unusual split-intransitive nominative-absolutive system, with the further complication that transitive subjects may be marked as genitive depending on the specificity of the absolutive argument. Belep case marking is accomplished through the use of cross-linguistically unusual ditropic clitics; clitics marking the function of a Belep noun phrase are phonologically bound to whatever element precedes the noun phrase. In general, Belep lacks true complementation, instead making use of coordinate structures with unique linkers as a complementation strategy.