Of the various regional languages in France, Occitan, a language spoken in the southern third of the country, is facing some major problems, namely those of the creation of a written standard — a process which began only in the late 19th century — and the splintering of the Occitan movement into several distinct dialect groups. One of these dialects, Gascon, has long been considered the black sheep of the Occitan dialects, due in part to its peculiar phonology, lexicon and its literature, which developed in a much different manner than the other Occitan dialects for a number of reasons. Gascon is also the most widely misunderstood of the varieties of "Langue d'Oc", often being confused as being either a separate language, a very corrupt form of French (a patois), or simply a very distant relative to Occitan. This thesis attempts to explain the rationale for a Gascon language movement by examining its historical and social development and the shifting cultural identity over time. The linguistic traits specific to Gascon will be discussed, as well as the differences between it and the other forms of Occitan. Finally, a brief discussion of the present state of Gascon and the regional movement(s) will conclude this overview of one of the many regional or minority languages of France.

Of the various regional languages in France, Occitan, a language spoken in the southern third of the country, is facing some major problems, namely those of the creation of a written standard — a process which began only in the late 19th century — and the splintering of the Occitan movement into several distinct dialect groups. One of these dialects, Gascon, has long been considered the black sheep of the Occitan dialects, due in part to its peculiar phonology, lexicon and its literature, which developed in a much different manner than the other Occitan dialects for a number of reasons. Gascon is also the most widely misunderstood of the varieties of "Langue d'Oc", often being confused as being either a separate language, a very corrupt form of French (a patois), or simply a very distant relative to Occitan. This thesis attempts to explain the rationale for a Gascon language movement by examining its historical and social development and the shifting cultural identity over time. The linguistic traits specific to Gascon will be discussed, as well as the differences between it and the other forms of Occitan. Finally, a brief discussion of the present state of Gascon and the regional movement(s) will conclude this overview of one of the many regional or minority languages of France.

Of the various regional languages in France, Occitan, a language spoken in the southern third of the country, is facing some major problems, namely those of the creation of a written standard — a process which began only in the late 19th century — and the splintering of the Occitan movement into several distinct dialect groups. One of these dialects, Gascon, has long been considered the black sheep of the Occitan dialects, due in part to its peculiar phonology, lexicon and its literature, which developed in a much different manner than the other Occitan dialects for a number of reasons. Gascon is also the most widely misunderstood of the varieties of "Langue d'Oc", often being confused as being either a separate language, a very corrupt form of French (a patois), or simply a very distant relative to Occitan. This thesis attempts to explain the rationale for a Gascon language movement by examining its historical and social development and the shifting cultural identity over time. The linguistic traits specific to Gascon will be discussed, as well as the differences between it and the other forms of Occitan. Finally, a brief discussion of the present state of Gascon and the regional movement(s) will conclude this overview of one of the many regional or minority languages of France. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

Abdul Haq was the secretary of the Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Urdu from 1912 to 1961. He was also a founder of Osmania University, one of the first universities in India to provide instruction in an Indian vernacular. He had a lifelong devotion towards improving the status of Urdu and of the Indian Muslim community at large. He was the figure most involved with the standardization of Urdu and establishment of this language as a symbol of Muslim identity. Through an analysis of Abdul Haq’s involvement in language reform movements and the politics of the early 20th century, especially considering the fallout after the 1936 meeting of the Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad, I seek to show the nature of language as a nationalist tool. I argue that language is not inherently associated with the nation-building process, but that it must first be standardized into a form which can be used as a political tool and a point of identification for the community rallied behind it. / text

Denna uppsats är en studie av hur Socialstyrelsen och Försäkringskassan hanterar ordet hen med särskilt fokus på åtta medarbetares attityder till ordet och vilka ideologier dessa bottnar i. Metoden är kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer och mejlintervjuer där medarbetarna har fått resonera kring hur de ställer sig till ordet och till att använda det på sin respektive myndighet. Ytterligare två komponenter har i enlighet med Bernard Spolskys teori om språkpolicies, undersökts - den explicita språkvården med avseende på hen samt om ordet förekommer i språkbruket internt och externt på myndigheterna. För tydlighetens skull är uppsatsens analysdel indelad efter dessa tre komponenter: den explicita språkvården, attityder och ideologier och språkbruket. Informationen om den explicita språkvården och det interna och det externa språkbruket bygger främst på informanternas egna erfarenheter och observationer. Materialet består av 6 kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer på drygt 256 minuter samt två mejlintervjuer. Analysen visar att det inte bedrivs något explicit språkvårdsarbete på myndigheterna med avseende på hen. Vill medarbetarna uttrycka sig könsneutralt rekommenderas de att skriva han eller hon eller den. Ingen av myndigheterna har någon officiell hållning vad gäller hen men medarbetare rekommenderas att undvika hen så länge det finns risk för att provocera mottagaren. Analysen visar också att majoriteten av informanterna är positivt inställda till ett könsneutralt pronomen men att det inte nödvändigtvis måste vara ordet hen som fyller den funktionen. De negativa attityderna till hen lägger många av informanterna hos andra människor. / This paper is a study of how Socialstyrelsen and Försäkringskassan handles the word hen. The main focus is eight employees attitudes to the word and what ideologies they derive from. The method is qualitative research interviews and e-mail interviews where the employees discuss how they feel about the word and if they have or want to use it. Two additional components in accordance with Bernard Spolsky’s theory of language policies, is also investigated - the explicit language planning for hen and if the word occurs in the internal or the external communication. The analysis is divided into three components: the explicit language planning, attitudes and ideologies and language use. The information about the explicit language planning and the internal and the external language use is mainly based on the participants own experiences and observations. The material consists of six qualitative research interviews of more than 256 minutes and two e-mail interviews. The analysis shows that the explicit language planning doesen’t handle hen. If employees would like to express themselves gender-neutral they are recommended to write he or she or it. Employees are advised to avoid hen as long as there is a risk of provoking the receiver. The analysis also shows that the majority of respondents are in favor of a gender-neutral pronoun, but it is not necessarily the word hen that has to fill that function. The negative attitudes towards hen many of the informants put on other people.

Many immigrant (minority language) parents send their children to heritage language programs in hopes of helping their children maintain connections to their mother cultures and languages. This case study aims to explore the challenges minority language parents may encounter with decisions related to heritage language retention through community-based heritage language programs in a Canadian Chinese diaspora community. Five parent participants were recruited based on their diverse geographical and linguistic backgrounds. From interviews with these parents five themes emerged. These are 1) the nature of parental expectations regarding the function of heritage education, 2) the differences between heritage education and mainstream education, 3) varying perceptions of being part of a cultural minority, 4) manners of negotiating ethnic identity, and 5) the issue of diaspora values. The findings may shed light on how heritage education may be further developed, and also provide educators and policy makers with a better understanding of the importance of heritage education from the parents’ perspective.

Many immigrant (minority language) parents send their children to heritage language programs in hopes of helping their children maintain connections to their mother cultures and languages. This case study aims to explore the challenges minority language parents may encounter with decisions related to heritage language retention through community-based heritage language programs in a Canadian Chinese diaspora community. Five parent participants were recruited based on their diverse geographical and linguistic backgrounds. From interviews with these parents five themes emerged. These are 1) the nature of parental expectations regarding the function of heritage education, 2) the differences between heritage education and mainstream education, 3) varying perceptions of being part of a cultural minority, 4) manners of negotiating ethnic identity, and 5) the issue of diaspora values. The findings may shed light on how heritage education may be further developed, and also provide educators and policy makers with a better understanding of the importance of heritage education from the parents’ perspective.

Toward the end of the Troubles, the notion of an Ulster-Scots ethnicity, culture, and language began to be pursued by certain unionists and loyalists more desirous of ‘something more racy of the soil’ (Dowling 2007:54). Peace-building in Northern Ireland had undergone something of a cultural turn: the armed struggle over constitutional and civil rights questions began in the eighties to be ‘ethnically framed’ (Brubaker 2004:166). With cultural identity politically potent, the conception of an Ulster-Scots ethnic group began to gain traction with a tiny but influential subsection of unionists and loyalists. Since the nineties, this movement has gained considerable ground. This thesis represents an intersectional investigation of the inclusion of Ulster-Scots education into schools in Northern Ireland. I contend that Ulster-Scots studies represents an ethnicisation of the conception of a discrete Protestant politico-religious “community” within Northern Ireland, holding considerable potential for the deepening of senses of intercommunal differentiation. Rather than presenting the potential for the deconstruction of ideas of difference, such a pedagogy of reifies, perpetuates, (re)constructs and even deepens such ideas of difference by grounding notions of difference in ethno-cultural and genealogical bases. Ulster-Scots is often described as a means of waging cultural war in post-conflict Northern Ireland (Mac Póilin 1999). Contrariwise, I contend that it represents neither the uncritical, sectarian, loyalist pedagogy of its critics nor the pragmatic and innocuous solution to a problem of durable collective identities of its protagonists. Rather, Ulster-Scots education is embedded in the politics of consociational peace. The logic of consociationalism explicitly entails the maintenance of stark boundaries of ethnic difference. This research does not merely critique of Ulster-Scots pedagogy, but calls into question the whole consociational logic in which it, and the Northern Irish peace process in general, has been embedded.

[pt] Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar a situação lingüística na fronteira Brasil/Guiana Francesa, discutindo os resultados obtidos frente à política lingüística de ensino de línguas estrangeiras estabelecida no Brasil assim como preconizar a educação bilíngüe para esse contexto. Dentro da diversidade lingüística do país, as regiões de fronteira são os locais onde se observam com maior freqüência os fenômenos resultantes do contato lingüístico. A partir desta constatação, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa sociolingüística, que considera a língua a partir de seu contexto social. O trabalho tem como referencial teórico os estudos sobre Línguas em/de Contato e estudos sobre política e planejamento lingüístico para comunidades com diversidade lingüística. Em Línguas de/em Contato, buscamos referencial nos estudos clássicos que tratam do nível de competência dos falantes e das funções de uso das línguas em situações de bilingüismo e multilinguismo. No âmbito da política e planificação lingüística buscamos referencial nos estudos que tratam da problemática desse bi/ multilinguismo para o estabelecimento de propostas de educação bilíngüe. A investigação foi desenvolvida com uma pesquisa qualitativa, de base etnográfica, que utilizou dos seguintes instrumentos: análise documental, pesquisa de campo, entrevistas e questionários. Identificamos o status lingüístico e as atitudes lingüísticas dos alunos do sexto ano do ensino fundamental de uma escola pública da região com o objetivo de embasar a discussão sobre o estabelecimento de políticas lingüísticas adequadas para os contextos de minorias lingüísticas como os de fronteira. Como resultados mais significativos, apontamos que essa região ressente de uma política e planificação lingüística no tocante a formalização da língua francesa como língua estrangeira nos estabelecimentos de ensino / [en] This paper aims at analyzing the linguistic situation in the frontier Brazil/French Guiana. The results obtained were discussed in relation to the foreign language teaching linguistic policy established in Brazil. Considering the diversity of languages in the country, the frontiers are the places where the phenomena derived from linguistic contact are mostly observed. In view of this fact, a sociolinguistics research was developed, taking into account language through its social context. Our theoretical background encompasses the studies of language in contact and studies about linguistic policy and planning to linguistically diverse communities. Considering language in contact we based this research on the classic studies that deal with the speaker’s level of competence and the functions of use of language in bilinguism and multilinguism situations. Regarding linguistic policy and planning we were based on studies that investigate the matter of bi/multilinguism for the establishment of proposals of bilingual education. The analysis was carried as an ethnographic based qualitative research through the use of the following tools: documental analysis, field research, interviews and surveys. We identified the linguistic status and the attitudes of sixth grade students of an elementary (public) school of the region to serve as a basis to the discussion concerning the establishment of more appropriate linguistic policies in the context of linguistic minorities, such as the border/frontier ones. More significantly, we indicate that the region lacks a linguistic policy and planning concerning the formalization of the French language as the foreign language in teaching institutions.

This thesis presents a comparative and interdisciplinary investigation into the relationship between politics and the Turkish and Kurdish novels, which are treated not only as artistic constructions but also as socio-cultural and historical artefacts. The primary objective of this investigation is to understand the principle social, political, and historical reasons and root causes behind the close relationship between politics and literatures in Turkey and the principle socio-political and literary ramifications of such strong relationship. Towards this end, the thesis focuses on four main themes: language, love, religion, and history. Besides being the most common novelistic themes in the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, these are inherently heavily politicised and ethno-nationalistically charged themes - thus especially suitable for such inquiry. In line with this politico-historical and literary vein, the thesis also discusses some of the main political questions in Turkey, viz., the reasons behind the failure of Turkish democracy, its maladies and the resultant deadlock on some of the most important issues of the modern history of the country such as the Kurdish imbroglio and the conflict of secularisation and Islam. As the discussions on politics of love, language, religion, and history show, profound ideological competitions and antagonisms do not necessarily mean divergent political and literary structures. As such, the strong links between the Turkish and Kurdish literary institutions, as well as the ordeal of the Kurdish question and democratisation in Turkey, is as much caused by rival nationalisms, hostile ideological positions, and the like as by congruity, parallel political visions, and similar power structures. The main argument of the thesis, thus, is that the Kurdish and Turkish literary, political, and intellectual actors could not contribute towards the solution of the persistent political and literary questions in Turkey because of their failure in adopting a transformative politics and developing fully autonomous literatures. The future of the two literatures, as was in the past, this thesis argues, will remain intrinsically bound to the political structures and developments and the future of democracy in Turkey.