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Thesis (M.A. (Translation studies and linguistics)) --University of Limpopo, 2010. / This dissertation endeavours to examine the causes of the marginalisation of Xitsonga in South Africa. The study has identified several factors that play a role in the marginalisation of Xitsonga. Some of these factors are inadequate promotion of Xitsonga by State Institutions and the negative attitude that Xitsonga speakers have against their language. In spite of these unfavourable conditions, the study has shown that several measures can be undertaken in order to strengthen Xitsonga as a language. Some of these measures are that Xitsonga must be offered as a subject at school and at tertiary level. Books and newspapers must be written in Xitsonga, to mention but a few. Lastly, the study highlights the fact that the existence of Xitsonga will be determined by its speakers. If they are willing to promote and support it there is no doubt that Xitsonga will exist for a long time to come.

This thesis explores the use of sound recordings in the revitalisation of two minority languages – the Ainu (Japan) and the West Frisian (the Netherlands). Over the last few decades, a growing concern about linguistic diversity in the world has led to an increasing awareness of minority languages, which are endangered by loss. The concept of language revitalisation calls for work which will affect the vitality of these languages. The nature of these revitalisation efforts is inscribed into place-related processes and the interpretations of the relationships between language speakers and the place they live in. Sound recordings can afford language revitalisation with the restoration of sounds of languages. This thesis argues that the heart of language revitalisation lies in the re-sounding of place attachment and sense of place. The selection of the two language cases studies, which allow for the multi-faceted use of sound recordings to be revealed and understood, constitutes an important part in the search for an understanding of these interconnections. Based on these two language case studies, which contrast in degrees of language endangerment, this research analyses how and why sound recordings engage in the processes of language revitalisation. Qualitative methods of research, encompassing forty one semi-structured and episodic interviews conducted in Japan and the Netherlands along with observations and secondary data analysis, were used in this study. The comparative approach revealed similarities and differences in the revitalisation of the Ainu and West Frisian languages and the practices of using sound recordings. Importantly, this thesis demonstrates that the significance of sound recordings arise from their capability of creating aural experience of the language, which empowers both processes of language revitalisation with the restoration of place attachment and sense of place. This finding represents a key contribution to the research of linguistic and geographical knowledge about the revitalisation of endangered languages, the role of technology in language revitalisation and to the debate on saving linguistic and cultural diversity in the world.

The present study deals with the current phenomenon of the revitalisation of the Breton language. The work is divided into three parts. The first presents a theoretical basis to the following parts. The second is devoted to Breton in a larger context and it contains the following: the language policy in France, information about Brittany and its languages, and the evolution of using the Breton. The core of the work is the last part, which is based on an ethnological field research that the author carried out in the years 2008 and 2011 among students of Breton at the university of Rennes 2. Its aim is to illustrate the studied phenomenon by the concete stories of his actors. One of its main results is the confirmation of the hypothesis about the symbolic importance of Breton as one of the basic pillars of the Breton identity. The sources of this study are, apart from the research mentioned above, French, Czech and English secondary resources.

In language revitalisation movements the main impetus and passion is often provided by adults who, as second language speakers, have gained fluency in their heritage language. As parents and teachers these adults often have vital roles in the ongoing transmission of the heritage language. This study is based on interviews with thirty-two Māori adults who have each made a strong commitment to becoming a fluent speaker of Māori. The study posited that the informants would have a strongly-held worldview which enabled them to engage with and maintain a relationship with the Māori language. This worldview is expressed through a range of metaphors, the four most frequent being: LANGUAGE IS A PATH, LANGUAGE IS A CANOE, LANGUAGE IS FOOD, LANGUAGE LEARNER IS A PLANT. The worldview articulated by these metaphors has a quasi-religious nature and draws on elements of New Age humanism, a connection with Māori culture and ancestors as well as kaupapa Māori (Māori-orientated and controlled initiatives). The source domains for these metaphors are traced through a study of various Māori sources from the 19th century through to the present day. This study shows how exploitation of these metaphors has changed throughout this time period leading to their current exploitation by the newly-fluent informants. The metaphors preferred by the informants were contrasted with the prominent metaphor LANGUAGE IS A TREASURE, the entailments of which were found to be more relevant to the experience of native speakers. The informants' experience also contrasts with the focus of language planners in that the informants are more focussed on how the Māori language is important for them personally than how they contribute to the revitalisation of the Māori language. These findings have implications for the revitalisation of the Māori language and have relevance for other endangered languages.

Ce travail de recherche entend considérer la revitalisation linguistique dans la sphère économique comme un projet. Cela implique de déterminer un point de départ et ce qui y a conduit. C’est l’objet de la première partie du travail, qui retrace l’évolution de la langue au fil des siècles, ce qui est l’échelle de temps la plus adaptée pour comprendre l’évolution des langues. Viennent ensuite les conditions d’environnement, trois aspects sont abordés : les outils de la langue, la quantité et le niveau des locuteurs dans une situation d’offre et de demande d’emplois. Enfin, le dernier outil concerne la méthodologie et le suivi d’une revitalisation linguistique. La seconde partie éclaire la situation des tensions internes à la sphère économique, entre les vitesses d’évolution des activités humaines et numériques. La suite est consacrée à la valorisation des initiatives de revitalisations linguistiques contemporaines dans le monde des entreprises. Les deux aspects principaux concernent les possibilités d’utilisation de la langue minoritaire et la gestion des facteurs humains liés à une telle démarche. Enfin, la troisième partie concerne une expérimentation de revitalisation linguistique dans l’entreprisede l’auteur, ce qui lui a permis de confronter utopie et réalité d'une telle initiative. / This research work considers reverse language shift in economy as a project. This involve defining a starting point and understanding how this situation came up. It is the aim of the first part which shows the evolution of breton language on several centuries, the appropriate scale to understand language evolutions. Then comes the environment conditions, three aspects are studied : language tools, numbering and level qualifications of the speakers in front of current supply and demand situation. Then, the last tool considered is the methodology and the follow-up of minority language revitalisation. The second part is dedicated to tensions generated in economy between the evolution speed of human activities versus numeric ones. Then comes valorisation of contemporary initiatives regarding language revival in companies. Two main aspects are considered : the possibilities offered by minority languages and managing human aspects linked to such initiatives. Last, the third section is dedicated to an experimental minority language revitalisation performed in the company of the author of this work, which allowed him to put face to face utopia and reality of such an initiative. / Al labour imbourc’h-mañ a ginnig sellout ouzh advuhezekaat ar yezhoù minorel er bed an armerzh evel ur raktres. Ar pezh a dalv spisaat al lec’h loc’hañ, ha penaos emeur degouezhet eno. Pal al loden gentañ an hini eo, hag a ziskouez emdroadur ar yezh a-hed ar c’hantvedoù, skeul amzer dereat evit meizañ emdroadurioù ar yezhoù. Dont a ra war-lerc’h aozioù an endro ha tri anezho zo bet studiet : ostilhoù ar yezh, kementañ hag adrummañ ar vrezhonegerien e-keñver kinnig ha goulenn al labour, hag a-benn ar fin, metodologiezhoù evit lakaat e pleustr ha heuliañ advuhezekaat ur yezh. An eil lodenn a ziskouez tennderioù diabarzh war dachenn an armerzh etre tizh emdroadur faktorioù denel ha niverel. D’an talvoudegezh an intrudu a-vremañ er bed an embregerezhioù, eo gouestlet ar peurrest eus al lodenn. Daou dra a zo bet studiet pizh : peseurt implij eus ar yezh vinorel ha penaos merañ faktorioù denel liammet gant an difrae. Evit echuiñ, an trede lodenn a zo gouestlet d’ul labour pleustrek advuhezekaat ar brezhoneg en embregerezh oberour al labour-mañ, ar pezh en deus roet dezhañ da lakaat tal-ouzh-tal utopiezh ha gwirvoud an difrae.

The quality of the processes involved in language regeneration strategy formation is critical to the creation of an effective language regeneration strategy and this, in turn, is critical to the achievement of successful language regeneration outcomes. The overall aim of this research project was to evaluate, using a range of effectiveness criteria, the processes involved in the creation of a marae-based te reo Māori regeneration strategy in the hope that others involved in similar projects in the future would benefit and in the hope that the Whakamārama whānau will themselves derive benefit from it in reviewing what has already been achieved. In Chapter 1, the background to the research project and its rationale are outlined and the research questions and research methods are introduced. Chapter 2 provides a critical review of selected literature in the area of strategic planning aspects of language regeneration and relevant aspects of mātauranga Māori. Using an ethnographic approach, the processes and immediate outcomes (in terms of a survey report and a regeneration plan for Whakamārama marae) of the language regeneration project are outlined in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, effectiveness criteria are derived on the basis of the literature review in Chapter 2. These include criteria relating to leadership, participation, Kaupapa Māori values, environmental analysis and outcomes. The criteria are then applied to the analysis and evaluation of the processes and outcomes outlined in Chapter 3 in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The overall conclusion is that Whakamārama's language regeneration activities to date can be regarded as successful in many ways, including the fact that they have resulted in the production of high quality documentation that is widely appreciated by the whānau in the form of a maraebased language survey and a marae-based te reo Māori regeneration plan. Working voluntarily and often under difficult circumstances, core group members demonstrated that they possessed the essential characteristics of commitment, motivation and determination, in addition to the willingness and ability to use existing skills and knowledge effectively and to develop further skills and knowledge as the project proceeded. Perhaps most important, they developed a caring and effective working culture. However, the weaknesses of the project included a lack of preparation and planning prior to the commencement of the project which resulted in a build up of work at a number of stages. This, in turn, lead to delays in producing outcomes and some loss of momentum. It also led, indirectly, to the views of two or three members of the core group being overrepresented in the reo plan goals. The information and analysis provided here have relevance to any language community involved in micro-level language regeneration activities of a similar type. It is hoped therefore that this thesis may help others to not only avoid the problems experienced by the Whakamārama whānau but also to benefit from their successes.

This dissertation investigates the revitalisation of Tonga, an endangered minority language in Zimbabwe. It seeks to establish why the Tonga people embarked on the revitalisation of their language, the strategies they used, the challenges they encountered and how they managed them. The Human Needs Theory propounded by Burton (1990) and Yamamoto’s (1998) Nine Factors Language Revitalisation Model formed the theoretical framework within which the data were analysed. This case-study identified various socio-cultural and historical factors that influenced the revitalisation of the Tonga language. Despite the socio-economic and political challenges from both within and outside the Tonga community, the Tonga revitalisation initiative was to a large extent a success, thanks to the speech community’s positive attitude and ownership of the language revitalisation process. It not only restored the use of Tonga in the home domain but also extended the language function into the domains of education, the media, and religion. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

This thesis examines evolution in the phonology of Guernesiais, the endangered variety of Norman French indigenous to the Channel Island of Guernsey. It identifies ways in which modern Guernesiais phonology differs from previous descriptions of the variety written between 1870 and 2008, and identifies new patterns of phonological variation which correlate with speaker place of origin within the island. This is accomplished through a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses of a new corpus of speech data. The relationship between the data and other extralinguistic variables such as age and gender is also explored. The Guernsey 2010 corpus was gathered during linguistic interviews held with forty-nine adult native speakers of Guernesiais between July and September 2010. The interviews featured a word list translation task (English > Guernesiais), a series of socio-biographical questions, and a self-assessment questionnaire which sought to elicit information about the participants’ use of Guernesiais as well as their responses to questions relating to language revitalisation issues. The interviews resulted in over 40 hours of recorded material in addition to a bank of written socio-biographical, behavioural and attitudinal data. Analysis of the phonetically transcribed data revealed that a number of phonological features of Guernesiais have evolved, perhaps owing to greater contact with English or through other processes of language change such as levelling. Shifting patterns of diatopic variation indicate that south-western Guernesiais forms are spreading northwards, and this is echoed in the findings of the socio-biographical data. New evidence of diatopic variation in final consonant devoicing and word-final post-obstruent liquid deletion was also found. This thesis concludes that there is still considerable variation in the pronunciation of modern native speakers of Guernesiais, and that this correlates with place of origin within the island. While northern Guernesiais forms have not disappeared entirely, south-western Guernesiais appears set to become the de facto standard for the variety, especially as the political impetus for revitalisation is generated from this area of the island.

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)