Ethnographic Contributions to the Study of Endangered Languages by Tania Granadillo, Heidi A. Orcutt-Gachiri ISBN 9780816550982, 9780816526994, 0816526990, 0816550980, B0BJPRZRG7 instant download

Ethnographic Contributions to the Study of Endangered Languages by Tania Granadillo, Heidi A. Orcutt-Gachiri ISBN 9780816550982, 9780816526994, 0816526990, 0816550980, B0BJPRZRG7 instant download

It is a feature of the twenty-first century that world languages are displacing local languages at an alarming rate, transforming social relations and complicating cultural transmission in the process. This language shiftthe gradual abandonment of minority languages in favor of national or international languagesis often in response to inequalities in power, signaling a pressure to conform to the political and economic structures represented by the newly dominant languages. In its most extreme form, language shift can result in language death and thus the permanent loss of traditional knowledge and lifeways.

To combat this, indigenous and scholarly communities around the world have undertaken various efforts, from archiving and lexicography to the creation of educational and cultural programs. What works in one community, however, may not work in another. Indeed, while the causes of language endangerment may be familiar, the responses to it depend on highly specific local conditions and opportunities. In keeping with this premise, the editors of this volume insist that to understand language endangerment, researchers and communities must come to understand what is happening to the speakers, not just what is happening to the language. The eleven case studies assembled here strive to fill a gap in the study of endangered languages by providing much-needed sociohistorical and ethnographic context and thus connecting specific language phenomena to larger national and international issues.