ELL: Cultural production

[Julia Sallabank]

Speakers of a minority are sometimes socially isolated from other speakers
(e.g. because all their relatives who speak it are deceased). In such cases,
cultural events are at least an opportunity to meet other speakers and 'come
out' as speakers of a stigmatised language. They are social occasions and
offer an opportunity for the audience too, not only the performers, to speak
the language.

I think that regaining pride in a language (as well as practising it!) is an
important step in promoting it in all domains.

Yours

Julia

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mauro Tosco" <mauro.tosco at libero.it>
To: <endangered-languages-l at cleo.murdoch.edu.au>
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2001 12:26 PM
Subject: Re: ELL: Cultural production


Ël di 11/20/01 11:52 PM, Coelho, gail at utxvms.cc.utexas.edu a l'ha scrivù:

> At 11:10 AM 11/20/01 +0800, Mauro Tosco wrote:
>> Is English (everywhere), or a national language (in its respective
country),
>> an expression of "culture"? Certainly not - or not only; they are an
>> expression of life.
>> How long can you go on having a language for the expression of your
culture,
>> and another for the expression of your life? That's the question.
>
> I would expect that many stable (?) multilingual societies have just this.
> Expect that, perhaps in stable areas with not so much language decline,
the
> minority language is the one used for 'expression of your life' and a
> dominant one is used for 'cultural' stuff. But I'm not sure....
>
> Gail
>
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I think this discussion started with revitalization strategies and reversal
of language death. So, stable multilingual societies are not germane here.
But you are certainly right there.
I also take it for granted that the discussion was centered around modern,
Western-like societies, not hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari desert. There,
again, things may be different.
But if a language is threatened in Europe, US, and the like, I guess it is
because its speakers are shifting to another language for most "high" uses
of the language. "Traditional" culture is not one of these; "modern" life
is. To stress traditional culture does not seem a good strategy in order to
reverse the tendency: if you want to revitalize Guernesiais (Guernsey Norman
French) do not do a poetry-festival, try to have McDonald's or Coca-Cola do
ads in it. This is a PRACTICAL encouragement to use a language, because it
makes the language "trendy", appealing, etc. (well, maybe not to
everybody...).
Best,

mauro

--

Dept. of African and Arab Studies (DSRAPA)
Istituto Universitario Orientale
I - 80134 Napoli
Italy


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