Stable bi- and multilingualism

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Looking at indigenous and regional languages around the world, I notice that stable bi- or multilingualism instead of damaging diglossia  in society is rather rare. 

I would call stable bi- or multilingualism the situation if the regional or indigenous language is always being choosen in talks when indigenous persons are involved. The task lingua franca, however, is only chosen if an outsider without understanding the language is involved. This means that language choice is determined by the persons involved in a talk and not by the kind of talk as in diglossia. The regional or indigenous language will commonly be used in official settings like application for a job. In such circumstances, employers will even require reasonable skills in the regional or indigenous language. 

For this, a positive prestige of the task language as well as pride in the own heritage is necessary.so that not using the own language in talks with indigenous persons is unthinkable. In Central Catalonia, we find a situation similar to this. Since the end of the Franco regime, they aim at normalization, namely that Catalan is dominating everywhere and Spanish a second language known by everybody.

In Catalonia, the Franco regime has even lead to a negative image of Spanish. Catalan was linked with progress and Spanish with oppression. 

But there is no similar examples in really small speech community. Either the indigenous people have little knowledge of the neighbouring big language or the regional or indigenous language is under threat. I would like to see that members also of small groups are fluent in both their own language and in the overregional state language while rejecting strongly to abandon their language.

In the remaining communities where the own language is still the first language of almost all people, the aim must be stable bi- and multilingualism. In order to bother language change, children ought to grow up speaking their own language only and learning other languages at school. If young children are unilingual, some persons will be forced to use the regional or indigenous language. School going age is early enough to begin with other languages ending up in fluency. In Scandinavia, fluency in English is common although they learn it mostly from schoolgoing age at school.

Yes, the right has to be ensured to raise children unilingually in the own language. This is not granted even in a few Western countries. The U.S., for example, are following an English-only ideologgy, now apart from native Americans. I could imagine that immigrant parents in the U.S. are at risk to be taken off their children if they raise them unilingually in their heritage language. At any rate, they will be subject  to aggressive attacks from outside. 

By the side: In the case of dominating languages, children will learn this language from contacts outside the home without parental efforts even if it is not spoken at home. The examples of Irish-speaking homes in Ireland prove this to be true and the association to sustain Irish-speaking homes points to that on their website.

Alex
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