NATIONAL: National Indigenous Languages Survey Report 2005 (fwd)

[Cunliffe D J (Comp)]

Hello All,

--Mia wrote--
where you are standing. (English spoken in England is an Indigenous
Language, while in Wales it is not, and if England had colonized Wales,
it
would be a Colonial Language). 
--

But again, this is problematic, particularly when language gets tied
into national identity. Most Welsh people are not Welsh speakers,
English is the "native tongue" of most Welsh people. Suggesting that
this makes them less Welsh is a very dangerous game to play - for many
reasons. Does there come a point when English should be considered an
indigenous language of Wales, or a non-colonial language (does the
language perhaps become assimilated and naturalised)? If we look into
history to decide how a language should be labelled, how far back do we
go?

--Mia wrote--
They think that for
people who are not in the culture to apply terms is inappropriate. They
want
the right to name themselves, and they don't believe they should be
overridden. 
--

Again it all comes down to perspectives - presumably the label
"colonist" would work quite nicely ;-)

It's also important not to loose sight of the positive aspects of
labelling, whether this is an assertion of identity, or recognition of
legal entitlement and so on. For example, the sense of "minority or
regional" in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is
limited to "indigenous" languages, and recognition under the charter is
very significant as it imposes obligations on the state to support that
language. The inclusion of Cornish under the UK governments ratification
of the charter was seen as very significant for the language. In this
sense at least being labelled minority (or regional?) can be seen as a
positive rather than a negative. 

I guess the issue with "heritage" comes down to whether you view it as a
positive or a negative, where languages are able to use it as a positive
then why not. My own context makes me interpret it as a negative.

--Mia--
as for example in the battle we have had here about "Indian Mascots". 
--

First nation mascots?

Daniel.