ERIC Number: EJ995798
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1367-0050
EISSN: N/A
Catalan in the Twenty-First Century
Urla, Jacqueline
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v16 n2 p177-181 2013
This special issue devoted to Catalonia--one of the most successful and longstanding language movements in Europe--gives a unique opportunity to understand some of the complex social dynamics engendered as language revival unfolds and to appreciate the value of in-depth interviewing, focus groups, and ethnographic work in making sometimes subtle change-in-progress visible. With 30 plus years of proactive language planning behind it, Catalonia is a living laboratory for exploring the social dynamics and ideological transformations set in motion by language normalization projects. For the nearby Basque language advocates with whom the author works, the strong institutional support language revival has enjoyed along with the extensive immersion schooling program (now under some attack), has been a source of envy not easily reproducible in their own context. Nevertheless there are many parallels between the dynamics described for Catalonia and the Basque Autonomous Community. In her commentary to the papers by Pujolar and Gonzalez, Soler, and Frekko in this issue, the author will note some of the parallels but focus more generally on the lessons these studies hold for scholarship on minority language revitalization projects in general. Lessons that have to do with the value of ethnographic work on language ideology; the importance of class as a factor in language revitalization; the challenges of cross national comparison; and the necessity for refining ways of categorizing speakers.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Ideology, Language Planning, Language Maintenance, Interviews, Focus Groups, Romance Languages, Ethnography, Languages, Language Minorities, Classification, Cross Cultural Studies, Immersion Programs, Language Attitudes, Native Speakers, Second Language Learning, Social Class
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Spain
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A