ERIC Number: EJ1158129
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 28
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1934-5275
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Areal Analysis of Language Attitudes and Practices: A Case Study from Nepal
Hildebrandt, Kristine A.; Hu, Shunfu
Language Documentation & Conservation, SP13 p152-179 2017
This paper has two aims. One aim is to consider non-structural (language attitude and use) variables as valid in the field of dialect and linguistic geography in an inner Himalayan valley of Nepal, where four languages have traditionally coexisted asymmetrically and which demonstrate different degrees of vitality vs. endangerment. The other aim is an application of modified spatiality as it aligns with speaker attitudes and practices amidst recent and ongoing socio-economic and population changes. We demonstrate that variation in self-reported attitudes and practices across languages in this region can be explained as much with adjusted spatial factors (labeled "social space") as with traditional social factors (e.g. gender, age, formal education, occupation, etc.). As such, our study contributes to a discourse on the role and potential of spatiality in sociolinguistic analyses of smaller language communities.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Attitude Measures, Language Usage, Case Studies, Geographic Regions, Sino Tibetan Languages, Geography, Influences, Cultural Influences, Language Minorities, Interviews, Questionnaires, Rural Areas, Proximity, Sociolinguistics, Dialects, Individual Characteristics, Social Influences
National Foreign Language Resources Center at University of Hawaii. Department of Linguistics, UHM Moore Hall 569, 1890 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822. Fax: 808-956-9166; e-mail: ldc@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Nepal
Grant or Contract Numbers: BCSDEL1149639
Author Affiliations: N/A