LING 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Fishmans, Language Revitalization, Language Shift
13 Jan 2017
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LING 102
Questions for Discussion on Joshua Fishman’s “What Do You Lose When You Lose Your
Language?” a speech given at the first Stabilizing Indigenous Languages symposium on
November 15, 1994.
1) What is the difference between individual loss and culture loss? (p. 71)
2) Fishman points out that there is a very strong link between language and culture. (p. 72) What
would happen to American culture if American English died out? Make a short list of some of
the elements of American culture that would be lost, especially those you feel a little bit close to,
intellectually or emotionally.
3) Imagine asking a person you know who speaks a minority language what their language
means to them. What do you think they’d say? Summarize some of the things Fishman
indicates his research interviewees have told him they think they lose. (p. 73)
4) What is positive ethnolinguistic consciousness? (p. 74) What does it have to do with
reversing language shift or stabilizing indigenous languages?
5) Look up Irish, Basque, Catalan or Frisian and something to do with their loss, their
revitalization, reversing their shift, etc. Have something interesting and informative ready to
share with us. (p. 74)
6) Maori has had a lot of “rescue work” done on it. Google “Maori Medium Schools” and find
the report on schools. Glance through that data together, perhaps look for other info too, and
prepare a short statement on the state of Maori language school offerings.
7) “Can you be Hispanic without speaking Spanish?” (p. 75). If you are Hispanic without
speaking Spanish, are you somehow different from those who do speak Spanish? Explore this
idea of how language and cultural identity categories are linked through a substantive discussion.
8) What does “weak culture in competition with a strong culture” have to do with language shift?
(p. 75). You may have to speculate beyond the article about what the implications are here.
9) What kind of “too late-isms” impact language stabilization (p. 76)
10) Write three columns titled “acquisition” and “use” and “transmission.” Now write under
each column what community members can do to make each of those three things happen. (p.
76)
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Document Summary
Questions for discussion on joshua fishman"s what do you lose when you lose your. Language? a speech given at the first stabilizing indigenous languages symposium on. Have something interesting and informative ready to share with us. (p. 74: maori has had a lot of rescue work done on it. Google maori medium schools and find the report on schools. Glance through that data together, perhaps look for other info too, and prepare a short statement on the state of maori language school offerings: can you be hispanic without speaking spanish? (p. 75). Explore this idea of how language and cultural identity categories are linked through a substantive discussion: what does weak culture in competition with a strong culture have to do with language shift? (p. 75). What level does this kind of planning come in at? (p. 79: fishman mentions creating cultural space for language (p. 79).
