Making Invisible Languages Visible - Exploring the Potential of Linguistics Landscape Research for Indigenous and Minoritized Languages
Presenter(s)
Leon Grausam / Gregory Poole
Affiliation
University of Bremen / Doshisha University
Topic
Linguistic Attitudes and Ideology
Type
Workshops
Abstract
The United Nations' declaration of 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages highlights the global issue of language death (United Nations, 2023) supporting many linguists' call for political help to tackle the imminent problem. As language is simultaneously represented in both overt and covert forms, an approach is needed that can uncover the subtleties of multilingualism. We use the concept of Linguistic Landscapes to investigate not only “surface” multilingualism but also “subterranean” language ecologies. We understand Linguistic Landscapes as both a research method for linguistic ethnography and a conceptualization of language ecology.
In our workshop, we plan to showcase how Linguistic Landscapes can be a useful tool to investigate language ecology and assess the vitality of a language community in a certain space. Firstly, we will give a concise introduction to Linguistic Landscapes presenting how to look at data and differentiate between domains, positions, types, functions, and communicative goals. As a basis for further discussion, we present various fragments of Linguistic Landscapes from all over the world. The participants are invited to collectively contemplate the constitutions, meanings, and implications of infrastructural boards, official signage, unofficial stickers, and illegal graffiti.
The workshop is part of a larger research project to investigate the Linguistic Landscape of Japan’s minoritized, peripheralized, and indigenous languages. With the workshop, we invite researchers all over Japan to connect, form coalitions, and bundle efforts on the path to revitalization.
