Language maintenance and Shift.

Language maintenance and Shift.

• 1.
  Ministry of HigherEducation & scientific Research Salahadin University- Erbil College of Language- Department of English. ‫الرحيم‬ ‫الرحمن‬ ‫هللا‬ ‫بسم‬ Language maintenance and shift 2016-2017 AWAN K.MUHAMMED MA STUDENT
• 2.
  Language Maintenance “The studyof how languages survive, or the continuing use of (minority) language in the face of a more regionally, socially or politically dominant language.” (Van Herk, 2012)
• 3.
  Language shift  Languageshift refers to the process by which one language displaces another in the linguistic repertoire of a community. It also refers to the result of this process.  “When a community does not maintain its language, but gradually adopts another one, we talk about language shift.” (Hoffman, 1991)  “The gradual replacement of one language by another as the primary language of communication and socialization within a speech community” (Van Herk, 2012)
• 4.
  The factors whichcould contribute of language The patterns of language use 1-The dominant language is associated with social status and prestige 2-Obtaining work is the obvious economic reason for learning another language 3-The pressure of institutional domains such as schools and the media
• 5.
  Language shift indifferent communities Migrant minorities Non-migrant minorities Migrant majorities
• 6.
   Migrant minorities: In countries like England, Austraia, New Zealand and The USA, the school is the of the first domain in which children of migrants families meet English. They may have watched English TV programmes and heard English used in shops before starting school, but at school they are expected to interact in English. They have use English because it is the only means of communicating with the teacher and other children. For many children of the migrants English soon becomes the language for talking to other children-including their brothers and sisters.
• 7.
  Non-migrant communities: Language shiftis not always the result of migration. Political , economic and social changes can occur within community, and this may result in linguistic changes As Iran struggles to achieve national unity , Farsi, the language of the largest and most powerful group, the Persian , can be considered a threat to the languages of the minority ethnic groups
• 8.
   Migrant Majorities People may shift both location and language because of the political and economic factors. Over the last couples of centuries, many speakers of Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, for instance, have sifted to England, and consequently to English, primarily in order to get work. They need English both for their job success an for their social well-being to make friends. But we find the outcome is the when it is the majority group who do the physical moving.
• 9.
  What are somefactors which accelerate a language shift? “Social bilingualism, migration, industrilization, the school’s and government’s use of language, urbanization, the prestige level of language, etc. (Cavallaaro, 2005)
• 10.
   Demographic factors 1-Language shift is faster in urban areas than rural  2-The size of the group is some times a critical factor  3-Intermarriage between groups can accelerate language shift  Attitudes and values  1-Language shift is slower among communities where the minority language is highly valued, therefore when the language is seen as an important symbol of ethnic identity its generally maintained longer, and visa versa.
• 11.
  How can aminority language be maintained ?  To consider language an important symbol of a minority group’s identity  To live close to each other and see each other frequently  To increase the degree and frequency of contact with the homeland  To encourage members of a minority community to take active steps to protect their language  To use the language in different settings  To have the support of institution
• 12.
  • The maintenanceof a language can be measured by the following factors: A. The status of the language as indicated by attitudes towards it. B. The size of the group who uses the language and their distribution C. The extent to which the language enjoys institutional support
• 13.
  Dimension for analyzinglanguage maintenance and shift Dimension for analyzing language maintenance and shift
• 14.
  Thank you