Agency in the Peripheries of Language Revitalisation: Examining European Practices on the Ground(178 Multilingual Matters)

This book addresses the question of agency in the revitalisation of minoritized languages in Europe, with each chapter presenting an ethnographic account of how language policy operates in a specific linguistic context. The chapters investigate how grassroots actors shape revitalisation, and how individuals and groups negotiate historical factors, motivations, and institutionalised initiatives and policies in a variety of efforts. Between them the chapters address both contexts where social actors have gained and exerted agency in their revitalisation efforts, and contexts where issues of authority, authenticity and lack of engagement plague efforts; these chapters provide insights into how social actors work within and against social conventions and strictures. This book is available Open Access under a CC BY ND License.

Table of Contents:
Contributors Preface and Acknowledgements Mary S. Linn and Alejandro Dáyan-Fernández: Introduction: Sustaining Minoritised Languages in Europe: An Agentive Perspective on Social Actors and Language Revitalisation          Part 1: Building Agency Chapter 1. Cassie Smith-Christmas and Orlaith Ruiséal: Tús Maith: Empowering Children’s Agentive Role in Language Revitalisation             Chapter 2. Bernadette O’Rourke and Alejandro Dayán-Fernández: Sowing the Seeds at Semente: Urban Breathing Spaces and New Speaker Agency            Chapter 3. Nicole Dołowy-Rybińska and Cordula Ratajczak: The Dynamics of a Triangle of Agency: Sorbian Language Policy              Tadhg Ó hIfearnáin: Commentary: Language Conflict and the Contextual Nature of Agency                  Part 2: Rethinking Possibilities in Agency Chapter 4. Manuela Pellegrino: I Was There: Agency, Authority and Morality Among the Griko Linguistic Minority of Southern Italy (Apulia)                  Chapter 5. Lena Terhart, Femmy Admiraal and Nils Langer: Which North Frisian Should Be Maintained? Exploring Language Attitudes and Agency of Speakers and Non-Speakers Chapter 6. Sara C. Brennan: Reconsidering Agency in 21st-Century Language Revitalisation: Insight from the Occitan Context Lenore A. Grenoble: Commentary: Rethinking Agency James Costa: Conclusion: Final Thoughts on Agency and Affects         Index   

About the Author :
Mary S. Linn is Curator of Language and Cultural Vitality at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Washington, DC, USA. Her primary research is in effective grassroots strategies in language reclamation and cultural sustainability, especially in small language communities. She directs the Language Vitality Initiative, which focuses on training, networking, innovation and advocacy, and she is on the curatorial committee of the annual Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival. Alejandro Dayán-Fernández is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Glasgow. Grounded in critical sociolinguistics, his PhD research explored the role of language in diaspora community building processes based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted among Galicians in the UK. By combining his interdisciplinary background in political science, translation studies and sociolinguistics, his current research focuses on the use of language in processes of collective action among grassroots social movements and the instrumentalisation of minoritised languages for political gains by different ideological forces.

Review :
The case studies in this volume provide valuable ethnographic insights into the practices of social actors – both individual and collective – who are using and promoting minoritised languages in early 21st century Europe. Additionally, the authors’ discussions of the nature of agency in language revitalisation make a significant contribution to advancing both theory and practice in this field. Agency and self-empowerment are at the very core of language reclamation efforts, forming a powerful, self-propelling social mechanism. This cutting-edge book shows the complexity of the notion of agency and the potential of ‘peripheries’ as creative hubs of language diversity, affirming that it is indeed possible to challenge the homogenizing legacy of nation states. This book explores the processes and histories of revival in Europe's minority languages, exploring agency dynamics and structural constraints. It enriches sociolinguistic discussions by emphasizing the complexity of the agency, evaluating emotional forces, and involving diverse actors. Beyond conventional concepts, revitalization is seen as being driven by passion and emotion, advocating for research on emotional mobilization. Challenging traditional dichotomies, this book undoubtedly offers valuable insights for scholars and practitioners in minority language revitalization. This volume is a fantastic example of what a good edited collection looks like. The contributions are diverse in their empirical focus and theoretical approach, but thematically aligned and woven together through cross-referencing, a thorough contextual introduction, and several moments of summative commentary. The fact that the volume is also free (as an open access PDF) only adds to the package [...] The book provides much useful food for thought...and perhaps provides us with concepts and language that can serve to bridge the two peripheries, beyond the gaze of top-down policy-makers, and on the edges of the world-system. This volume is a fantastic example of what a good edited collection looks like [...] I am particularly interested in the way the volume focuses on the ‘peripheries’ of language revitalisation: spaces and networks on the margins of state control, whether actively abandoned, autonomously governed, or simply ignored and overlooked. This approach provides valuable insights into how revitalisation works at the ground level, in families and community organisations, as well as in sites like bookstores and cafes that serve as revitalisation hubs in urban settings. This anthology is a box of delights for those who are looking to explore the subject of agency in close and complexly nuanced depth by bringing it to life with situated examples [...] Each case study details instances of minority languages as tools of social resistance and how they can be used to challenge the linguistic status quo against top-down language planning. The authors present evidence from a range of diverse contexts, unified by speaker advocacy, presenting minority language speakers as agents of language change, and underlining the need to create safe non-judgemental spaces for language users (‘breathing spaces’).