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Decolonization is a concept which has been rapidly gaining traction in the library community, particularly in England, the United States, and Australia. This article addresses the question: “what does decolonizing the library look like in the Irish colonial contexts?” The role which libraries play in reckoning with colonial pasts cannot be understated. This paper will explore what decolonization can look like through Irish libraries both north and south of the border. This will be examined through Irish language revitalization, the presence of oral histories in library collections, and how libraries respond to underserved communities. This study also establishes areas for further research in this nascent field as well as outlining practical steps to implement the concept of decolonizing the library in the Irish contexts. Drawing on qualitative data pulled from interviews this paper will offer the latest information on the Irish library landscape and its relation to the broader decolonization movement. This paper aims to demonstrate the value of using the decolonization framework to address the colonial past which has impacted the way in which the information services function in modern day Ireland and pave the way towards an inclusive and equitable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the use of interactional pragmatic markers in a multilingual corpus of child language in the Ladin valleys in South Tyrol (Italy). It has been argued that in contact-induced contexts speakers tend to prefer the set of elements of the pragmatically dominant language, in order to reduce the cognitive pressure they are exposed to, in particular in a minority language (cf. Matras 2000). Yet, very little is known about the use of pragmatic markers in child language, even though the pragmatic competence, i. e. the appropriate use of language as well as the proper realization of speech acts in a particular situational context, is one of the key competences children need to acquire during the language acquisition process. The present study was carried out within the sociolinguistic framework of the Ladin valleys, which is characterized by a varied multilingualism on the institutional level and in family contexts. The corpus contains approximately eight hours of spoken data from eight children aged three to six across the three official languages Ladin, German and Italian. This work aims at analysing the micro-functions of interactional pragmatic markers and at investigating how the use of these elements is linked to the linguistic and cognitive development of preschool children. It also contributes to the study of contact-induced phenomena that emerge in a multilingual context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on sociolinguistic research in an African context. It highlights the challenges faced by African languages in AI technology representation and the delayed growth of AI usage in the Global South. The article also explores the commodification of accents through AI technology and the need for more localized tech innovations for African sociolinguistic data. Overall, it calls for interdisciplinary collaboration between sociolinguistic researchers, computational linguists, tech innovators, and digital marketers to adapt to changing technologies and ensure authenticity in the human-machine era. [Extracted from the article]

The paper aims to investigate the sociolinguistic situation of the Kalmyk language, focusing on the role of language attitudes. It initially offers background information on the language and its recent history, focusing on the language policies carried out both in the republic of Kalmykia and at Federal level in Russia (Sect. 1.1). The paper then refers to the literature concerning language endangerment and the importance of language attitudes in this special context (Sect. 1.2). The methodology adopted for the study is then illustrated (Sect. 2), examining materials, procedures, and participants. We studied language attitudes by running a questionnaire, whose results, despite the limits of a direct method, offer valuable resources to describe the present sociolinguistic status of Kalmyk (Sect. 3). Participants expressed generally favourable attitudes towards the Kalmyk language, although such a disposition emerged more in generic questions than in questions about specific language-related activities. The younger respondents (18–29 y.o.) turned out to be less positively oriented towards the minority language than the older ones. Therefore, although there seems to be widespread interest in the Kalmyk language, concrete actions for its promotion may not be easily implemented, especially when they concern the younger generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the only comprehensive international minority rights treaty, was adopted in 1995 to counter ethnocentric exclusionary tendencies characteristic of newly emerging democracies in East-Central Europe. It has been evaluated as largely successful in developing progressive standards on minority rights, while judged less efficient in implementing them across member states. This article shows on the example of Slovakia that this traditional narrative conceals another important one: while the Framework Convention’s monitoring body, the Advisory Committee, maintains formally progressive positions, in substance it is becoming more accommodating of exclusionary practices.By comparing the Advisory Committee’s standards expressed in its periodic opinions on Slovakia to developments on the ground, the article demonstrates that the international standards are in fact deteriorating. The Advisory Committee’s recent opinions are much more favourable to the Slovak government’s policies on minority rights. Yet, a detailed analysis shows that those policies have not become more minority-friendly in practice. In fact, in several ways they have regressed. The current acceptance of practices it criticized in the past is an important shift in the Advisory Committee’s position. Yet this shift is not reflected in its formal standards, which remain progressive. The analysis shows that the Advisory Committee’s lack of transparency in its monitoring procedures leads to a misrepresentation of the situation of minority rights, which provides cover for anti-minority practices. This makes it difficult for outside observers to evaluate the true state of minority rights and the effectiveness of international standards.In closing, the article engages with the normative assumptions behind the Advisory Committee’s approach. The Framework Convention does not have a strong enforcement mechanism, therefore cooperation with governments is essential to ensure compliance. However, by accommodating exclusionary practices, the Committee also legitimizes them. While valid arguments can be raised both for and against this approach, it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of this trade-off because of its clandestine nature. More transparent monitoring would give legitimacy to an objective international standard, which the current approach risks undermining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction provides the theoretical context of the Special Issue on Literacy Development in Regional Collateral Languages of Europe and an overview of the papers in the collection. For this end, it first discusses contemporary perceptions of the terms ‘literacy’ and ‘literacies’. These go far beyond traditional understandings, even though expressing one's thoughts through writing texts and meaning-making through reading are still at the core of literacies. Then, readers are introduced to the concept and the ideological contexts of ‘regional collateral languages’: These are varieties which are, on the one hand, structurally and ideologically closely related, or ‘collateral’, to major languages, often the main languages of nation states. On the other hand, they are deeply rooted in their regions; the paper therefore argues that they deserve specific attention along the lines of other efforts to maintain and develop autochthonous varieties. Finally, the introduction summarises the papers which focus on Scots in Scotland, Low German in Germany, Csángo in Romania, Silesian, Masurian, and Kashubian in Poland, Võro in Estonian, and Latgalian in Latvia, before identifying common denominators of the case studies and possible topics for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work picks up the process of creating the first periodic table in a visual-gesturing language, more specifically in the Spanish Sign Language (LSE). To this end, and based on the etymology of the names of the chemical elements, we have designed a procedure that provides a Sign for each element. Otherwise, the method is designed to foster relations between the proposed Signs with the daily life of the students and, also, it avoids the influence of oral language --majority language-- on sign language --minority--. Furthermore, as the etymological study progressed, the limitations derived from the lexicological shortcomings of the LSE, consequence of its situation as a minority and minority Language, were addressed. This paper details the creation process without relation to etymology. It underlines that on the basis of the results obtained in this research it is possible to develop the periodic table for the International Sign System (ISS) and for any of the 156 sign languages listed. In short, we presented an innovative proposal from which the rest of the signed periodic tables can be created and which, in addition, will respond to the linguistic and educational needs of Deaf people who use a sign language or SSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Spolsky's (2004) tripartite framework for language policy, this study explores language practices, language ideology, and language management in relation to minority languages, Putonghua, and English in ethnic minority families in Yunnan, China. Through observations of and interviews with nine interethnic marriage families in Kena Village and Anmin Village, we found that although people in both villages recognise the value of their native languages in ethnic identification and cultural inheritance, people in Anmin Village make efforts to teach the children Mosuo, while children in Kena Village usually acquire Malimasa naturally. Such differences are associated with sociolinguistic environment and child agency. Meanwhile, Putonghua is widely used in television programmes and smartphone applications and acquired by the young generation due to national policy and the spread of smartphones and television. Families in both villages demonstrated similar aspirations for their children's English learning, but low socioeconomic status affected their ability to invest in foreign language learning. The results suggest that in the special context of multi-ethnic and multilingual villages in Yunnan the agency of rural parents and grandparents is relatively weak, and family language policies are mainly influenced by meso – (e.g. school) and macro- (e.g. socioeconomic environment, national policy) level factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, language revitalisation policies, programmes and initiatives have had to develop in an environment of major social, political, economic, or technological changes that have had an extraordinary impact on the governance of minority language revitalisation. In this context, we have studied the changes that have taken place in the governance of the revitalisation of the Basque language in the Basque Autonomous Community during the first two decades of the twenty-first century: from open antagonism to a common commitment to collaborative governance. We present an analysis of the models of governance confronted in the field of the revitalisation of the Basque language, of the rationalities that inform them or provide them with resources of meaning and legitimation, and of the process by which a model of collaborative governance has been arrived at. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This intervention study examined the writing abilities of 1st (ages 6–7) and 2nd (ages 7–8) grade students in the Basque Autonomous Community, utilising Basque, Spanish, and English. We compared two distinct teaching methodologies: the PYCTO methodology, which employs a multilingual approach for teaching writing across the three languages, and the traditional monolingual approach, focusing on one language only. 873 compositions written in these languages were analysed using quantitative methods. Lexical richness was evaluated using analytic measures, while holistic measures assessed overall writing competence in four dimensions. The results indicated that students taught using the PYCTO methodology significantly outperformed those taught with the traditional monolingual approach in both 1st and 2nd grades. This finding underscores the effectiveness of multilingual teaching methods over the conventional monolingual approach, suggesting that integrating various known languages in teaching offers substantial benefits in language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the specific education challenges that minority language-speaking parents encounter in teaching their children heritage language, this study conducted in-depth interviews with ten Chinese immigrant parents in Korean-Chinese multicultural families. Textual analysis of the interviews revealed that 'One Parent One Language' is a natural approach adopted by immigrant parents in their teaching practices, although it did not provide necessary or sufficient context for raising bilingual first language children. In addition, the main challenges that hinder immigrant parents' teaching practices centred on three areas: teaching methods, resource conflicts, and language environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the presence of the Tibetan language in the linguistic landscape of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in Northwest China. Qinghai constitutes the main part of Amdo, one of the historical and cultural regions of greater Tibet. The majority of the inhabitants of Xining are Han Chinese (the major ethnic group in China), and a small percentage are from minorities, mainly Tibetans and Hui (Chinese-speaking Muslims). This city is characterised by intense economic and infrastructural development and attracts people from different areas of the province. The research is based on photographs of public signs that display the Tibetan language gathered between 2017 and 2022. The paper analyses the language choices, content, and visual elements of the signs and discusses the different uses of Tibetan signs in Xining. Moreover, it explores the use of the Tibetan language in public space in light of the current language policies and language ideologies in China, particularly in the Amdo region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

English has become the main lingua franca for scientific dissemination. Its hegemony contrasts with the scarce presence of minority languages such as Basque in academic publications. Its presence, in addition to having a short trajectory, has not yet been studied. This paper aims to identify the reasons for publishing or not publishing in the Basque language. We carried out a study of the opinions of 301 researchers in the area of Humanities and Social Sciences. The opinions were analysed through a lexical analysis using the Reinert method. The results revealed that the reasons for not publishing in Basque were the ease of publishing in English or Spanish in contrast to the difficulty of publishing in Basque, the limited impact of journals in Basque, and the fact that the scientific community does not accord these journals sufficient value or recognition. However, the participants' reasons for publishing were a desire to create content for the Basque scientific community and a rootedness in the Basque identity itself. The results are of interest in the context of advancing the normalisation of the Basque language in the academic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the evolving means of China's formal language policy on Putonghua and minority languages from 1986 to 2021. This paper identifies four stages based on the shifting focus between Putonghua and minority languages: status planning of the central government (1986–1990), balance via bilingual policy (1991–2000), strong Putonghua spread at all levels (2001–2011), and Putonghua promotion and minority language preservation (2012–2021). Through descriptive and corpus analysis of a self-constructed language policy database, for each stage, we explore the major means stated in policy documents by analysing keywords to explain policy changes with consideration of social conditions. The results show that China has continuously adjusted its formal language policy according to social changes, and that language planning in this emerging economy has been profoundly influenced by national strategy and government administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an overview of Slovene in the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Friulian: FriûlVignesie Julie, Slovene: Furlanija – Julijska krajina, German: Friaul-Julisch Venetien) in the north-easternmost part of Italy, where Slovene is present in its historical linguistic setting alongside the Italian-Slovene national border. In fact, the presence of the Slavic linguistic element which eventually developed into Slovene in that territory dates back to the period of the settlement of Slavic populations in that area in the second half of the 6th century AD. From the viewpoint of linguistic genealogy, Slovene dialects in Friuli-Venezia Giulia unambiguously form part of the Slovene dialect continuum. From a sociolinguistic point of view, Slovene was officially recognised as a minority language by the Italian Republic by the language protection act for the historical linguistic minorities in Italy in 1999. However, the actual level of legal protection and the “health” of Slovene in the Italian minority context differs from region to region. The actual state of affairs depends predominantly on the availability of public education in Slovene and, consequently, its official use in formal contexts. In the Provinces of Trieste/Trst and Gorizia/Gorica, where Slovene is used as the teaching language in Slovene monolingual education up to the university level (i.e. 13 years of education from 1946), intergenerational transmission of Slovene as the mother tongue can be observed, with a balanced use of different linguistic varieties: the use of dialect or other substandard varieties in informal contexts and Standard Slovene (alongside Italian) in formal contexts. On the contrary, in the Province of Udine/Videm, the situation is significantly more complex. In those regions where at least elementary Italian-Slovene bilingual education also exists in Standard Slovene, it is the local Slovene dialects as well as Standard Slovene that are used in public. This is the case of the Natisone/Nadiža Valleys, where starting in 1984 a five-year bilingual schooling system was implemented, extended to eight years in 2008. In stark contrast to that, the Torre/Ter Valleys and the Resia/Rezija Valley, where Standard Slovene is absent from the educational system, witness very limited public representation of local Slovene dialects and/or Standard Slovene, which is more or less characterised by occasional use. The last part of the contribution provides a case study illustrating in more detail the role of Slovene in the Val Canale (Slovene: Kanalska dolina, German: Kanaltal, Friulian: Val Cjanâl). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work aims to provide a description of the sociolinguistic and linguistic reality of the hamlet of Timau in the municipality of Paluzza. In contrast to the other villages of the Municipality, the population of Timau has been speaking for centuries, alongside Italian and Friulian, the Timavese code, a Carinthian based variety that nevertheless displays distinctive linguistic characteristics at all levels. In the paper we will present the origins of the village, the sociolinguistic position of Timavese in the community’s repertoire, the similarities and differences between Timavese and Carinthian and the corpus and status planning created for this variety after its recognition by the national law 482/1999 (“Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche”), aimed at protecting the historical linguistic minorities recognized in the national territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to describe the complex linguistic and sociolinguistic situation of Alto Adige – Südtirol, officially named Autonomous Province of Bolzano – Bozen with a focus on the varieties of German spoken there as first language. The territory, which is officially trilingual as it hosts the Ladin minority in Val Gardena and Val Badia besides the Italian speakers, became part of Italy in 1919 as “spoils of war” after Austrian defeat in the First World War. The division of the ancient historical region of Tyrol meant a subsequent difficult period of forced Italianization, imposing Italian on German in names, toponyms and daily life. Only the determination of the local population and their affection to their language and culture has preserved – even if not always with peaceful means – the survival of the Austrian dialects and traditions and has led to the modern forms of safeguarding and cohabitation which make of this province of Northern Italy one of the strongest linguistic minorities in all Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Italy shows a multitude of languages and dialects bound to different areas, language communities, ethnicities and personal identities. Many of the historical minority languages of Italy are not known to everyone, not even to all Italians though living on the same territory. This special issue aims at describing such language varieties to be found in the Northern pat of Italy, dealing first of all with the history of a certain language variety. Each paper also describes the main linguistic charactericics, mainly at phonological, semantical and morphosyntactic level. Then some of the most important intiatives to preserve such valuable inheritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies on the pragmatic interpretation of existential quantifiers have been conducted in major Indo-European languages like English, Spanish, French, and Greek, focusing mainly on monolingual participants. However, in indigenous linguistic research, especially experimental research, it is crucial to consider several linguistic and extra-linguistic factors for successful implementation. Our research centered on the experimental investigation of the pragmatic interpretation of the quantifier wakin, meaning some in Kichwa, with KichwaSpanish bilingual adults from the province of Imbabura Ecuador. We employed the Truth Value Judgement Task (TVJT) for our experiments and incorporated the explicit Question Under Discussion (QUD) paradigm to facilitate pragmatic interpretations among our participants. Our initial experiment revealed a 78% acceptance level for the pragmatic interpretation of “some, but not all” in Kichwa, significantly lower than the 95% acceptance range observed in other languages. We hypothesized that access to technology and formal education might influence these results, leading us to simplify our experiment by eliminating the technological components of the research. In our subsequent experiment, adult speakers of Imbabura Kichwa achieved a 97% accuracy level, comparable to speakers of other languages. To benchmark our results against speakers of other languages under similar conditions, we evaluated whether Spanish speakers from two varieties in Ecuador (Quito and Guayaquil) could generate the “some, but not all” scalar implicature with the Spanish quantifier algunos. Our findings indicated that speakers achieved 95.5 and 97.4% accuracy for both varieties, respectively. Therefore, this study infers that under optimal conditions, speakers of indigenous languages in rural communities demonstrate commendable performance in experimental linguistic studies. Nonetheless, it underscores the necessity for meticulous planning and distinct handling in experimental studies involving speakers of these languages residing in rural areas without access to technological elements. We propose that such research broadens our comprehension of language utilization in minority communities and positively influences language restoration efforts by expanding experimental linguistics studies to indigenous languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Amazigh language in the city of Melilla (Spain) is recognised as a regional and minority language, but it is not recognised as a co-official language, nor does it have the status of an official language. The unequal relationship between the official language, Spanish, and the Amazigh language has not only linguistic but also social implications, which have been little studied in this particular territory. Against this backdrop, we propose to investigate the situation of the Amazigh language in this context. For this purpose, an exploratory sociolinguistic study has been carried out, which approaches the uses, attitudes and opinions of the Melilla population – speakers and non-speakers – of the language in relation to the role it plays in the life of the city, its contribution to individual and collective cultural identity, as well as the role of political decisions on these dynamics. To this end, a mixed methodology was applied, including a questionnaire, as a pilot application, focus groups and semi-structured group and individual interviews. Among the conclusions, it is clear that there is a differential valuation of languages, which leads to inequalities. In response, the study recommends strong institutional support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on alternative ways of understanding language in the context of minority language advocacy through an examination of the Galician tradition of singing‐in‐verse, known as regueifa. It proposes the notion of “linguistic collective action” to refer to the battery of resistance and solidarity strategies that lead to social transformation, implemented in grassroots movements linked to language struggles that not only go beyond the binary tropes of “pride” and “profit”, but also transcend traditional ideas of how language revitalization should be carried out. To tap into the dynamics of this social movement, we draw on a multi‐sited ethnography of the interconnected spaces in which urban‐based Galician speakers engage in collective action through the practice of regueifa. We examine how progressive values (e.g.: LGBTQ+ advocacy, feminism, and anti‐neoliberalism) are intertwined with the use of minoritized language reclamation, acting as a trigger for social transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1990s, there has been a surge in ethnographic films by Han directors in China, highlighting the complex interplay of power dynamics between these filmmakers and the minority communities they portray. This study examines these dynamics through the lens of spirituality and cultural representation, focusing on the film “Ashiq: The Last Troubadour.” A case study and interviews with the director, Liu Xiangchen, reveal an essentialist portrayal of the Uygur Ashiq that emphasises their spiritual and cultural identity on Uighur language chant, inadvertently reinforcing Han dominance. The analysis suggests that while the director's intentions reflect a critical self‐awareness, the film perpetuates the marginalisation of the Ashiq. We argue that ethnographic cinema should offer a more nuanced depiction of ethnic minorities and their minority language to challenge social injustices further and promote inclusivity in China's diverse linguistic and cultural landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Empirical evidence shows that many family carers, especially immigrants, experience considerable health disadvantages and poorer quality of life. Australia has a rapidly increasing multicultural population, officially referred to as Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) people. This paper explores similarities and differences in the carer profile and physical and mental health of CALD and non-CALD family carers. Methods: A cross-sectional anonymous survey was conducted of self-reported family carers aged 18 years and older. Identical paper and online survey modes were provided to enable choice. Key variables included demographic and carer profile, diagnosed chronic physical health conditions, and validated scales such as CESD-12 and MOS-SF12, including derivative composite Physical and Mental Component Summary (PCS and MCS, respectively) scores. The sample comprised 649 participants (CALD = 347, non-CALD = 302). The analyses included univariate, bivariate, and multivariable linear regression analyses for three outcome variables: PCS, MCS, and CESD-12. Results: CALD carers were comparatively younger and married, and 54% had university-level education (29% in the gfvnon-CALD group). Women were primary carers in both groups (67.4% versus 72.2%). The weekly care hours were higher for non-CALD carers. Both groups had below population-referenced scores for mean PCS and MCS values. For CESD-12, non-CALD respondents had higher scores (17.5 vs. 11.2, p < 0.022). Regression analyses showed significant differences for demographic, carer, and physical health variables across the three outcome variables. Discussion and Conclusion: Women have a higher domestic workload, which, when combined with high care hours, adversely impacts physical and mental health. The need for improved and culturally aligned care support systems is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a normative justification regarding the fairness of ‘coercively’ protecting minority languages in mixed societies where the minority group already knows the majority language. To do so, it adopts first a theory‐testing approach and examines, by using the Catalan case, the validity of the arguments presented in Morales‐Gálvez's (2017) ‘protectionist’ theory of linguistic justice. In this vein, it argues that some of the ideas this author uses to defend the ‘coercive’ protection of minority languages still work when the minority group is bilingual. Yet, there are others that appear to be problematic. As such, this paper then unfolds using a theory‐building approach and reframes these concepts with the objective of proposing complementary arguments. This article concludes that ‘coercive’ policies to protect the language of a bilingualised minority group are fair and necessary if they aim to accomplish active reciprocal bilingualism and hence ensure equal rights for all speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed on 24th July 1923 as a peace treaty that ended the first world war for Turkey and the allied powers. In a section entitled "protection of minorities", it provides rights for minorities. However, the beneficiaries of minority rights in Lausanne are more narrow than those provided in other treaties and declarations of the time. With a legal basis in domestic law, Turkey traditionally applied the rights provided in the Lausanne Treaty only for three so-called non-Muslim groups, i.e. Greeks, Armenians and Jews. Neither the Turkish delegation nor the members of the allied forces' delegations could foresee that some members of the Muslim groups of 1923 might quit Islam in the future and recourse to Lausanne rights as new beneficiaries. This article, by referring to preparatory works of the Treaty, examining its legal validity internationally and nationally, and applying interpretative principles of international treaties, argues for the extension of Lausanne rights to other groups via re-interpretation and re-implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zhuang language test (Vahcuengh Sawcuengh Suijbingz Gaujsi, VSSG) is the first minority language test in the People's Republic of China. It was designed with multiple goals including improving Zhuang language teaching, recruiting students for relevant majors of tertiary study, identifying proficiency for work-related applications, and piloting the standardisation of national minority languages. Informed by a use-oriented testing perspective that takes into account social consequences and value implications, we examine attitudes of stakeholders (i.e. testers in an official capacity and testees) toward the test and consider how well the VSSG meets its goals. Drawing on documents and interviews, our study suggests that the test falls short of its primary goals due to a mismatch between stakeholder attitudes, the social functions of the tested language, and the value attached to the minority language. As a result, the test is an ineffective agent for promoting the status of the Zhuang language in the ways intended by its designers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of its ambitious Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese government, cognizant of the fact that establishing strong people-to-people bonds locally, regionally, and internationally will be key to the initiative's success and that languages will play a pivotal role in facilitating this, has called for the diversification of language programmes beyond English at the tertiary and pre-tertiary levels. The aim is to boost the plurilingual and pluricultural competence (PPC) of Chinese citizens, who are often already multilingual because of their knowledge of Chinese dialects and minority languages. This article reports on a study involving 248 university students from over 20 provinces in China that explored the interactions between their reported PPC, translingual dispositions, interculturalism, orientations toward cultural differences, and identity-related views. The results revealed that the participants' translingual dispositions entailed engaging in language negotiation practices to a greater extent than in resisting linguistic norms or exploring language. Moreover, the more multilingual the participants were, the more fluidly they reported moving between languages and the greater was their PPC, which was also positively and statistically significantly predicted by their age, ethnic background, acceptance of cultural differences, and views about their personal identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the digital media era, the preservation of minority languages and cultures faces profound challenges. This article focuses on the Gyalrong Tibetan language (GTL) as a representative case within the broader context of linguistic diversity endangerment. The emergence of digital technology as a supplementary tool to preserve endangered languages provides opportunities and challenges in language conservation. Adopting a qualitative research approach and thematic analysis, collecting data from previous studies, fieldwork, and interviews, this study considers the intersection of digital technology and GTL preservation. It examines 1) the opportunities, 2) the challenges and concerns of integrating digital technology and minority languages and 3) the evolving dynamics of language proficiency influenced by educational systems among younger generations. Moreover, these considerations are placed within the framework of media ecology and language shifts, exploring how communication technologies shape GTL and its cultural context. This research contributes empirical insights to the discourse on minority language revitalisation and offers a strategic view for further research into language preservation in a digitised world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand is a country where ethnic diversity and multilingualism are deeply embedded in the cultural landscape, and understanding the construction of ethnic identity provides crucial insights into its social dynamics. This study investigates how ethnic identities are constructed and negotiated through multimodal resources within the linguistic landscape of Ban Arunotai, a multiethnic village in Chiang Mai. Utilizing a comprehensive multimodal framework, the research analyzes how public signage combines linguistic, visual, auditory, and spatial elements to articulate and reshape identity. The findings reveal a hierarchical structure of languages and modes, where dominant languages are visually prioritized, while minority languages serve more localized, symbolic functions. Moreover, a shift from static, monolingual systems to fluid, multilingual repertoires among speakers reflects broader sociocultural changes shaped by translanguaging practices. By framing public signs as dynamic resources in the active formation and reinforcement of ethnic identities, this study offers significant implications for understanding identity politics and social integration in multilingual settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how parents in intermarriages choose between the majority language (Serbian) and the minority language (Hungarian) as their children's instruction medium in Vojvodina, the northern province of Serbia. Adopting language ideologies as a theoretical framework, the study sheds light on (systems of) cultural ideas concerning social and linguistic relations, encompassing family and societal contexts. Qualitative research involving interviews was conducted with spouses/partners of individuals from the Hungarian national minority who are in a marriage/partnership with members of the majority community in Vojvodina. The analysis reveals that the choice of education in the majority language is influenced by both objective factors (such as the absence of minority language schooling in the parents' locality) and subjective considerations, which are connected to adopting various language ideologies supported by gender differences. The study highlights the crucial societal function of intermarriage, as family decisions significantly shape the identity and ethnic affiliation of children born into these unions. The choice of the language of instruction for their education plays a significant role in this process, with opting for the majority language accelerating acculturation and assimilation compared to choosing the minority language and maintaining the minority community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an historical analysis of the changing editorial strategy of Tafelberg, a South African publisher. It aims to shed light on the culture-commerce divide in South African publishing, the changing cultural and social impact of a publisher specialising in a minority language, and the nexus of editorial philosophies, language and nationalism. The research considers Bourdieu's (1993) conceptualisation of the fields of culture with their associated levels of symbolic, financial and cultural capital, and the notion of poles of restricted and mass production of textual products in its analysis. It was found that Tafelberg has had significant cultural impact in South Africa, particularly with its involvement in the growth of Afrikaans literature and nationalism. Tafelberg is now a smaller part of one of South Africa's publishing giants, and they remain an important publisher of Afrikaans titles, even though their social and symbolic impact has changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of language maintenance and shift (LMS) has attracted a large body of empirical work in language policy and planning (LPP) contexts, including allochthonous (immigrant) and autochthonous (indigenous) languages. However, some critical ontological questions that relate to the scope and terminology of language maintenance studies remain unanswered, and there seems to be a lack of consistency in the definitions of the relevant terms, such as what 'heritage' language refers to, whose heritage it is when a language can be classified as a heritage language, and what 'language' is at all. Therefore, this review summarises existing literature on LPP for language maintenance by employing a scoping review methodology, providing an overview of empirical studies of LPP in migration context over the past two decades (2001-2023), focusing on terminology, geographical settings, research focus and methods. The findings reveal that most studies (66.3%) use the term 'heritage language' to refer to the 'language of transnational minorities' among other terms. The results also highlight geographical gaps and imbalances in the literature, calling for more LPP studies from South American and East Asian contexts. In addition, further investigations are needed to explore the transnational and translocal aspects of language maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the multidimensional view of reading comprehension (RAND), reading comprehension (RC) is influenced by three components‏: the reader, text, and task. A broader perspective considers factors beyond the cognitive and linguistic dimensions and incorporates the contribution of emotional condition. The present study examined individual differences in readers' literacy and emotional involvement in the RC process, including ‏the reader, text, and task components. A total of 230 Hebrew-speaking students in the fourth and fifth grades received a battery of emotional and non-emotional vocabulary, word reading, RC measures (simple and mental inferencing questions), and comprehension of different text types. The students were classified as typical readers (TRs), poor readers (PRs), minority-language (ML) students, and students with learning disabilities (LDs). In monitoring the reading fluency measure, an analysis of variance revealed that students with LDs performed significantly lower in all variables than the TRs and PRs. They also performed lower than the ML students in emotional factors such as comprehension of narrative texts and the theory of mind task. The findings highlight the language-specific nature of gaps in ML students vis-à-vis the complex multicomponent nature of deficits in students with LDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Language accommodation is indispensable in making evidence-based interventions available and accessible to ethnic minorities with limited English proficiency. As part of the larger effort to culturally adapt the Savvy Caregiver Program for Korean American dementia caregivers, we first conducted linguistic adaptation, and the present study reports the preliminary findings on participants' changes in depressive Symptoms. Methods: The linguistically adapted program was delivered to two small groups of Korean American dementia caregivers (total n = 13) by two Savvy-certified Korean-speaking trainers. Participants' depressive symptoms were assessed at three time points (pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up). Results: Following the intervention, participants exhibited lowered depressive symptoms (t = 8.64, p <.001, Cohen's d =.89). This benefit was sustained at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the therapeutic benefit of the Savvy Caregiver Program could potentially be shared with linguistic minorities when delivered in their native language. Clinical Implications: Although limited in its scope and nature, the pilot study with linguistic adaptation sheds light on efforts to close the gap in the evidence-based intervention delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Catalan brand Estrella Damm (a beer produced in Barcelona) is very popular for its summer advertisements. The 'Mediterràniament' commercials (2009–2021) reinforce the Mediterranean culture through its people, gastronomy and landscape. Estrella Damm commercials are produced in Catalan and Spanish, and some are produced in Catalan, then translated into Spanish, and finally subtitled in English, since Estrella beer is sold internationally. This paper examines how indirect translation (Catalan, Spanish, English) has been used in Estrella Damm 'Mediterràniament' advertising campaign through textual analysis of commercials and through interviews to the translators who created the Estrella Damm international versions from mediating texts. In indirect translation involving related languages, each version can affect one another: creative options for one text in Catalan can be adopted in the Spanish version, which may also influence the final English version. Therefore, translation for advertising in bilingual contexts contributes to visibilizing mediating languages and versions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Arabic is the native language of a fifth of the Israeli population, its representation in the Israeli linguistic landscape (LL) is problematic. Adopting a sociolinguistic framework that underscores the political nature of language (Ben-Rafael 2009), this study invited Palestinian-Israeli college students to reflect on the linguistic reality in their area through the participatory documentary photography tool ‘PhotoVoice’. The students captured photos of linguistic landscapes, analysed them, and wrote commentaries voicing their reflections. Students ‘PhotoVoices’ shed light on the abundance of mistakes in Arabic words on the signs. Content analysis of the ‘PhotoVoices’ on this issue highlighted students’ cognitive and emotional perceptions and emerging awareness of the explicit and implicit messages delivered through the signage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWhilst mainstream schools in England may encourage multilingualism by insisting on the study of foreign languages, multilingual children are not always provided with support for the maintenance of their heritage languages and cultures. In response to this shortcoming, communities organise themselves to support their young members by setting up extra-curricular education institutions or associations, also called complementary schools, which contribute to the cultural and linguistic maintenance of minority communities. Through emblematic extracts from a fourteen-month ethnographic research in an Italian complementary school in London, this article examines how HL learners engage in and reflect on their multilingual practices and how they develop agency in their learning environment. The findings illustrate how critical modes of teaching and learning that make space for multilingualism can provide children with unique opportunities to discover, explore and experiment with their multilingual and multicultural selves, which, in turn, permit them to access linguistic resources and legitimise multilingual learner identities. Expanding on Fishman’s notion of ‘breathing space’, the article suggests that complementary schools represent a space where minority languages but also pedagogical practices can breathe and develop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to provide an in-depth examination of culturally and linguistically diverse older adults' perceptions of and experiences with the Toronto Police Service to inform the development of a training curriculum for police officers working with older persons. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative descriptive study using virtual focus groups with 26 older adults from Toronto was conducted. Findings: Three main themes emerged: understanding intersectionality; the impact of police officer attitudes and biases; and the need for age-friendly policing. Although many older adults rely on police services to keep them safe, there is dissatisfaction with some aspects of how police interact with older adults, particularly from minority groups. Originality/value: Participants were older adults from culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are not usually included in studies on improving police services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a pilot study on the relationship between speaking Irish and belonging, with a focus on Irish-speakers of diverse ethnicities and/or nationalities in Ireland. The research includes twelve respondents with diverse backgrounds in terms of nationality and/or ethnicity. We examine whether the language gives them a sense of belonging to Ireland, but also if they experience any exclusion on the basis that it does not 'belong' to them. Our research is qualitative and we analyse the data through the lens of nationalism studies. We suggest that Irish can be an important tool in the hands of speakers of diverse ethnicities and/or nationalities, a power that they can use in diverse ways, including to foster integration, avoid alienation, legitimise their presence in the country and fight against forms of discrimination. Yet, questions arise when the national heritage is passed on by individuals that many people do not consider 'national'. Do clashes occur between people who consider themselves to be of Irish ethnicity and nationality and Irish speakers of diverse ethnicities and/or nationalities? What are the reasons for the clashes and what are the consequences? This study offers some answers while pointing to the needs of more investigation of the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growth and popularity of Irish-medium Education (IME) in Northern Ireland, the sector has not received the same levels of state support and funding as has heritage language education in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Educating children in an immersive language setting, particularly in a minority or endangered language, is still regarded as disadvantageous to the learner, and that bilingual language education will hinder academic attainment, including maths. We present findings from thematic interviews with 11 primary teachers' perceptions on the challenges of teaching maths in Irish, and how to help the sector develop language skills in, and resources for, teaching maths in the primary curriculum in Northern Ireland. The challenges that emerged from the thematic interviews, include finding teachers with the requisite language skills to teach maths, training and support for Irish-speaking maths teachers, and how children can acquire the right kind of fluency to engage in maths learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study is to explore the possibilities of pedagogical translanguaging as a strategy to develop critical language awareness among a group of primary school students from the Basque Autonomous Community (Spain). The study is part of a broader ethnographically based research project, which was developed over two school years in Basque, Spanish and English language subjects. Participants were 51 primary school students studying through the medium of the minority language Basque in an area where the dominant language in society is Spanish, in addition, these students were learning English as a foreign language. The findings show how students' critical language awareness is developed when sociolinguistically informed didactic strategies are integrated together with translanguaging pedagogies in the classroom. As a result of translanguaging pedagogies and the sociolinguistic reflection carried out during the intervention, the students built up their awareness of minority languages and affective attitudes towards their own. In turn, the simultaneous use of several languages in the classroom brought to the surface the unbalanced power relation among Basque, Spanish and English. This study's findings reinforce the need for creating and maintaining spaces for minority languages to breathe within the framework of translanguaging pedagogies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The participation of multilingual children in minority language immersion programmes is under-researched internationally. The Republic of Ireland (RoI) has become a linguistically and culturally diverse society. In the RoI, parents have the opportunity to educate their child in English-medium or Irish-medium (IM) schools. However, the cohort of multilingual children attending IM schools is very small. This study investigated the reasons why parents who spoke a home language other than Irish or English chose to enrol their children in IM primary education. It also investigated parents' perceptions of the benefits of this form of education. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 15 parents from a variety of language backgrounds. It was found that parents were motivated to enrol their child in IM primary schools to provide them with the opportunity to learn a variety of languages at an early age. Benefits associated with learning multiple languages and immersion in Irish culture and heritage were seen as the main advantages of IM education. A minority of parents chose an IM school when there was no space for their child in an English-medium school. Parents reported that they did not experience significant challenges in IM immersion. Recommendations arise to support the participation of multilingual families in immersion education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The small Mennonite German-speaking communities in the Russian and Austrian partitions developed in opposite directions during the interwar period. The congregation centered in Lviv accelerated its trajectory of integrating with Polish society, increasing Polish language usage while striving to maintain a separate, non-Catholic religious identity. The cluster of three rural congregations west of Warsaw faced the common problems of small landholders but resisted integration into Polish society at the same time as Polish society held them at arm's length. Examining these two little known groups provides additional illustrations of the complex situations of religious and linguistic minorities in the Second Polish Republic and the divergent ways they approached the challenges. This case study shows how what appeared to be similar starting places for minorities could lead initially to two different outcomes. The pressures of World War II, however, upended these tendencies. In the end, both groups ended up in the same places literally and metaphorically, in exile in West Germany and North and South America and closely identifying with a German diaspora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural is the property of Sociedad Espanola para el Procesamiento del Lenguaje Natural and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Rusyn belongs to the Eastern Slavic language family and is considered a minority language. It is spoken across various countries, such as Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Each of these countries has a standardized variant of this language, with the exception of Ukraine. The Rusyn people in Transcarpathia are the last group of people without a standardized variant of their language because it is not recognized. Given the conflict in Ukraine and the general attitude toward Rusyn people, language documentation is not a priority. There have been various attempts in the past to codify the language, but all have failed to be adopted, mainly due to a lack of support, both by the Rusyn community and the Ukrainian government. This paper compares the documentation attempts of six resources, of which the aim was to document the Transcarpathian Rusyn language. The paper compares their differences, similarities, weaknesses, and strengths and concludes with suggestions for future research projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is a sizable Hungarian minority living in Romania, who have the right to learn in their mother-tongue. While most Hungarians are enrolled in Hungarian medium education, there is a small number of families who opt for mainstream Romanian monolingual schools. According to the Law, the latter group can choose to learn Hungarian in an optional manner, but there is no usable curriculum for this kind of education. Given the absence of top-down regulation, without centralized pressure on choosing how to teach, teachers could become real classroom decision-makers; nevertheless, they fail to do so. More exactly, as they emphasize solely the symbolic values of the minority language, they unintendedly reinforce the asymmetry between the majority Romanian and minority Hungarian languages, implicitly legitimizing the dominant languages ideology promoted by the more powerful institutional actors and the policy environment itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can linguistic diversity in the media impede state language proficiency? In this paper, we test the extent to which the availability of minority languages in the media affects state language proficiency for ethnic minorities. We take advantage of an exogeneous development: The rapid expansion of Budapest-originating media outside Hungary in the mid-2000s transformed the media landscape in neighbouring states. Using an original survey data of ethnic Hungarians in minority regions in four Central-Eastern European states over two waves, we find (1) the availability of minority language media means minorities are consuming less media in the state language, which in turn induces low levels of state language proficiency – i.e. through an exogeneous exposure mechanism; and (2) minorities with weaker state language proficiency choose to consume minority language media – i.e. through an endogenous selection mechanism. The results suggest a strong relationship between the language of media consumption and linguistic proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an interview with Martin Bowman, a translator and scholar. He discusses the translation of Michel Tremblay's plays into Scots, exploring the significance of this vernacular language, the cultural connections between Scotland and Quebec, and the sociopolitical motivations behind choosing to translate Québécois French into Scots.