Endangered Languages and Education
Proceedings of the Third FEL Conference
Description:... The theme of the third annual Foundation for Endangered Languages (FEL) Conference was Endangered Languages and Education, focusing on how education can be used to promote, resist, and reverse the decline of a language. The conference papers are broken into several sections covering the topic from a variety of aspects and perspectives. "Finding a Policy" looks at the more general issues of how to proceed when the old link between the language and the traditional culture seems to be fraying. The question is considered in three North and South American contexts (among North Dakota American Indians, the Amish community, and Mayans in Guatemala), as well as for the Saami in Norway and the Irish under British rule. "Looking at Learners" switches the focus to the pupils in the education process, surveying attitudes and assessing acquired proficiency in Brittany and New Zealand, where there is a single minority language and a single metropolitan language. In "Working with Non-Written Languages", the special problems of making a bridge between oral and written language education comes to the fore. "Ways and Means" examines practical measures that can be taken to get teaching and learning organized. The examples of Maori in New Zealand and Khoisan in Namibia are examined. The "Role of Standard Dialects" is considered using the case of the disruption of language transmission among Basque dialects in Spain. Finally, "Impacts and Future Prospects" examines the overall impact that education programs seem to be having in preserving endangered languages. (KFT)
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