Minority languages and cultural diversity in Europe : Gaelic and Sorbian perspectives / Konstanze Glaser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Glaser, Konstanze, 1968-

Series:

Linguistic diversity and language rights ; 3.

Linguistic diversity and language rights ; 3

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Linguistic minorities--Europe.

Linguistic minorities.

Nationalism--Europe.

Nationalism.

Language and culture--Europe.

Language and culture.

Thought and thinking.

Scottish Gaelic language--History.

Scottish Gaelic language.

Sorbian languages--History.

Sorbian languages.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (415 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Clevedon [England] ; Buffalo [NY] : Multilingual Matters, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

To what extent is linguistic continuity a prerequisite for ethno-cultural survival? Focusing on the Gaelic community in Scotland and the Sorbs of Lusatia, this study illuminates core assumptions and rationales in relation to minority language revitalisation ideologies in Scotland and Germany and shows how they have been affected by assimilation processes arising from modernisation and globalisation. A thorough review of relevant theoretical debates is followed by a presentation of historical contexts and a detailed analysis of contemporary discourses about bilingualism, cultural difference and ethno-cultural belonging within the Gaelic and Sorbian communities. Drawing on more than 100 interviews, a questionnaire survey and a wide range of comments by Gaelic and Sorbian speakers in the media, the author identifies current ideological faultlines in Gaelic and Sorbian activist circles and argues that minority language planners must critically engage with competing theoretical paradigms if revitalisation efforts are to be successful.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Series Editor’s Foreword

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations and Coding

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Ethnocultural Minorities in Europe: The Political Context

Chapter 3: Multilingualism as Premise of Cultural Diversity: Theories on Language, Thought and Culture from the Enlightenment to the Present

Chapter 4: Gaelic in Scotland

Chapter 5: Sorbian in Lusatia

Chapter 6: Language Metaphysics on the Ground: Gaelic and Sorbian in Relation to Thought, Culture and Self

Chapter 7: Narratives of Continuity: Language as a Unifier

Chapter 8: The (Re)Production of Difference: Language as Source of Social Boundaries

Chapter 9: Conclusion

Bibliography

Appendix A: Scotland and Ireland from a Gaelic perspective

Appendix B: Shares of Gaelic speakers in local populations (parish-level) in 2001

Appendix C: Slavic territories to the west of the River Oder in the 10th and 11th centuries

Appendix D: Areas with significant numbers of Sorbian/Wendish speakers (1999)

Appendix E: Gaelic-related Questionnaire (English version)

Appendix F: Sorbian-related Questionnaire (German version)

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786610935000

9781280935008

1280935006

9781853599330

1853599336

OCLC:

476087441