Ghil'ad Zuckermann
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780199812776
- eISBN:
- 9780190097042
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199812776.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This seminal book introduces revivalistics, a new trans-disciplinary field of enquiry surrounding language reclamation, revitalization and reinvigoration. The book is divided into two main parts that ...
More
This seminal book introduces revivalistics, a new trans-disciplinary field of enquiry surrounding language reclamation, revitalization and reinvigoration. The book is divided into two main parts that represent Zuckermann’s fascinating and multifaceted journey into language revival, from the ‘Promised Land’ (Israel) to the ‘Lucky Country’ (Australia) and beyond:
PART 1: LANGUAGE REVIVAL AND CROSS-FERTILIZATION
The aim of this part is to suggest that due to the ubiquitous multiple causation, the reclamation of a no-longer spoken language is unlikely without cross-fertilization from the revivalists’ mother tongue(s). Thus, one should expect revival efforts to result in a language with a hybridic genetic and typological character. The book highlights salient morphological, phonological, phonetic, syntactic, semantic and lexical features, illustrating the difficulty in determining a single source for the grammar of ‘Israeli’, the language resulting from the Hebrew revival. The European impact in these features is apparent inter alia in structure, semantics or productivity.
PART 2: LANGUAGE REVIVAL AND WELLBEING
The book then applies practical lessons (rather than clichés) from the critical analysis of the Hebrew reclamation to other revival movements globally, and goes on to describe the why and how of language revival. The how includes practical, nitty-gritty methods for reclaiming ‘sleeping beauties’ such as the Barngarla Aboriginal language of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, e.g. using what Zuckermann calls talknology (talk+technology). The why includes ethical, aesthetic, and utilitarian reasons such as improving wellbeing and mental health.Less
This seminal book introduces revivalistics, a new trans-disciplinary field of enquiry surrounding language reclamation, revitalization and reinvigoration. The book is divided into two main parts that represent Zuckermann’s fascinating and multifaceted journey into language revival, from the ‘Promised Land’ (Israel) to the ‘Lucky Country’ (Australia) and beyond:
PART 1: LANGUAGE REVIVAL AND CROSS-FERTILIZATION
The aim of this part is to suggest that due to the ubiquitous multiple causation, the reclamation of a no-longer spoken language is unlikely without cross-fertilization from the revivalists’ mother tongue(s). Thus, one should expect revival efforts to result in a language with a hybridic genetic and typological character. The book highlights salient morphological, phonological, phonetic, syntactic, semantic and lexical features, illustrating the difficulty in determining a single source for the grammar of ‘Israeli’, the language resulting from the Hebrew revival. The European impact in these features is apparent inter alia in structure, semantics or productivity.
PART 2: LANGUAGE REVIVAL AND WELLBEING
The book then applies practical lessons (rather than clichés) from the critical analysis of the Hebrew reclamation to other revival movements globally, and goes on to describe the why and how of language revival. The how includes practical, nitty-gritty methods for reclaiming ‘sleeping beauties’ such as the Barngarla Aboriginal language of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, e.g. using what Zuckermann calls talknology (talk+technology). The why includes ethical, aesthetic, and utilitarian reasons such as improving wellbeing and mental health.
Ghil'ad Zuckermann
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780199812776
- eISBN:
- 9780190097042
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199812776.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter introduces the fascinating and multifaceted reclamation of the Barngarla Aboriginal language of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. In 2012, the Barngarla community and I launched the ...
More
This chapter introduces the fascinating and multifaceted reclamation of the Barngarla Aboriginal language of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. In 2012, the Barngarla community and I launched the reclamation of this sleeping beauty. The presence of three Barngarla populations, several hours drive apart, presents the revival linguist with a need for a sophisticated reclamation involving talknological innovations such as online chatting, newsgroups, as well as photo and resource sharing. The chapter provides a brief description of our activities so far and describes the Barngarla Dictionary App. The Barngarla reclamation demonstrates two examples of righting the wrong of the past: (1) A book written in 1844 in order to assist a German Lutheran missionary to introduce the Christian light to Aboriginal people (and thus to weaken their own spirituality), is used 170 years later (by a secular Jew) to assist the Barngarla Aboriginal people, who have been linguicided by Anglo-Australians, to reconnect with their very heritage. (2) Technology, used for invasion (ships), colonization (weapons), and stolen generations (governmental black cars kidnapping Aboriginal children from their mothers), is employed (in the form of an app) to assist the Barngarla to reconnect with their cultural autonomy, intellectual sovereignty, and spirituality.Less
This chapter introduces the fascinating and multifaceted reclamation of the Barngarla Aboriginal language of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. In 2012, the Barngarla community and I launched the reclamation of this sleeping beauty. The presence of three Barngarla populations, several hours drive apart, presents the revival linguist with a need for a sophisticated reclamation involving talknological innovations such as online chatting, newsgroups, as well as photo and resource sharing. The chapter provides a brief description of our activities so far and describes the Barngarla Dictionary App. The Barngarla reclamation demonstrates two examples of righting the wrong of the past: (1) A book written in 1844 in order to assist a German Lutheran missionary to introduce the Christian light to Aboriginal people (and thus to weaken their own spirituality), is used 170 years later (by a secular Jew) to assist the Barngarla Aboriginal people, who have been linguicided by Anglo-Australians, to reconnect with their very heritage. (2) Technology, used for invasion (ships), colonization (weapons), and stolen generations (governmental black cars kidnapping Aboriginal children from their mothers), is employed (in the form of an app) to assist the Barngarla to reconnect with their cultural autonomy, intellectual sovereignty, and spirituality.
