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ERIC Number: EJ1202604
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jan
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0167-8507
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Policy and Pedagogical Pliability: Enrichment in Võro-Language Revitalization in Estonia
Brown, Kara D.
Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, v38 n1 p113-131 Jan 2019
This article explores policy and pedagogical pliability as strategies for perpetuating and protecting regional languages, like Võro, in the twenty-first century. The concept of pliability, as I develop it in this article, refers to the flexibility and adaptability of policies that are free from prescriptive and strict mandates. By examining this case from Estonia, I posit that the notion of enrichment plays a significant role in shaping the pliability and durability of contemporary Estonian regional-language policy. Whether an intentional or accidental approach on the part of Võro-language supporters, an emphasis on enrichment effectively helps to position the regional-language speakers with the national majority and establish proximity to their political and cultural interests. The data for this analysis were gathered during a diachronic, qualitative yearlong, school-based ethnography of Võro-language teachers in southeastern Estonia in 2001-2002 and 2013-2014. As a result of this ethnographic analysis, I find that enrichment as an ideology carries significant implications across macro and micro levels of language planning for revitalization including contributing to the curtailment of possibilities for long-term legal recognition for the language, perpetuating a classroom emphasis on oral skills over written skills, and emphasizing the arts- and performance-based value of language learning. The article concludes with lessons learned from the pliability of policy and pedagogy for language revitalization efforts elsewhere in Europe and beyond.
De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Estonia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A