Variation in Indigenous Minority Languages

2009 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Minority Languages ◽  
Indigenous Minority

Competing ideologies of linguistic authority amongst new speakers in contemporary Galicia

2013 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernadette O'Rourke ◽  
Fernando Ramallo
Keyword(s):  
Native Speaker ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Northwestern Spain ◽  
New Speakers ◽  
Indigenous Minority

AbstractWhile in many indigenous minority-language situations traditional native speaker communities are in decline, new speakers are emerging in the context of revitalization policies. Such policies, however, can have unforeseen consequences and lead to tensions between newcomers and existing speakers over questions of ownership, legitimacy, and authenticity. This article examines these tensions in the case of Galician in northwestern Spain, where “new speakers” have emerged in the context of revitalization policies since the 1980s. The subsequent spread of the language outside traditional Galician strongholds and into what were predominantly Spanish spaces complicates the traditional ideology about sociolinguistic authenticity and ownership and raises questions about who are the legitimate speakers of Galician, who has authority, and the potential tensions that such questions generate. To illustrate the tensions and paradoxes thatnewandnativespeakers face in this postrevitalization context, we draw on three discussion groups consisting of sixteen young Galicians. (New speakers, authority, authenticity, minority languages, Galician)*

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