3.

Language maintenance and shift

This chapter covers the following key topics: Language shift in different communities, Language
death and language loss, Factors contributing to language shift, How can a minority language be
maintained?, and Language revival.

Language maintenance denotes the continuing use of a language in the face of competition
from a regionally and socially more powerful language. Language shift is the opposite of this: it denotes
the replacement of one language by another as the primary means of communication within a
community. The term language death is used when that community is the last one in the world to use
that language. Sometime, a language is defined as both dead language and shifted to another language
when it is extinct, or shifted without death when it is shifted but the original language is still existed. The
extinction of Cornish in England is an example of language death as well as shift (to English). And the
demise of Norwegian as an immigrant language in the USA exemplifies shift without death, as
Norwegian is of course still spoken in its original setting in Norway.

 Some Factors that cause Language Shift in different communities:

 Migrant minorities: Occurs when the language of the wider society displaces the minority
language mother tongue. Mostly caused by: pressure from the wider society, job demands, or
education factors.
 Non-migrant communities: Political, economic and social changes can occur within a
community, and this may result in linguistic changes too.
 Migrant majorities: Occurs when colonial powers invade other countries, and their languages
become dominant. By this way English is described as a ‘killer language’. But sometimes
colonialism doesn’t kill language and make multilingualism instead.
 Some Factors contributing to Language Shift within a community:
 Economic, social and political factors: the most factors which cause language shifting.
 Demographic factors: this may relate to isogloss, I think.
 Attitudes and values: both highly and lower valued may shifted.
 Some factor which may contribute to language maintenance for minorities:
 A minority group’s language is considered an important symbol of their identity, such as Chinese
in Chinatown.
 The degree and frequency of contact with the homeland.
 Preventive Measures which can preserve the minority’s language from being shifted:
 Social factors influences: such as participants and settings.
 Intermarriaging: such as the Greek as majorities and the Chinese communities.
 Heritage language programmes: such as Schools, Courses, and other education systems.
 Institutional support: such as law, religion, and media
 Examples of Language Revival:
 Maori Language in New Zealand.
 Hebrew in Israel.
 Welsh in Wales.
 Other languages with small number of speakers against Globalisation.