Abstract

What does it take to alter current processes of language endangerment and displacement? What can meaningfully support speech communities who experience discrimination and work to revitalize and reclaim their unique ways of communicating? There are multiple possible responses to these questions, ranging from addressing political and economic inequalities, to changing education systems, shifting monolingual societal paradigms, and documenting languages. This talk will draw on ethnographic research on Isthmus Zapotec (diidxazá) promotion initiatives in Oaxaca, Mexico (2013-2018) in order to examine language activism strategies, with a focus on the role of multilingualism in language reclamation and endangered language education. I present a framework of language activism strategies that may be pursued by a wide range of social actors, from researchers to teachers to rappers. I argue that the dynamics of multilingualism and language learning play a crucial role in these activism strategies, and illustrate where tensions arise between purist versus pluralist language ideologies, and orientations to past versus future speech communities. Registration will close on November 25th at 12pm. Direct link: https://cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYldOqvqD8tHdW1Di7OreFgkngXcMSFwW4g