Language Revitalization and Socio-cultural Transformation

This is an application for funding to support the establishment of a research network in order to examine systematically, and for the first time, the implications of some of the major socio-cultural transformations witnessed across industrial democracies today for our understanding of how contemporary language revitalization efforts should be designed and implemented.

The network will bring together an international and interdisciplinary group of academic researchers, spanning the arts, humanities and social sciences, along with a number of prominent language policy practitioners.

There are two principal reasons why such a research network needs to be established.

First, public policy efforts aiming to revitalize the prospects of regional or minority languages are increasingly common across Western Europe. Indeed, over the past few decades, such revitalization efforts have become more systematic and far-reaching in scope, encompassing a range of regulatory, distributive and constitutional instruments, and touching on key social domains, including the family home, the education system, the media, the economy and civil society.

Second, and more important, these language revitalization efforts have been developed and implemented against a backdrop of radical social change: societies are now increasingly individualistic, diverse and mobile; their economies are increasingly interconnected; and their governance structures are increasingly complex. Many of the assumptions that have traditionally dominated both the academic and public policy literature on language revitalization relate to areas of life that are implicated in current patterns change. Yet, despite this, to date there has been no serious reflection on whether our fast-changing social context should prompt a rethink with regard to how the task of language revitalization should be approached.

In response, the network will aim to provide answers to the following key questions:

- To what extent do recent changes in the nature of community life and in patterns of interaction among individuals have implications for the emphasis traditionally placed by language revitalization frameworks on the role of the local, territorially defined, community in promoting stable patterns of language use?

- To what extent do recent changes in the way that families organize their day-to-day lives and care for their children have implications for the emphasis traditionally placed by language revitalization frameworks on role of the family in promoting language acquisition?

- To what extent do contemporary economic developments such as globalization and the advent of skills-based employment have implications for the emphasis traditionally placed by language revitalization frameworks on the need to ensure that the minority language possesses a measure of economic value?

- To what extent does the current trend of 'state transformation' and the emergence of new models of governance have implications for the emphasis traditionally placed by language revitalization frameworks on the need for long-term state recognition and support for the minority language?

The network will study these questions with reference to a variety of European examples of language revitalization, including Catalonia, the Basque Country, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and with a view to identify lessons that will inform the work of public officials and civil society actors at the regional, state and international levels.

The centerpiece of the network's activities during the life of the grant will be held in Aberystwyth, Edinburgh, Geneva and Cardiff between March 2017 and September 2018. The workshops will culminate with an international conference held in Brussels in January 2019. This event will disseminate the main conclusions that arise from the workshops among non-academic audiences. It will be organized in collaboration with the Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity.

The findings arising from the network's discussions will benefit the work of numerous public officials from across Europe that are responsible for the development and implementation of public policy programmes seeking to promote language revitalization. This includes officials from European regions or states where language revitalization strategies are in operation, e.g. Catalonia, the Basque Country, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It also includes European-level institutions that seek to promote discussion and to share best practice regarding language maintenance and revitalization, e.g. the Council of Europe (particularly its Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages) and the European Union's DG for Education and Culture.

Yet, while there is broad range of language policy agencies and institutions that, over time, will benefit from the work of the network, in order to ensure focus and to maximise impact potential, four specific bodies will be engaged closely during the life of the project. These are:

1. Welsh Government Language Policy Unit: the civil service unit responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of the Welsh Government's national Welsh language revitalization strategies (current strategy, 'Iaith Fyw: Iaith Byw', is for the period 2012-17).

2. Office of the Welsh Language Commissioner: an independent regulator whose statutory responsibilities include upholding the rights of Welsh speakers and advising the Welsh Government on aspects of it's policy interventions in support of the Welsh language.

3. Bord na Gaidhlig: the executive non-departmental public body that has primary responsiblity for overseeing the development and implementation of Scotland's National Gaelic Language Plans (current plan, 'Growth and Improvement', is for the period 2012-17).

4. Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity (NPLD): an EU-supported international organisation working in the field of language policy that aims to facilitate the exchange of best practice among governments, policy makers and practitioners from across Europe.

These are all bodies where the PI and CI already possess well-established links. As a result, representatives from each body have been consulted regarding the general aims and objectives of the project. These preliminary discussions have confirmed that a lack of knowledge regarding the linguistic implications of current macro socio-cultural changes is increasingly seen among language policy actors as a key weakness, and therefore there would be a great deal of interest in the networks and its activities.

On this basis, representatives from each body have contributed to designing the network's program of activities, by helping to identify relevant discussion topics and helping to identify influential non-academic practitioners to be invited to participate at different events. They have also advised on their preferred methods of engaging with the network throughout the life of the project. Consequently, the methods deployed during the project in order to achieve impact will include:

- The presence of representatives from the Office of the Welsh Language Commissioner, Bord na Gaidhlig, and the NPLD on the project's advisory board.

- The participation of representatives from each body in each of the network's workshops.

- The preparation and circulation of briefing reports that draw out the main conclusions arising from each workshop.

- The arrangement of face-to-face briefing meetings at the end of the project in order to discuss key conclusions in detail.

- The organisation of an international dissemination conference in Brussels at the end of the project (aimed primarily at the NPLD and it's membership).

- The development of new CPD provision aimed at practitioners working in the field of language revitalization.

Further information on these impact activities is provided in the Pathways to Impact attachment.