Language death and revival

This study examines the paradox of language revitalisation through the case of Jewish communities in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. While Jewish linguistic diversity historically flourished in the diaspora, the twentieth century witnessed a dramatic decline in many Jewish languages-most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and various Judeo-Arabic and Judeo-Aramaic varieties-amidst the ascendancy of revitalised Modern Hebrew in Israel. The paper analyses how linguistic competition, diglossia, and shifting language ideologies have shaped the status and transmission of these languages. Drawing on sociolinguistic theory, it explores the "revitalisation paradox": the successful revival of one endangered language, such as Hebrew, may come at the expense of others. The persistence of Yiddish among ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) communities is contrasted with its post-vernacular, symbolic status in secular Israeli society. The study concludes that language planning is fundamentally shaped by social attitudes, collective priorities, and the broader ideological environment. Ultimately, the Jewish experience underscores the complex trade-offs involved in linguistic heritage preservation and highlights the need for nuanced, communitydriven approaches to multilingual identity and language policy.

Manuscripts have always remained a major source of knowledge of any society. This handwritten composition made on various tools such as tree bark, palm leaves, cloths, paper etc. Ancient Assam has a long history in this cultural field. All the Tais of Northeast India possess a rich manuscript culture. The Mongoloid origin Tai groups inhabit mainly in large tracts of Southeast Asia viz.

This paper studies the Tai Buddhist manuscripts of Assam by contextualizing them in relation to the larger Tai history and the Tai Buddhist religious culture. The study is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data includes first-hand exploration, on-site documentation, and personal conversation with the community members. The discussion is performed in three sections. The first section problematizes the inclusion of the Tai Buddhist illustrated manuscript in the ‘Tai-Ahom School of Painting’ through a historical analysis of the Indian Tai community. The second part studies the significance of these manuscripts in Tai Buddhist religious culture. The third section traces and studies the illustrated Tai Buddhist manuscripts found to date in Assam and brings front a previously undocumented manuscript.

Tesis: Cuatreros somos y toindioma hablamos. Contactos y conflictos entre el náhuatl y el español en el sur de México. • Maestría en Lingüística, Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (1990). Tesis: Sociolingüística del náhuatl. • Licenciatura en Lingüística, ENAH (1983). Tesis: El conflicto lingüístico otomí-español en mercados del Valle del Mezquital. Principales líneas de Investigación • Lingüística náhuatl, contacto de lenguas, variación, ideologías y políticas del lenguaje. • Revitalización lingüística con enfoque comunitario, intergeneracional y transdisciplinario. • Documentación de saberes lingüísticos ancestrales y expresiones orales en riesgo. • Producción editorial multilingüe y pedagogías críticas para la educación bilingüe. • Creación artística, medios digitales y tecnologías aplicadas a la revitalización. • Lingüística crítica, derechos lingüísticos y culturales de los pueblos originarios. Producción Académica y Editorial • Más de 15 libros académicos, publicados en México y el extranjero (CIESAS, Universidad Veracruzana, INALI, John Benjamins, Multilingual Matters, Lincom). • Publicaciones emblemáticas: Lengua y poder (2018), Guía de revitalización lingüística (2020), Cuatreros somos (1999, reed. 2012), Antología de Textos para la revitalización lingüística (INALI-CIESAS, 2012), New Perspectives on Endangered Languages (Benjamins, 2010). • Más de 100 publicaciones académicas entre libros, artículos, capítulos y reseñas especializadas en sociolingüística, etnolingüística, arte verbal, lingüística educativa, comunicación, política y derechos lingüísticos, entre otras temáticas interdisciplinarias. • Coordinador de la colección Materiales en Lenguas Originarias (CIESAS) con más de 60 títulos publicados para niños y jóvenes, como autor, coordinador, traductor, etc. • Traducciones del inglés de obras fundamentales, e.g. Hablando Mexicano, Bases de la Documentación Lingüística, además de versiones al náhuatl, español e inglés del arte verbal originario, entre otras lenguas. Proyectos Estratégicos y Plataformas Digitales • Fundador y curador de Tlacuatzin.org, sitio pionero en la producción digital de contenidos educativos y culturales en lenguas originarias: música, libros con realidad aumentada, animaciones, videojuegos, canciones, narrativas multilingües. • Coordinador del proyecto Revitalización Lingüística a Través de las Artes, con eje en la colaboración entre sabios tradicionales, niñas/os, artistas y activistas, generando materiales accesibles, creativos, con pertinencia y pertenencia comunitaria. • Cofundador de GALA (Grupo de Acompañamiento a Lenguas Amenazadas), red transnacional de colaboración que impulsa proyectos de documentación, formación, creación y políticas lingüísticas desde la pluralidad lingüística y la soberanía cultural.

This presentation provides a survey of the attrition of Hausa Kinship terms by the language users. The concept of language attrition is associated with language loss, language shift; language change and language death. Language attrition may refer to the loss of words or portions of words in a language by members of a speech community. It may also refer to the declining use of mother tongue skills by those caught in bilingual situations. In Hausa land with particular reference to Zaria Hausa (Zazzau) some lexical attrition takes place within the speech community not only among the elite. Using sociolinguistic methods of analysis, attempt was made to discuss the subject matter from a theoretical point of view. According to Gumperz and Wilson (1981), language attrition is used to explain borrowing, semantic extension, calques, increased use of certain structures due to influence of other languages. The study surveys how terms related to blood relatives' category: (i) the parents, (ii) the grandparents , (iii) the siblings, and (iv) the children; and the collateral relationship: (i) the uncles/aunts, (ii) the nephews/nieces, and (iii) the cousins are disused or decreased in use by Hausa people today and the adopted new terms from English, Arabic and other languages. Primary and secondary sources of data collection were used in carrying out the study. Sixty people, thirty participants aged 7-20 and another thirty participants aged 35-55, were interviewed comprising children of elite, and elite and non-elite parents. Data collected show that language attrition took place among Zaria Hausa speech community particularly among the elite and non-elite. The study contributes to the existing knowledge on how Hausa kinship terms are used by the speakers.

This article is a case study of the northern Vepses, an indigenous group residing in the Republic of Karelia, and their relations with mining industry. As early as the eighteenth century, Vepses in Karelia were involved in the extraction of rare decorative minerals(gabbro-diabase and raspberry quartzite), and this involvement continues today. The article discusses the variety of symbolic meanings stone has for contemporary residentsof Vepsian villages, who see it simultaneously as a source of hardship, struggle, and pride. Local residents view nature and stoneworking as interconnected, seeing mining development in the region as a consequence of its natural richness. This case study illustrates that indigenous lifestyles, industrial development, and nature may be perceivedas coexisting and interconnected elements.  In English, extended summary in Russian .

(2024) “Bilingual and multilingual students of Greek universities: Skills, fields of use and attitude toward Greek and other languages in use”, σε συνεργασία με (Eleni Sella-Mazi), Friederiki Batsalia, Aikaterini Kiyitsioglou-Vlachou, Evaggelia Leze & Maria Rompopoulou. In Tsiplakou, St. & Ioannidou E. (eds.). Multilingualism, Variation, Spaces of Literacy (Selected papers from CLC6 - "Crossroads of Language and Cultures" 2-5 September 2021) (83 – 98). Ψηφιακή έκδοση Open University of Cyprus ISBN 978-9925-636-03-7

Περίληψη
Στα ελληνικά/ελληνόφωνα ακαδημαϊκά ιδρύματα σήμερα φοιτούν ποικίλης προέλευσης δίγλωσσοι/πολύγλωσσοι φοιτητές με την Ελληνική ως πρώτη, δεύτερη, τρίτη ή τέταρτη γλώσσα. Μέλημα της παρούσας μελέτης είναι, αρχικά, μία πρώτη χαρτογράφηση των ποικίλων αυτών δίγλωσσων/πολύγλωσσων νέων και των γλωσσών τους και, ακολούθως, η μελέτη των πεδίων χρήσης των γλωσσών τους εντός και εκτός πανεπιστημίου, των στάσεων έναντι των γλωσσών τους καθώς και η αποτύπωση των ταυτοτήτων που διαμορφώνουν οι νέοι αυτοί. Απώτερος στόχος είναι η διερεύνηση του εάν και κατά πόσον η φοίτηση σε ελληνόφωνο ακαδημαϊκό ίδρυμα μπορεί να λειτουργήσει ως κίνητρο γλωσσικής και κοινωνικής ένταξης στην ελληνική/ελληνόφωνη πραγματικότητα.

L'"Atlantide" de Platon pourrait donc bien, en définitive, être l'allégorie d'une réalité historique étalée sur plus de quatre millénaires ; avec trois "avatars" essentiels :

- Néolithique/Chalcolithique : "Poséidon" = les navigateurs néolithiques anatoliens de la céramique cardiale, venus de l'Est de la Méditerranée. Civilisation mégalithique, Vieille Europe ; liée à l'Orient d'origine, proto-Pélasges de la Mer Égée, proto-Cananéens du Levant ; colonisant l'Afrique du Nord qui devient "blanche" à cette époque (voir ci-après). Destruction par l'invasion yamnaya de la steppe (vers -2300/2200) (Égypte : possibles premiers assauts venus de l'Ouest - "Libou" - par des populations associées au campaniforme, qui auraient même pu prendre le contrôle de certains territoires pendant la 1ère période intermédiaire, terrible décadence et chaos à cette époque).

- Âge du Bronze : "complexe" trans-méditerranéen argarique-minoen-cananéen  ;  grande "interconnexion", "route" maritime culturelle et commerciale depuis le Proche-Orient jusqu'au Bronze atlantique du Nord-Ouest de l'Europe, en passant bien sûr par la magnificente Crète minoenne, la Sardaigne nuragique et la Péninsule proto-ibère ; "route" de laquelle les Mycéniens tâcheront dans toutes leurs guerres, contre la Crète (leur "suzeraine" au début de leur civilisation), contre Troie, mais peut-être aussi en aidant l'Égypte contre les Hyksôs cananéens, voire avec de possibles expéditions militaires au-delà de l'Italie, jusqu'à la Péninsule ibérique – mythes herculéens, Ménesthée etc., probable inspiration "première" du récit quant à la grande "guerre" – de prendre le contrôle, et y parviendront dans une certaine mesure à leur apogée. "Poséidon" = précisément ces contacts archéologiquement attestés avec des navigateurs minoens-pélasges, égéens pré-grecs, chypriotes etc. ; et également proto-grecs mycéniens, une fois, donc, le contrôle de la "route" acquis. Catastrophe de Santorin (-1600), qui précipite le déclin de la Crète jusqu'à sa soumission totale (vers -1400), mais traces également de possibles très importantes catastrophes tsunamiques à la même époque (-1500, -1200) en Andalousie, ou encore en Sardaigne ; et chute brutale et toujours mal élucidée de la civilisation d'El Argar en Espagne (entre -1550 et -1400). Effondrement de l'Âge du Bronze (grande catastrophe frappant également la Grèce "dans la suite" de ces événements) ; Peuples de la Mer assaillant notamment l'Égypte (autour de -1200) avant de plonger toute la Méditerranée orientale dans les "siècles obscurs".

- Âge du Fer (de -1000 à l'époque de Platon, "enjeux contemporains" du récit) : "Poséidon" = les marins "dieux de la mer" phéniciens (ainsi que chypriotes, premiers grecs archaïques etc.), "fécondant" encore une fois dès le début du Ier millénaire tout ce "monde" de la Méditerranée occidentale ("Tartessos" et Ibères, "Libyens" berbères, Sardaigne et Corse, Étrusques alliés, Ligures, Sicile sicane et sicule, etc.) ; "monde hybride" confronté aux colonies grecques, elles-mêmes en proie aux ambitions hégémoniques d'Athènes (et/ou à l'attrait de ses philosophes pour leur "meilleur", de leur point de vue, système politique) – autre inspiration majeure, sinon principale, avec la "titanomachique" Himère et ses 300 000 Carthaginois et alliés des peuples précités face à la vaillante Syracuse, comme modèle par excellence de la "bataille d'Atlantis"... ? Un tsunami aurait pu frapper et causer la disparition soudaine, dans la première moitié du VIe siècle, de la capitale de la civilisation tartessique (probablement située du côté de Huelva en Andalousie, "jumelle" de la phénicienne Cadix dans cette "civilisation hybride", comme pouvait l'être "Atlas" de "Gadire"...). En Égypte : période des "dynasties libyennes" de ~ -940 à -715, envahisseurs non seulement qualifiables ethniquement d'"Atlantes" et antérieurement liés aux Peuples de la Mer dont ils étaient une "victoire posthume", mais probablement en lien aussi avec la nouvelle thalassocratie du moment, les Phéniciens ; période suivie par ailleurs juste après d'une forte implantation - Naucratis etc. - et plutôt bonnes relations avec les Grecs, dans lesquelles s'inscrivaient le voyage de Solon.

Este libro es una invitación a explorar el asombroso mundo de las lenguas nativas del Vaupés, mediante un viaje que fusiona historia, cultura y técnicas novedosas. Basándose en un exhaustivo estudio de las investigaciones y la diversidad lingüística de la región, este texto proporciona un sólido marco conceptual que potencia la comprensión del multilingüismo amazónico. Resaltan sus contribuciones metodológicas, tales como la utilización de “objetos de frontera” y procesos de cocreación con pueblos indígenas, que muestran un diálogo intercultural genuino. Además, el libro investiga la capacidad de las tecnologías digitales para la conservación del idioma, ajustándolas de manera crítica a las circunstancias locales. Con un enfoque sensible y participativo, también documenta experiencias de apropiación social del conocimiento y formación de maestros indígenas, subrayando la importancia de fortalecer las capacidades locales para la salvaguarda y promoción de las lenguas nativas, en un departamento como el Vaupés, que cuenta con un número importante del total de Colombia. Esta obra no solo documenta lenguas, sino que también construye puentes entre la investigación académica y los conocimientos indígenas, haciendo indispensable su lectura.

In addition to the Ramapough Mountain People, the State of New Jersey recognized two other Indian tribes in the state: the Powhatan Renape and the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape. The Powhatan Renape claim to descend from Powhatan Indians who allegedly migrated to north to intermarry with the Lenape. However, there is no historical evidence of this migration. The Nanticoke Lenni Lenape descend from a few Nanticoke Indians from Delaware who intermarried with the free Black community of Gouldtown in South Jersey.  The state legislature established a New Jersey Indian Commission that disputed any land claims by the federally-recognized Delaware Indians in Oklahoma, Canada, and Wisconsin.

"Mi lengua nació entre árboles y tiene sabor de tierra; la lengua de mis abuelos es mi casa" Humberto Ak' abal.
Este ensayo reflexiona sobre la aparición de neologismos en lenguas originarias de Chiapas a partir de la creatividad de sus hablantes.

Lower Sorbian is a Slavic language that has become almost extinct. As is the case of Upper Sorbian, there are no academic estimations of the current number of speakers of Lower Sorbian. Many German-language publications, including texts published by governmental institutions, overestimate the numbers of Lower Sorbian speakers, they are outdated or simply wrong. The authors take an innovative approach, initially defining a competent speaker of a minority language, and finally coming up with an estimation of the number of competent speakers of Lower Sorbian in 2024 based on latest data.

Language death in modern African societies presents a critical challenge, reflecting a complex interplay of historical, socioeconomic, and cultural factors that threaten the survival of indigenous languages. The legacy of colonialism and globalisation has resulted in the dominance of foreign languages, such as English, French, and Portuguese, over local languages, leading to significant language endangerment and loss. This phenomenon erodes linguistic diversity and undermines cultural Identity, as many communities increasingly adopt these global languages for perceived social mobility and economic advantages. The current state of language death in Africa is alarming, with UNESCO estimating that approximately 40% of the world's 6,700 languages are endangered, many of which are indigenous African languages. Factors contributing to this decline include urbanisation, cultural assimilation, and the influence of mass media favouring dominant languages, often at the expense of local dialects. As younger generations migrate to urban centres in search of opportunities, the transmission of native languages is disrupted, raising concerns about the loss of unique cultural knowledge and oral histories accompanying these languages. Section "Languages" 7014 technological innovations. Collaborative strategies that involve community participation and advocacy for Indigenous languages within educational curricula are critical for ensuring the survival of linguistic diversity on the continent. As the dialogue surrounding language death evolves, the importance of collective action, both at the familial and societal levels, remains vital to preserving Africa's rich tapestry of languages and cultures.

The focus in this paper is on the implementation of language policy in education. It explores and discusses the notion of subaltern agency in an education organization. Recent language policy research highlights individual and collective agency in the processes of language use, attitudes and policies. People on the ground, charged with implementation are not the passive receivers of policies or the vague resistors once depicted in research accounts, referring to public body practitioners, but social actors who can exercise subaltern agency. The aim is to show that language policies are not merely implemented, but are actually shaped on the ground. Examples of subaltern agency from a case study of the Official Languages Act Ireland (2003) are explored.

Languages are more than tools for communication; they embody the history, culture, and identity of the communities that speak them. However, with globalization reshaping the world, many languages are at risk of extinction. This article examines the impact of forgotten languages on modern culture, exploring how they contribute to cultural diversity, identity, and worldviews. By highlighting efforts to revive these endangered languages and the role of technology in preservation, this article underscores the importance of linguistic diversity in maintaining cultural heritage in an increasingly globalized

The verbal noun in the modern, currently spoken p-Celtic language Welsh is of a different nature than any other word class known in Standard Average European Languages (SAEs), to which the Insular Celtic tongues do not belong. This subject has occasionally attracted attention. Welsh language grammars clearly identify a berfenw 'verb noun', which Thomas (1996, p. 28) calls a citation form with no specific person or time allocation. However, non-Welsh descriptions of the verbal noun tend to trigger confusion by allocating varied SAE terms to it, like 'verb noun infinitives' (Myhill, 1985), 'verbal noun infinitives' (Carnie & Guilfoyle, 2000, p. 10), 'infinitives' (Borsley et al., 2007, p. 70), and 'non-finite verb(al) forms' (Sackmann, 2022, p. 2), most of them belittling the prominent nominal functions of this word class. Coming from a historical perspective, Scherschel et al. (2018) call the Welsh verbal noun an 'event noun', which seems more appropriate, as is shown in this paper, in which a detailed analysis of the major features of this Welsh word class is carried out.

Llistat de 10+1 grans raons per a amar i mimar el valencià.

(Versió amb notes a peu i bibliografia)

Extracte de: CASSANY-BATES, Jordi (en premsa): «Quins valors té el valencià a més de l’identitari i el sentimental? Argumentari a favor de la diversitat lingüística», dins d’Aula de lletres valencianes: Revista valenciana de filologia, València, Taula de Filologia Valenciana.

Llistat de 10+1 grans raons per a amar i mimar el valencià.

Extracte de:

CASSANY-BATES, Jordi (en premsa): «Quins valors té el valencià a més de l’identitari i el sentimental? Argumentari a favor de la diversitat lingüística», dins d’Aula de lletres valencianes: Revista valenciana de filologia, València, Taula de Filologia Valenciana.

RESUM:
«La desaparició de llengües no és un fenomen nou: en tenim constància en el passat, fins i tot llunyà (sumeri, hitita, etrusc, etc.). Paral·lelament, han sorgit noves llengües (afrikaans, per exemple). No obstant, actualment la pèrdua lingüística avança a un ritme tan ràpid –per diversos motius– que ja no pot ser compensat per la diversificació lingüística. Com a resultat, la diversitat lingüística mundial disminuïx –com la diversitat cultural–, i de fet ho fa a un ritme molt més ràpid que la biològica. Davant de l’erosió de la glotosfera –i l’etnosfera–, el públic resta majoritàriament indiferent o passiu mentres, en canvi, l’erosió de la biosfera el preocupa i mobilitza més i des de fa molt més temps. El valor de la diversitat lingüística i cultural resulta menys evident; solament es manifesta clarament en situacions extremes, quan està en joc la seguretat o el benestar. De fet, la diversitat lingüística (com la cultural en general) rep valoracions diverses, també negatives. A més, els arguments a favor de la diversitat lingüística (i, per tant, de llengües mitjanes i menudes) han obtingut una atenció insuficient. S’han recollit i organitzat fa relativament poc i no se’ls ha donat suficient publicitat. Nosaltres, en el present treball, recollim i organitzem arguments de diversos autors. A més, els apliquem al cas valencià, i resultat d’això és un decàleg de grans motius per a valorar el valencià que es pot difondre en la societat amb l’objectiu últim d’incentivar l’ús, aprofitament i desenvolupament de la llengua.»

On pourrait penser que l'unilinguisme, corrélat glottopolitique du nationalisme linguistique (Boyer, 2008 ; et par ailleurs idéologie dont l'impact sur l'histoire de la langue française et plus généralement sur l'histoire linguistique de la France n'est plus à démontrer, qui n'a toléré aucune langue concurrente du français sur les territoires du Royaume, puis de la République, pas plus qu'il n'a jamais vraiment accepté les velléités naturelles de manquement à la norme légitime Boyer, 2000), est du point de vue sociolinguistique une spécialité française. À y regarder de plus près, une autre langue romane, tout aussi expansionniste durant des siècles, peut elle aussi revendiquer une telle idéologie, bien que dans une version moins assurée (le soutien effectif de l'appareil d'État n'ayant pas eu sur la longue durée l'efficacité assimilatrice et uniformisatrice de l'État républicain français) : il s'agit de l'espagnol (nommé également castillan selon les contextes). En effet, quelques semaines après la chute de Barcelone et l'imposition définitive de l'autorité des rois d'Espagne sur la Catalogne (1714), l'Académie de la langue espagnole (Real Academia Española) est créée sous l'autorité du Roi de Castille Felipe V. Pour ce qui concerne la France, l'Académie française avait été créée par Richelieu sous l'égide de la monarchie, en 1635, alors que l'unification linguistique institutionnelle (administrative) avait été sinon imposée, du moins proclamée sur les territoires de ladite monarchie depuis le xvi e siècle 1 . Mais l'homologie idéologique ne s'arrête pas aux péripéties de la grammatisation (Auroux, 1992). Elle peut être observée, certes avec des différences de nature glottopolitique évidentes, au cours des siècles qui ont assuré l'institution de la langue jusqu'au temps des colonisations qui ont eu pour 1. Comme le rappellent Colombat, Fournier, Puech (2010, p. 146) : « À partir de la Renaissance, les grammairiens ont eu le sentiment de contribuer à édifier l'un des piliers sur lesquels repose le pouvoir du Prince et, inversement, la codification de la langue nationale tend à devenir une affaire de politique intérieure de première importance. » Université Montpellier 3, DIPRALANG, EA 739

https://www.pennpress.org/9781512826609/on-revival/

A critique of the discourse of language revival in modern Hebrew literature

On Revival is a critique of one of the most important tenets of Zionist thinking: “Hebrew revival,” or the idea that Hebrew—a largely unspoken language before the twentieth century—was revitalized as part of a broader national “revival” which ultimately led to the establishment of the Israeli nation-state. This story of language revival has been commemorated in Israeli popular memory and in Jewish historiography as a triumphant transformation narrative that marks the success of the Zionist revolution. But a closer look at the work of early twentieth-century Hebrew writers reveals different sentiments.

Roni Henig explores the loaded, figurative discourse of revival in the work of Hebrew authors and thinkers working roughly between 1890 and 1920. For these authors, the language once known as “the holy tongue” became a vernacular in the making. Rather than embracing “revival” as a neutral, descriptive term, Henig takes a critical approach, employing close readings of canonical texts to analyze the primary tropes used to articulate this aesthetic and political project of “reviving” Hebrew. She shows that for many writers, the national mission of language revival was entwined with a sense of mourning and loss. These writers perceived—and simultaneously produced—the language as neither dead nor fully alive. Henig argues that it is this figure of the living-dead that lies at the heart of the revival discourse and which is constitutive of Jewish nationalism.

On Revival contributes to current debates in comparative literary studies by addressing the limitations of the national language paradigm and thinking beyond concepts of origin, nativity, and possession in language. Informed by critical literary theory, including feminist and postcolonial critiques, the book challenges Zionism’s monolingual lens and the auto-Orientalism involved in the project of revival, questioning charged ideological concepts such as “native speaker” and “mother tongue.”

XḤev/Se 6 is a liturgical document that was committed to writing around 100 CE and bears significant resemblance, in form and content, to rabbinic benedictions. It stands out among other contemporary Judaean Desert documents (circa 70–135 CE) in its genre and Hebrew style. The paper offers a typological analysis of the language of the text and a close examination of its significant features.
It appears that the orthography and phonology of XḤev/Se 6, which resemble the Judaean Desert corpus, are in line with the document's time and provenance, and betray contemporary scribal practices typical to private documents, while in its morphology, syntax, lexicon, and phraseology, the text reflects an earlier literary style of the Second Temple period and, as expected, relies heavily on Biblical Hebrew. The sheer difference between this style and the typical language of the Judaean Desert documents, which is very close to Mishnaic Hebrew, testifies to a living and rich knowledge of Hebrew at the end of the first century CE in Judaea.

Araiza, Karina y Stephen A. Marlett (2021), Conceptos de lingüística descriptiva: Un acercamiento a las lenguas del mundo, México, instituto de lingüística de Verano, 164 pp. El comportamiento del lenguaje, su diversidad y universalidad son aspectos fascinantes para adentrarse al estudio de la lingüística. Araiza y Marlett crean una obra de carácter aplicado cuya principal aportación es brindar un material sumamente accesible tanto para hablantes nativos -como lo mencionan los propios autores- como para estudiantes de las ciencias del lenguaje y estudiosos de las lenguas en general. El libro Conceptos de lingüística descriptiva: Un acercamiento a las lenguas del mundo, sin duda, será una obra de consulta obligatoria y necesaria para todo aquel que desee iniciarse en la lingüística descriptiva, o bien, para todo aquel que necesite familiarizarse con el estudio del lenguaje.

Kein Teil dieses Werkes darf ohne schriftliche Einwilligung des Verlages in irgendeiner Form (Fotokopie, Mikrofilm oder ein anderes Verfahren) repro duziert oder unter Verwendung elektronischer Systeme digitalisiert, verarbeitet, vervielfältigt oder verbreitet werden. Die Angaben zu Text und Abbildungen wurden mit großer Sorgfalt zusammengestellt und überprüft. Dennoch sind Fehler und Irrtümer nicht auszuschließen. Für den Fall, dass wir etwas übersehen haben, sind wir für Hinweise der Leser dankbar.

This article analyses the South African author Breyten Breytenbach, author and painter’s prison memoir, “The True Confessions of an Albino Terrorist” (1980). The objective of this paper is to explore the nature of incarceration in South Africa prisons and to understand the impact and effects of prison on the body and mental health. One of the aims of the article is to discuss racial discrimination and Apartheid. It also discusses the inhumane treatment of prisoners, and in this sense, explores human rights violations, to investigate the dehumanising treatment in South African cells. The role of recording and writing, and writing the body in pain, is a pivotal aspect in this article as it attempts to understand the ways in which the body in prison is annihilated and violated.

The paper compares certain dialects that have been elevated to
the status of languages in Eastern Europe (Montenegrin, Macedonian), and conversely, languages that have been degraded into dialects (Moldovan, Occitan), to show the highly politicised nature of
these processes. In the same way, parallels are sought between the
language policies of certain Eastern European countries (Moldavia,
Ukraine) and those of the West (France, Spain, Belgium), in order
to reach the conclusion that the West has no lessons to give to the
East in this field.

Community involvement is widely understood to be an essential component for ensuring the success of language revitalization efforts. It is also, however, very often the case that linguistic minorities do relatively little to address language shift in their communities, even when evidence for this shift is obvious and their languages are not of low prestige. Drawing on a political science concept known as “postmaterialism”, which contends that only once fundamental needs of survival have been met will people focus their energies on issues of self-expression or actualization, I argue that language revitalization should be understood in such terms. I present interview data gathered as part of research into the effects of austerity on Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) communities which suggests that language shift was not a major priority in light of cuts to essential community services. I also describe how data generated during the COVID-19 lockdowns demonstrate that giving people more free time and income support could be key to creating more “new speakers” of threatened languages, as well as stabilizing L1 linguistic minority communities.

El reconocimiento de Mexico en el articulo segundo de la Constitucion Mexicana como nacion pluricultural, establece un escenario que permite una nueva relacion entre esta poblacion y el gobierno mexicano. Sin embargo, tambien se hace evidente el escaso conocimiento y reconocimiento de estas culturas originarias. En Mexico, el 9,8% de la poblacion es de origen etnico. Representa el mayor grupo de indigenas de America Latina. Si bien es cierto que el proceso de perdida de identidades originarias se inicia desde la conquista, actualmente la globalizacion, la migracion, la discriminacion, influyen directamente en las practicas y costumbres culturales, generando modificaciones que pueden transformar sus practicas y sentido. El objetivo de este trabajo, es hacer un breve analisis que permita comprender la condicion mega cultural del pais, lo cual se traduce en una gran diversidad de lenguas y culturas que proveen a la nacion de una gran variedad de identidades que han logrado permanecer e...

Breyten Breytenbach se dood bring 'n enorme verlies vir die kulturele lewe van die Afrikaanse, Suid-Afrikaanse en selfs groter wêreldgemeenskap, soos wat die omvang van die huldeblyke die afgelope tyd laat blyk het. Dit bring byna onwillekeurig vrae soos: Wat is die omvang van daardie verlies? Hoe sou 'n mens die aard van die verlies in kaart kan bring? Hierdie kort huldiging is 'n poging om 'n buitelyn van die verlies te trek soos wat dit my as Afrikaanssprekende letterkundige tref, veral op die gebied van sy poësie, sy outobiografiese fiksie, bepaalde idees uitgespreek in sy werk en sy opvattings oor Afrikaans. Vir ander Breytenbach-lesers, ook vir kenners van die filosofie, visuele kuns, politieke wetenskap en taalkunde sal die buitelyn anders lyk. 12/3/24, 3:16 PM Breyten Breytenbach: die buitelyn van verlies-LitNet https://www.litnet.co.za/breyten-breytenbach-die-buitelyn-van-verlies/ 1/11 12/3/24, 3:16 PM Breyten Breytenbach: die buitelyn van verlies-LitNet https://www.litnet.co.za/breyten-breytenbach-die-buitelyn-van-verlies/ 8/11

This chapter presents the results of an awakening to languages workshop entitled Do languages die?, carried out with a group of 21 Portuguese preschool children. In the workshop children listened to songs in endangered languages, created an invented writing system, and performed syllabic and phonemic suppression tasks. We gathered data through video and audio recordings of the workshop and phonological awareness tests, applied to the children and to a control group. After the implementation of the workshop, the experimental group increased their phonological awareness significantly. In contrast, the phonological abilities of the control group remained substantially unaltered. These findings suggest that early contact with linguistic diversity may develop children's awareness of language both at micro and macro levels.

Reviewed by Colleen Cotter, Georgetown University OVERVIEW IrishNow! (Deluxe Edition) is a CD-ROM-based multimedia package designed for beginning and advanced learners of Modern Irish (also known as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic). The Deluxe Edition comes with a microphone to record and compare one's own pronunciation to native speakers and, on a separate CD, a Multilingual Word Processor program which includes fonts for 100 languages as well as a multilingual spell-checker. IrishNow! promises to assist learners at different stages in the development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. In addition to word games, grammar tools, online quizzes, and quasi-interactive speaking opportunities, the package features attractive video segments of places, events, and people in Ireland. These videos are narrated by native speakers and they are the basis of numerous "immersion" activities. An invaluable component, particularly for a language with relatively few native speakers, is the opportunity for learners to hear native speaker pronunciation and compare it to their own. DESCRIPTION The software is organized around four different "titles": Discovering Ireland, An Excerpt from Angela's Ashes, Most Common Words in Ireland, and Survival Phrases. A "title" is the program's equivalent of a main topic, around which numerous supporting activities are grouped. Three clickable buttons are available for each title: Open, Games, and Listen and Speak. A fourth clickable button, Conversation Practice, is available for Survival Phrases and Most Common Words. The Open button leads a user to the main text of a title. Figure 1 shows the middle of the Discovering Ireland title, a 1,198-word travel narrative with video.

In his urgent and thought-provoking book The Old Testament is Dying, Brent A. Strawn poses the crucial question, "Is the Old Testament Dying?" His work is not just a scholarly endeavor but a call to immediate and decisive action for all Christians. At first glance, it appears Strawn takes on an age-old issue through a fresh pair of eyes. His approach is thoughtful and transformative, offering a new perspective on the problem of Old Testament (OT) negligence in American Christianity. He reframes the issue as a patient's ailment and uses a linguistic analogy to analyze it as a dying language. He argues that the data shows the OT is increasingly neglected and reveals the lack of the OT's use in sermons, lesson plans, and songs, resulting in diluted concepts and teachings that create severe theological and spiritual consequences. However, not everyone agrees that this timely book details how the OT shows signs of decay, demise, and looming death and offers ways to revitalize its use in American churches. This paper will argue that the Old Testament as a language is more actively employed in sermons, teachings, and songs in contemporary Apostolic–Pentecostal communities and that Strawn worked on a topic with minimal data. Strawn's data was underdeveloped and did not include Apostolic or Pentecostal statistics. He did not explore how other Apostolic–Pentecostal organizations view and utilize the Old Testament. He did not include practical examples of successful Old Testament engagement in contemporary Apostolic–Pentecostal communities.

The paper at hand focuses on existing definitions of the notion ‘dead language’ and analyzes possibility to apply them to Hebrew when not being a principal vehicle of oral communication. I suggest to introduce a Russian analogue of the term ‘dormant language’ / ‘sleeping language’. Such a language exists in a situation of diglossia (an H-language) and can be defined according to a set of functional characteristics. Besides, the paper proposes to interpret the opposition of ‘dead’ and ‘alive language’ not as a binary equipollent one, but rather as a continuum of language states.

Confronting exile and loss is a key element in the work of Argentine poet Juan Gelman . In the 1994 Ladino and Spanish collection dibaxu, the bilingual format of the book prompts a linguistic vacillation between languages, enabling the creation of an interliminal space away from the control of the oppressive military regime of the Argentine Dirty War (1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983). By creating an interaction between the archaic Jewish language of exile and a non-descript contemporary Spanish to place an emphasis on the space between languages, the speaker establishes a new locus where he can be reunited with his beloved, who represents those who were lost in the Dirty War as well as the poet's homeland of Argentina.

ABSTRACT
The authors report an examination of Limbu poets’ experiences of using Facebook
to share Limbu poems expecting to promote their Indigenous language, literature,
and culture, and preserve Indigenous identities. We employed online semi-
structured interviews with participants and observation of their Facebook walls to
gather qualitative data. We discuss how the Limbu poets attempted to promote
their Limbu language through Facebook. Limbu poets used their Indigenous
poems to inform and promote the value of their language and to preserve
Indigenous cultural values. The poetic creation in the Limbu language received
significant responses from readers, however, far less than the poems in Nepali and
English. This result may have occurred because many members of the Limbu
community might not have understood Limbu poems. It demonstrates the decline
of Limbu, one of the Indigenous languages in Nepal, and the challenge of
preserving and promoting the language. Limbu poets’ more organized and
innovative ways of using Facebook for promoting their Indigenous language may
help them achieve their aim to restore their language.
Keywords: Facebook, Limbu poets, Indigenous language, Marginalized

The present article discusses the evidence for trade with India (Meluḫḫa in the cuneiform sources) in the third millennium BC. Therefore, royal inscriptions, literary texts, administrative documents and lexical lists are analyzed. These texts inform us about ships going to India, possibly about Indians living in Mesopotamia and finally about the nature of the trade with India. One mythological text introduces us to the geographical conception of the world at the beginning of the second millennium, where Tilmun (Bahrein), Makkan (Oman) and Meluḫḫa (Indus valley) were seen as a part of the Mesopotamian universe. According to these texts the main trade goods imported from India were precious stones, especially Karneol and Lapislazuli, and wood. Besides stones and wood also exotic animals were imported from India. The main exports of Mesopotamia were textiles, wool and perfumed oil.

From 1886 to 1893 Prof. John Rhŷs made all told seven visits to the Isle of Man in order to obtain Manx Gaelic material from native speakers. In all he collected such material from eighty-eight informants from all parts of Man. His linguistic findings were published in his Outlines of the Phonology of Manx Gaelic (1893-94; separately 1895). This article concentrates on the profiles of his informants, thus providing a detailed background of them and their association with Manx Gaelic and assesses the state of Manx throughout the island during the time of Rhŷs visits there (1886-1893). The profiles here continue the same done for the succeeding native Manx speakers intervewed 1909-1972 (cf. Broderick 2018a), thus completing the profiling of all known native Manx speakers recorded 1886-1972.