Norhan Saad Ali

Sociolinguistics MAE 754

Nov 18th , 2024

BENGHAZI OPEN UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF GRADUATE STUDIES
APPLIED LINGUISTICS DEPARTMENT
SOCIOLINGUISTICS (SUMMARY-CHAPTER 3)

:LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND SHIFT

Language shift, also known as language
transfer or language replacement or language
assimilation, is the process whereby a speech
community shifts to a different language, usually over an
.extended period of time
Often, languages that are perceived to be higher status spread
at the expense of other languages that are perceived by their
.own speakers to be lower-status
There are many different social factors which can lead a
community to shift from using one language for most
purposes to using a different language, or from using two
distinct codes in different domains, to using different
varieties of just one language for their communicative needs.
Migrant minorities, non-migrant communities, and migrant
majorities families provide an obvious example of this
.process of language shift

Migrant minorities
In countries like England, Australia, New Zealand and the
USA, the school is one of the first domains in which children
.of migrant families meet English
They may have watched English TV programs and heard
English used in shops before starting school, but at school
.they are expected to interact in English
They have to use English because it is the only means of
.communicating with the teacher and other children
For many children of migrants, English soon becomes the
normal language for talking to other children – including
.their brothers and sisters
In many families, however, English gradually dominate the
home through the children. Children discuss school and friends
in English with each other, and gradually their parents begin to
use English to them too, especially if they are working in jobs
where they use English
There is pressure from the wider society too. Immigrants
who look and sound ‘different’ are often regarded as
.threatening by majority group members
Language shift to English, for instance, has often been
expected of migrants in predominantly monolingual countries
such as England, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
Speaking good English has been regarded as a sign of
successful ‘assimilation’, and it was widely assumed that
.meant abandoning the minority language
This may take three or four generations, but sometimes
.language shift is completed in just two generations
Typically migrants are virtually monolingual in their mother
tongue, their children are bilingual and their grandchildren
.are often monolingual in the language of the ‘host’ country

Non-migrant communities
.Language shift is not always the result of migration
Political, economic and social changes can occur within a
.community, and this may result in linguistic changes too
As Iran struggles to achieve national unity, Farsi, the
language of the largest and most powerful group, the
Persians, can be considered a threat to the languages of the
.minority ethnic groups
Iran is a multi-ethnic country of 74 million people, and in
principle minority ethnic languages are protected by the
.Iranian Constitution
But the reality is that they are not taught in schools, and
speakers of even the largest minority language, Azeri, are
.shifting to Farsi in a number of domains
Farsi has official status and it dominates the public space in
Tabriz. In a recent political speech, the Governor of East
Azerbaijan code-switched frequently and rapidly between
.Farsi and Azeri, even when addressing an Azeri audience
Though it is in no immediate danger, the long-term prognosis
is not good for Azeri unless some assertive action is taken to
.maintain it
In the 1920s, Oberwart was a small place and the peasants
(farmers) used Hungarian to each other, and German with
.outsiders
As Oberwart grew and industry replaced farming as the main
.source of jobs, the functions of German expanded
German became the high language in a broad diglossia
.situation in Oberwart
German was the language of the school, official transactions
and economic advancement. It expressed formality and social
.distance
Hungarian was the low language, used in most homes and
for friendly interaction between townspeople. Hungarian was
the language of solidarity, used for social and affective
.functions
It soon became clear that to ‘get on’ meant learning German,
and so knowledge of German became associated with social
.and economic progress
Speaking Hungarian was increasingly associated with
.‘peasantness’ and was considered old-fashioned
Young people began to use German to their friends in the
pub. Parents began to use German instead of Hungarian to
.their children
By the 1970s, God was one of the few addressees to whom
young people still used Hungarian when they said their
.prayers or went to church

Migrant majorities
Language shift often indicates the influence of
political factors and economic factors, such as the
.need for work
People may shift both location and language for
this reason. Over the last couple of centuries, many
speakers of Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, for
instance, have shifted to England, and
consequently to English, primarily in order to get
.work
They need English both for their job success and
for their social well-being – to make friends. But
we find the outcome is the same when it is the
.majority group who do the physical moving
When colonial powers invade other countries their
languages often become dominant. Countries such
as Portugal, Spain, France and Britain have
generally imposed their languages along with their
.rule
This has not always resulted in linguistic
subjugation and language shift. Multilingualism
was too well-established as normal in countries
like India and Papua New GuinIt was not possible
for a single alien and imported language to
displace and eradicate hundreds of indigenous
.vernacular languages
But when multilingualism was not widespread in
an area, or where just one indigenous language had
been used before the colonizers arrived, languages
were often under threat. In this context, English
.’has been described as a ‘killer language
Where one group abrogates political power and
imposes its language along with its institutions –
government administration, law courts, education,
religion – it is likely that minority groups will find
themselves under increasing pressure to adopt the
.language of the dominant group
When language shift occurs, it is almost always
shift towards the language of the dominant
powerful group. A dominant group has little
.motivation to adopt the language of a minority
The dominant language is associated with status,
prestige and social success. It is used in the
‘glamour’ contexts in the wider society – for
formal speeches on ceremonial occasions, by news
readers on television and radio, and by those whom
young people admire – pop stars, fashion models,
and DJs (disc jockeys). It is scarcely surprising that
many young minority group speakers should see its
advantages and abandon their own language. ea,
.and in many African countries

Language death and language loss

In 2011, British newspapers reported that
Ayapaneco, an indigenous language of Mexico,
was in danger of dying out as the only two
remaining fluent speakers (aged 75 and 69) refused
.to talk to each other
It is generally true that when all the people who
.speak a language die, the language dies with them
Less than half of the 250–300 Aboriginal
languages spoken in Australia when the Europeans
arrived have survived, and fewer than two dozen
are being actively passed on to younger
generations. Many disappeared as a direct result of
the massacre of the aboriginal people, or their
death from diseases introduced by Europeans
.(massacre or epidemic)
In Tasmania, for instance, the whole indigenous
population of between 3000 and 4000 people was
exterminated within seventy-five years. Their
languages died with them. These are cases of
language death rather than language shift. These
.languages are no longer spoken anywhere
A community, such as the Turkish community in Britain,
may shift to English voluntarily over a couple of generations.
This involves the loss of the language for the individuals
.concerned, and even for the community in Britain
But Turkish is not under threat of disappearing because of
.this shift. It will continue to thrive in Turkey

Factors contributing to language shift

Economic : Economic factors are very influential and
rarely work in favor of maintaining small minority group
languages. Where new jobs are created by
industrialization, they are often introduced by groups
using a majority group language with status - often a
world language such as English, Spanish or French.
Though economic and political imperatives tend to
eliminate minority languages, it is demonstrate that
languages can be maintained, and even revived, when a
group values their distinct identity highly and regards
language as an important symbol of that identity.

Social: second factor seems to be that the community

sees no reason to take active steps to maintain their
ethnic language.
Political :as in the case of Israel

Demographic factors: resistance to language shift tends

to last longer in rural in urban areas. The size of the
group is sometimes a critical factor the areas with largest
groups had the lowest rates of shift towards English .
intermarriage between groups an accelerate language
shift unless multilingualism is normal in a community

Attitudes and Values: language shift tends to be

slower among communities where the minority language
is highly valued. the status of a language internationally
can contribute to these positive attitudes.
It has international prestige , philosophy and culture.
Pride in their ethnic identity and their language important
which contribute to language maintenance and encourage
these attitudes.
How can a minority language be maintained?
Language is considered an important symbol of a
minority group's identity. if families from a minority
groups live near each other frequently , this also helps
them maintain their language. May contribute to
language maintenance for those who emigrate is the
degree and frequency of contact with homeland.
Also they discourage intermarriage , such as Greek and
Chinese communities . Group who manage to ensure
their language is used in setting such as school will
increase the chances of language maintenance .
institutional support makes the difference between
success and failure in maintaining a minority group
language from this . Education , aw and administration ,
religion and the media are crucial domains from this
point of view. three concept the of the ethno linguistic
vitality firstly, the status of the language as indicated by
attitudes towards. secondly , the size of the group who
uses the language . thirdly the extent to which the
language enjoys institutional support .

Language revival:
It seems very likely that more important are attitudinal
factors such as how strongly people want to revive the
language and their reasons for doing .
Yet strong feelings of nationalism led to determined
efforts by Israeli adults to use it to children , and as a
result it has been successfully revived.
This has included obtaining a Welsh- language television
channel and establishing successful bilingual education ,
a process known as immersion .they are immersed in the
language .it is rather used as a medium if instruction to
teach them the normal school curriculum. Also economic
factors are to be important in assessing the long- term
outcomes of efforts at language maintenance and revival.

Economic factors are very influential and rarely work in

favor of maintaining group languages. Where new jobs
are created by industrialization, they are often introduced
by groups using a majority group language with status -
.often a world language such as or French