An international perspective on

the Promotion of Language and Cultures within

communities Dr. Alex Riemersma

19 October, 2010Mercator European Research Centre onMultilingualism and Language Learning

www.mercator-research.eu

Unesco Language Atlas 2009

• Assessing Language Vitality on 9 criteria, including:

• Community member’s attitudes towards their own language

• Shift in domains of language use

• Response to new domains and media

RML promotion campaigns

• Intra-community campaigns:- aiming at one language community

• Inter-community promotion activities:- aiming at the experience of diversity - based on various RMLs

Song Contest Liet International

• New texts drafted in minority language

• Original music composed

Song Contest Liet International

• 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009: Friesland

• 2006, Östersund (Sweden)

• 2008, Lulea (Sweden)

• 2010: 27 November, Lorient/ An Orient, Brittany (France)

Liet International 2009

Jury award: Somby (Sami rock band)

Public award: Dr. Drer and CRC Posse (Sardegna)

Photo’s Sandro Weltin/Council of Europe

Liet International 2010

• Pre-contest festivals:

– Premiu al meyor cantar, Asturias

– Sámi Grand Prix

– Liet 2010, Fryslân

– Suns, in Udine for Italy and the Alpine region (both jury and public price)

Voices of Europe Festival

• Youth of European Nationalities (YEN)

• Choir festival with traditional songs in minority languages

Voices of Europe Festival

• 2010: Pécs (Hungary)

• 2011: Friesland

Vo LANG teers

Vo LANG teers

• The European VoLANGteers network connects international students with young people who have grown up in the town of region where they study.

• There are presently VoLANGteers networks in Galicia (Spain) and Friesland.

• VoLANGteers is supported by the European Union.

Intra-community activities

• Health Care

• Sport: traditional & modern; training and schooling

• Culture: theatre & music

• Reading Promotion

Health Care

• Traditional domain of dominant language > ready for language shift towards language revitalisation.

• The older we grow collectively, the more we need tailor-made care.

• Multilingualism: from birth to death; from cradle to coffin

Euskatel cycling team

Frisian sport “keatsen”

• “Keatsen” – ball sport only Frisian spoken

• Popular sport in villages – two teams of three people.

Frisian sailing competitions

Foot ball

Barcelona coach Josep Guadiola:

“We are a country with our own language”

Traditional Costumes

• Traditional costumes as an aspect of cultural heritage related to language & culture preservation.

Sorbian dancing group

Leisure: just walking

• Walking along with language project Get Together which is promoting multi-lingualism in Switzerland by walking through all 4 language regions through Switzerland.

Theatre • 10 Open air

amateur theater plays

• 100 amateur theatre groups

Photo’s Guus van de Sande & Ekko de Bakker

Reading Promotion

• Connecting parents and the school

• Connecting grandparents and their grand children through songs, rhymes and stories

Foto fan bern

• Leafst bern boartsjend of yn kombinaasje mei heit en memen / of plaatsje mei TOMKE

Top Model as Language Icon

• L’Oreal model Doutzen Kroes

Eskerrik asko

Mange Takk

Diolch

Tankewol

Trugarez

Grazia

Graciis

Dankscheen Mercé plan

Kiitos

Dz'akuju so

Köszönöm

Hvala

À ringraziavvi

Spassi Ba

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