Preserving Dialects of an Endangered Language

Abstract

Language planning research and practice have largely ignored, or considered problematic, the diversity within endangered languages. Such a stance, though, conflicts with speakers’ attitudes and desires, which often place high value on specific dialects. As grassroots, bottom-up approaches move to the forefront, so do concerns about the maintenance of distinct dialects of endangered languages. Dialect preservation has emerged (implicitly or explicitly) as a concurrent, complementary goal. Based on descriptions of dialect death and maintenance in the literature, this paper suggests that ‘micro’ approaches to language planning favour the preservation of dialectal diversity within the broader pursuit of promoting endangered languages.

Keywords:

• dialect
• endangered languages
• indigenous languages
• language planning
• language shift
• standardisation