Language-learning holidays: what motivates people to learn a minority language?

ABSTRACT

In this article, we examine the experiences of 18 Galician language learners who participated in what Garland [(2008). The minority language and the cosmopolitan speaker: Ideologies of Irish language learners (Unpublished PhD thesis). University of California, Santa Barbara] refers to as a ‘language-learning holiday’ in Galicia in north-western Spain. We examine what motivates these learners to travel abroad to study Galician and in some cases to become new speakers of this minoritised language. We explore the ideologies and practices of these students, who as edutourists [Yarymowich, (2005). ‘Language tourism’ in Canada. A mixed discourse. In F. Baider, M. Burger, & D. Goutsos (Eds.), La Communication touristique. Approches discursives de l’identité et de l’alterité (pp. 257-273). Paris: L’Harmattan], are the targets and potential consumers of cultural and linguistic commodification. We explore the ways in which students themselves commodify Galician culture and language, in their attempts to capture what they perceive as an authentic learning experience and as a means of accessing a minoritised linguistic and cultural group.

KEYWORDS:

• Edutourism
• minority languages
• Galician
• language ideologies
• authenticity

Acknowledgements

The article has also benefitted from discussions around the concept of ‘new speakers’ funded under the auspices of COST Action IS1306 ‘New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe: Opportunities and Challenges’.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. There is a school of thought that considers Galician and Portuguese to be variants of the same language, and they do have common historical roots. Nevertheless, the The Real Academia Galega (Royal Galician Academy) and the Instituto da Língua Galega (Institute for Galician Language) consider Galician to be a separate language.

2. One of these students was the first author, who was enrolled in the intermediate level class and participated fully as a student throughout the course.

3. We have chosen to present this information in aggregate form to maintain a degree of confidentiality. Since the sample size was so small (N = 18), it would be easy to discern the identities of participants based on their individual profiles.

4. The queimada is a traditional Galician punch made from spirits, sugar, lemon peel and spices, which is then set on fire while chanting a ceremonial incantation.

5. The Camiño de Santiago is a traditional pilgrimage leading to the Galician Santiago Cathedral, which in modern times continues to attract international tourists.

6. Quotes from interviews conducted in Spanish and Galician have been translated by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Research trips for fieldwork and for the writing of this paper were supported by a Small Research Grant in Arts and Humanities awarded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. This work was also supported by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST).