Policy makers are increasingly aware of the importance of new speakers (i.e. individuals acquiring a language outside the home, typically later-on in life) for the revitalisation of minority languages. Consequently, in many contexts, new speakers’ acquisition of the local minority language is now promoted through the education system. Yet, knowledge of a language does not automatically entail its use, and little is known about the activation of new speakers (i.e. the process by which they become active and habitual minority language users). This article presents a questionnaire-based study conducted in the Dutch province of Fryslân, which investigates new speakers’ (n=264) use of the local minority language – West Frisian – and the role that traditional speakers play in new speakers’ activation. Qualitative and quantitative data show that new speakers use West Frisian only very rarely; and when they do use it, it is mainly in the classroom. Minority language interactions outside the classroom, with traditional speakers, consist mostly of a few tokenistic words or phrases. The results highlight how the complex relationship between traditional and new speakers (in which questions of legitimacy and linguistic insecurity are highly pertinent) is hindering revitalisation efforts. The study provides nuanced insights into the dynamics of new speakers’ activation by showing to what extent different behaviours on the part of traditional speakers discourage and/or encourage new speakers’ minority language use. The article discusses the implications of these results for language policy and planning in Fryslân, and potentially also in other minority language communities.

This is the first study to demonstrate a systematic link between (1) attitudes towards minority languages and (2) ideologies regarding the standardised varieties of minority languages that tend to be taught to new speakers – that is, individuals who are acquiring a language outside the home, typically later on in life. A questionnaire was used to elicit new speakers’ (n=264) attitudes towards West Frisian and their ideological evaluations of its standardised variety. The results revealed that status-related attitudes correlate with ideological evaluations in terms of anonymity, and solidarity-related attitudes correlate with ideological evaluations in terms of authenticity. The paper argues that more comprehensive insights can be gained if the different ontological and epistemological positions typically associated with attitudes and ideologies research are reconciled. Moreover, the Frisian context exemplifies the important implications that new speakers’ attitudinal and ideological evaluations have for language planning that aims to promote minority language revitalisation.