Death of a Language, Birth of an Identity

Jones, Mari C.

doi:10.1075/lplp.22.2.02jon

Cited by 34 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…While some 200,000 people speak Breton on a regular basis (Bouroulleg et al 2007; Broudic 2010) they are not a homogeneous group (Jones 1998 (Broudic 1995;Morin 2001, Le Nevez 2006. In particular, as discussed above, McDonald (1989), Jones (1998), Timm (2003) and many other researchers have noted significant intergenerational and regional differences in the way Breton is practiced.…”

Section: The Breton Language Communitymentioning

confidence: 97%

“…McDonald (1989) is one of several researchers to note that although older-generation Breton speakers continue to speak Breton, they tend to do so in a very limited cohort of family and close friends, and in particular with people of their own age or older. Older speakers often remain reluctant to use Breton with their grandchildren and do not see the point in their learning a language that they often associate with the past, sometimes in negative terms, or with militancy and nationalism (Jones 1996(Jones , 1998.…”

Section: Contextualizing Breton Language Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, initiatives focused on the language itself, rather than those who use the language in various ways, often have difficulty dealing with diversity and heterogeneity: both within the language, as well as the complex relationships between Breton and other language practices. In addi tion, such initiatives have often had difficulty mobilizing large numbers of older Breton speakers whose language practices are typically vernacular and marked by local variation and words of French origin (Jones 1998;Le Coadic 1998). This is especially the case if these initiatives are perceived to be a part of a broader project of political militancy, or when language reforms are perceived as requiring local practices to change (Le Nevez 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The social practice of Breton: an epistemological challenge

Nevez¹

2013

International Journal of the Sociology of Language

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Many strategies and initiatives aimed at the promotion of the practice of Breton focus on the language as the key unit of inquiry. In this way language activism frequently involves introducing initiatives aimed at doing something to, or for, Breton. This article makes the argument that, although language-centred initiatives have many strengths, they often struggle to deal productively and effectively with the issue of language heterogeneity and diversity. In particular, when these initiatives focus on the development and promotion of a prestigious standard, they often have difficulty mobilizing an important group of Breton speakers: Bretons who use and identify more closely with local, vernacular varieties of the language. As an alternative to this paradigm, this article suggests reframing the focus of language initiatives by making the Breton language community, rather than the Breton language, the key unit of inquiry. In doing so it develops a view of Breton as a situated social practice, used by a group of people in related but diverse ways, rather than as a fixed and normative code.

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Section: The Breton Language Communitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Contextualizing Breton Language Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The social practice of Breton: an epistemological challenge

Nevez¹

2013

International Journal of the Sociology of Language

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“…Idealization of the nation was all the more important during recurring wars (1870; 1914-1918; 1939-1945) that weakened and modified national borders (Meyran, 2009). Furthermore, the French language emerged as a means of upward mobility and regional dialects gradually became depreciated and perceived as archaic and embarrassing reminders of the past (Jones, 1998). Regional differences were stigmatizing and individuals tried to erase them.…”

Section: Regionalism As Infra-national Ethnicitymentioning

confidence: 98%

Legiticimacy and Authenticity of Ethnic Affiliations: The Case of Regionalism

Dion

Sitz

Rémy

2012

Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition)

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This study analyzes the ways consumers legitimize their regional ethnic affiliation. An analysis of 29 introspections highlights the means individuals use to legitimize their ethnic affiliation and its authenticity. More precisely, it (1) demonstrates how individuals hijack and invent new sources of ethnic legitimacy, (2) emphasizes the role of archetypes in perceived ethnic authenticity and (3) examines dissonances linked to ethnic authenticity (artificiality and ambivalence). These results enrich previous research on reflexive ethnicity by introducing self-legitimizing processes and showing how individuals contribute, by consuming archetypes, to developing the collective constructs on which ethnicity is based. This leads to recommendations regarding the legitimization of regional brands.

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“…Marchand's music is significant for the way it helped to popularise a language that was, until the 1970s, seen by many of its speakers to be a stigmatising sign of poverty and backwardness (Winick 1995;Jones 1998;Le Coadic 1998;Gemie 2005). Marchand, along with other musicians, writers and artists, was instrumental in launching a broad cultural and linguistic revival movement that continues to this day.…”

Section: Transcultural Language Activism In Francementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking diversity and difference in French language practices

Nevez¹

2008

Lang Policy

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This paper contributes to a debate on linguistic identity and social participation in France by providing a critical reading of language policy and practice. It challenges the notion that France is a linguistically homogenous nation where a standardised French language is universally practiced and, rather, seeks to reframe linguistic diversity and heterogeneity as fundamental and legitimate constitutive features of French society. In exploring diversity from this critical perspective, the paper looks to the ways in which a number of artists and language activists are deliberately and consciously transgressing normative notions of French to affirm the legitimacy of their alterity and difference. The paper does not make an argument against the legitimacy or social value of standard French, but rather argues in favour of a more critical and inclusive approach to cultural and linguistic difference in France.

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Death of a Language, Birth of an Identity

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

The social practice of Breton: an epistemological challenge

The social practice of Breton: an epistemological challenge

Legiticimacy and Authenticity of Ethnic Affiliations: The Case of Regionalism

Rethinking diversity and difference in French language practices

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