Evaluative reactions to minority languages and their varieties: Evidence from new speakers of West Frisian

Abstract

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.