Meets with FRIT F675 Endangered Languages and Revitalization
(general title: Studies in French Linguistics)

In this course we will begin by looking at contemporary
biolinguistic diversity, what the future prospects of this diversity
appear to be, and what implications these facts may have for
linguists. We will examine the various social, political, and
historical factors which contribute to language endangerment, as
well as the structural consequences of language death. Then we
will examine approaches to language maintenance and revitalization,
including  Fishman's theory of Reversing Language Shift (RLS), and
we will examine some current models of language planning such as
those in Quebec, Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Wales. Case
studies on endangered minority languages will be drawn from around
the world but will include some important Western European examples
(such as Breton and Occitan in France; Basque and Catalan in France
and Spain; and Welsh and Irish in the British Isles) and North
American examples (e.g. French in Ontario, the Maritime Provinces
and Louisiana, and the indigenous languages of the Americas).