Heritage Languages in the Digital Age
The Case of Autochthonous Minority Languages in Western Europe

Edited by Gertrud Reershemius,Birte Arendt

ISBN13: 9781800414211

Imprint: Multilingual Matters

Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Format: Paperback / softback

Published: 13/01/2026

Availability: Not yet available

Description
Against the backdrop of social media and internet use and their impact on communication, those working with minority (or autochthonous) heritage languages, including teachers, language activists and planners and researchers, are reassessing the media, language policy and teaching practices which they had previously applied to stem the tide of language shift towards majority languages. The languages examined in this book are still spoken by a considerable number of speakers and enjoy varying and varied forms of institutional, legal, financial and ideological support. While their overall numbers of speakers are declining, their importance for identity construction and commodification processes continues to increase. This book addresses issues including the potential for a shift from a focus on oral to written practices; the rise of new communities of practice and communicative domains; and the need for resulting shifts in language policy and teaching methods.
Contributors Gertrud Reershemius and Birte Arendt: Introduction: Can Digital Media Help to Prevent Language Shift? Part 1: Shifting Ideologies Chapter 1. Helen Kelly Holmes: Language Ideologies, Digital Technology and Emerging Hierarchies of Knowledge Chapter 2. Marco Tamburelli: Myth Busters: Online Platforms and Emerging Ideological Shift among Lombard Speakers Chapter 3. Laura Zieseler: Focus on Faroese: Digital Insights into the Smallest North-Germanic Language Community Chapter 4. Merryn Davies Deacon: Breton in the Online Context: A New Speaker Community? Part 2: Digital Tools and Practices Chapter 5. Rhian Hodges and Cynog Prys: Language, Education and Community in a Digital Age: A Welsh Digital Resources Case Study Chapter 6. Birte Arendt and Ulrike Stern: Teaching a Regional Language in Online Courses: A Learner-Oriented Perspective on Agency, Practices and Evaluation Part 3: Multilingual Practices on Social Media Chapter 7. Hauke Heyen: North Frisian in Social Media: Looking for Computer-Mediated Communication in a Very Small Language Chapter 8. Lysbeth Jongbloed-Faber: Unravelling Language Choice Online: Frisian Bilingual Teenagers on WhatsApp, Snapchat and Instagram Chapter 9. Gertrud Reershemius: ‘Moin mitnanner’: Digital Practices and Low German on Instagram Yaron Matras: Epilogue: Agency, Ideologies and the Continuum of Language Practices – Towards an Integrated Theory Index
  • Communication studies
  • Ethical & social aspects of IT
  • Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Height:234
Width:156
Spine:13
Weight:0.00
List Price: £29.95