Influences of the discourse on language endangerment and multilingualism on young members of European language minorities
Influences of the discourse on language endangerment and multilingualism on young members of European language minorities

Summary/Abstract: This article provides an analysis of the discourse on language endangerment used by the young members of European language minorities. The narratives come from a 100 interviews with young people who are engaged in activities on behalf of minority languages such as Kashubian in Poland, Upper Sorbian in Germany, Breton in France and Welsh in the UK. The way they formulate ideas on language endangerment and arguments they choose to encourage others to use these languages bears a strong resemblance to the discourse produced by international organizations, researchers and publicists. The analysis concerns three aspects of the discourse of young minority activists: appropriation of the dominant discourse of language endangerment and its role; constructing a collective identity as a part of a language movement through the discourse of responsibility for the future of the languages; discursive strategies of presenting the advantages of multilingualism and, in so doing, of learning and using a minority language.

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