Heritage Languages In The Digital Age

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.

"In light of changing digital communication, this book addresses issues including 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 when applied to minority (or autochthonous) heritage languages"--

This book offers new insights into transnational family life in today’s digital age, exploring the media resources and language practices parents and children employ toward maintaining social relationships in digital interactions and constructing transnational family bonds and identities. The book seeks to expand the boundaries of existing research on family multilingualism, in which digital communication has been little studied until now. Drawing on ethnographic studies of four families of Senegalese background in Norway, Lexander and Androutsopoulos develop an integrated approach which weaves together participants’ linguistic choices for situated interaction, the affordances of digital technologies, and the families’ language and media ideologies. The book explores such key themes as the integration of linguistic and media resources in family repertoires, creative practices of digital translanguaging, engagement in diaspora practices, and opportunities of digital communication for the development of children's heritage language skills. With an innovative perspective on ‘doing family’ in the digital age, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in multilingualism, sociolinguistics, digital communication, language and communication, and language and media.

Many of the 24 articles (in English, German and French) gathered in this book were provided in honour of the 60th birthday of Professor Erich Renhart, founder of the Vestigia Manuscript Research Centre of the University of Graz. Other articles were written in connection with the diverse researches conducted at Vestigia on the traces of the cultural heritage represented by Armenian, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Latin, and Croatian Glagolitic manuscript traditions, scattered in libraries around the world. Organized according to these main sections - Text Editions, Manuscript Cataloguing, Manuscript Studies, Digital Humanities, Varia Studia - the volume provides new approaches and results to the study of written heritage in different cultures, as well as digital solutions to preserve and study this heritage codicologically and paleographically. The book is concluded by a final chapter Ad personam, presenting the personal words and a Laudatio addressed to Erich Renhart on the occasion of his 60th birthday celebration (23-24, May 2019) at the University of Graz. Many illustrations and images facilitate the understanding and altogether contribute to the high aesthetic standard of the work - corresponding to its subject matter.

The role of technology in the learning process can offer significant contributions to help meet the increasing needs of students. In the field of language acquisition, new possibilities for instructional methods have emerged from the integration of such innovations. The Handbook of Research on Foreign Language Education in the Digital Age presents a comprehensive examination of emerging technological tools being utilized within second language learning environments. Highlighting theoretical frameworks, multidisciplinary perspectives, and technical trends, this book is a crucial reference source for professionals, curriculum designers, researchers, and upper-level students interested in the benefits of technology-assisted language acquisition.

Heritage language policies define the context in which heritage languages are maintained or abandoned by communities, and this volume describes and analyzes international policy strategies, as well as the implications for the actual heritage language speakers. This volume brings together heritage language policy case studies from around the world, foregrounding globalization by covering five regions: the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The countries profiled include the United States, Canada, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Uganda, Namibia, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. This volume also highlights an expanded definition of ‘heritage language’, choosing to focus on individual and community identities, and therefore including both Indigenous and immigrant languages. Focusing specifically on language policy relating to heritage languages, the chapters address key questions such as Are heritage languages included or excluded from the national language policy discourse? What are the successes and shortcomings of efforts to establish heritage language policies? What is the definition of ‘heritage language’ in official usage by the local/regional government and stakeholders? How are these language policies perceived by the actual heritage language communities?

Digitalisation is transforming education as well as social and economic life, with implications for childhood. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), with its immense potential to shape children’s early development, learning and well-being, can play a major role in addressing the opportunities and risks that digitalisation brings to young children.