Reversing language shift has been an area of study among sociolinguists, including Joshua Fishman, in recent decades. Reversing language shift involves establishing the degree to which a particular language has been 'dislocated' in order to determine the best way to assist or revitalise the language.

Language shift

Language shift is a process whereby people who habitually speak one language switch to speaking another language and in the process cease using their first language. Language shift, however, can have detrimental social consequences.

Steps in reversing language shift

Joshua Fishman proposes an eight-stage model for reversing language shift and recommends that efforts should concentrate on the earlier stages until they have been consolidated before proceeding to the later stages. The eight stages are as follows:

• Acquisition of the language by adults (recommended where most of the remaining speakers of the language are elderly and socially isolated from other speakers of the language).

• Create a socially integrated population of active speakers of the language (at this stage it is usually best to concentrate mainly on the spoken language rather than the written language).

• In localities where there are a reasonable number of people habitually using the language, encourage the informal use of the language among people of all age groups and within families and bolster its daily use through the establishment of local neighbourhood institutions in which the language is encouraged, protected and (in certain contexts at least) used exclusively.

• In areas where oral competence in the language has been achieved in all age groups encourage literacy in the language but in a way that does not depend upon assistance from (or goodwill of) the state education system.

• Where the state permits it, and where numbers warrant, encourage the use of the language in lieu of compulsory state education.

• Encourage the use of the language in the workplace (lower worksphere).

• Encourage use of the language in local government services and mass media.

• Encourage use of the language in higher education, government etc.

This model of language revival is intended to direct efforts to where they are most effective and to avoid wasting energy trying to achieve the later stages of recovery when the earlier stages have not been achieved. For instance it is probably wasteful of effort to campaign for the use of the language on television if hardly any families are in the habit of using the language.

References

• 1991 Reversing language Shift: Theory and Practice of Assistance to Threatened Languages. Clevedon, Multilingual Matters. //www.multilingual-matters.com/multi/display.asp?isb=1853591211

• 1999 Reyhner, Jon (Ed.). (1999). Revitalizing indigenous languages. Flagstaff, AZ: Northern Arizona University, Center for Excellence in Education. ISBN 0-9670-5540-7.

• 2000 Can Threatened Languages Be Saved? Clevedon, Multilingual Matters. //www.multilingual-matters.com/multi/display.asp?K=182668406918122&search_field_01=author&search_field_02=editor&search_text_03=Can+threatened+languages+be+saved&search_field_03=title&search_field_04=vx_isbn%3B%3D&search_field_05=keyword%2Cfulltext&sort=sort_title&m=1&dc=2