Revitalisation of languages in danger of extinction

Talofa lava.

For this week’s column I want to introduce some of the ideas of Joshua Fishman, Fishman’s interest has been in the revitalisation of languages in danger of extinction, of which I am sad to say there are many.

Early this week Maui Solomon from Ngai Tahu commented on the success of their programme in returning the Maori language to the South Island. We should remember that up until recently there were purported to be only 2 native speakers of Ngai Tahu Maori left alive and they were very old. Maui however predicted that in two generations there would once again be children in Ngai Tahu who were first language speakers of Maori.

How is this being achieved? Fishman has had considerable input into their programme with the result of priority being given to the language in the home. Fishman asserts that if the language is not transmitted intergenerationally, within the home and the community, it is forever at risk. In our context, we have parents who have elected to educate their children in schools in order for those children to gain fluency in Maori, Samoan or French. In many cases the school has become the only mechanism by which the language is being resuscitated. However if these children do not grow up to be parents speaking the language to their children, but send them to school to learn it, we will have only put off the evil moment for another generation.

While one might argue that French is not an at-risk language, within our families living in NZ it is quite likely that a French family in two generations time may be French only in name and not be speakers of the language. This has certainly been the pattern for most other immigrant groups in NZ. For Samoan a similar risk exists, and for Maori the possible disappearance of the language is a constant risk.

Our family’s language is part of our heritage and helps us define who we are and where we stand in the world. It is a treasure to be passed on by us all and not left for a school system. It is essential that we encourage our children to speak their Heritage language to our grandchildren from birth.

Ia manuia lou aso,