Fernando F. Ramallo

Competing ideologies of linguistic authority amongst new speakers in contemporary Galicia

While in many indigenous minority-language situations traditional native speaker communities are in decline, new speakers are emerging in the context of revitalization policies. Such policies, however, can have unforeseen consequences and lead to tensions between newcomers and existing speakers over questions of ownership, legitimacy, and authenticity. This article examines these tensions in the case of Galician in northwestern Spain, where “new speakers” have emerged in the context of revitalization policies since the 1980s. The subsequent spread of the language outside traditional Galician strongholds and into what were predominantly Spanish spaces complicates the traditional ideology about sociolinguistic authenticity and ownership and raises questions about who are the legitimate speakers of Galician, who has authority, and the potential tensions that such questions generate. To illustrate the tensions and paradoxes that new and native speakers face in this postrevitalization context, we draw on three discussion groups consisting of sixteen young Galicians. (New speakers, authority, authenticity, minority languages, Galician) *

New speakers of minority languages: the challenging opportunity – Foreword

In this special issue we examine and reflect upon the emergence of “new speak ers” in the context of some of Europe’s minority languages. The “new speaker” label is used here to describe individuals with little or no home or community exposure to a minority language but who instead acquire it through immersion or bilingual educational programs, revitalization projects or as adult language learners. The emergence of this profile of speaker draws our attention to the ways in which minority linguistic communities are changing because of globalization and the new profiles of speakers that this new social order is creating. The concept also focuses our attention on some of the fundamental principles which had for a long time been taken for granted in much sociolinguistic research and in particular, language planning associated with linguistic revitalization (O’Rourke and Pujolar 2013). The authors of the eight articles included in this issue engage with these issues through their analyses of new speaker communities across a variety of European contexts including the Basque Country, Brittany, Catalonia, Corsica, Galicia, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Occitania.

Sociolinguistics of Spanish in Galicia

Abstract The aim of this article is to present the major characteristics of Spanish in Galicia, where certain linguistic solutions of Spanish came into contact with Galician, the vernacular language following the fragmentation of Latin into the peninsular Romance languages. This study should be supplemented by others primarily concerned with the study of Spanish of Galicia.

Neofalantes as an active minority: understanding language practices and motivations for change amongst new speakers of Galician

Abstract In this article we use Moscovicis (1976) notion of active minorities as a framework to explain the linguistic practices and motivations behind linguistic change amongst new speakers of Galician. Revitalization policies since the 1980s brought about changes in the symbolic and economic value of Galician on the linguistic market. However, this has not been significant enough to change the rules of social mobility and Spanish has continued to be the language of prestige. Despite this, neofalantes ‘new speakers of Galician’ have opted for linguistic change and engage in the process of majority language displacement. We argue that this displacement can at least in part be explained by a move away from functionalist models of language contact and shift and towards an understanding of these processes from a language conflict perspective. This allows us to explain the practices of neofalantes as not simply deviations from the sociolinguistic “status quo” but as reactions to it and as proponents of social change. To explore the behavioural styles and practices of neofalantes as an active minority, we analyse the discourses which emerge from discussion groups involving twelve new speakers of Galician about their sociolinguistic practices.

The Standardization of Galician

In a volume that deals with processes of and contemporary challenges related to the standardization of minority languages (sometimes also called minoritized languages), the case of Galician as a Romance language somehow intermediate between Portuguese and Spanish presents itself as highly relevant1. Having been an almost strictly oral language from the late Middle Ages until the mid-nineteenth century, Galician was subject to a rather swift process of standardization in the second half of the 20th century. After a very brief sketch of the most relevant landmarks in the social history of Galician and a summary of key issues in the normative debate, this paper turns to a description of the intense process of standardization that took place since the 1970s. The main body of this contribution is devoted to a description of the main stages of the standardization process of Galician based on Haugen’s (1987) four-step model of language standardization. In addition to documenting the selection, codification, implementation and elaboration of the Galician standard variety, this contribution also addresses its acceptance by the community, as well as the importance of its new speakers for the future of the language, insofar as the members of this group typically use the standard variety in their daily practices.

Identities and New Speakers of Minority Languages: A Focus on Galician

This chapter examines some of the changes associated with becoming a new speaker of Galician or what are collectively referred to as neofalantes do galego. We discuss the processes involved in neofalantes’ changing linguistic behaviours and, in particular, the motivations and the identity positioning which shape decisions to displace a more socially and economically powerful first language with one which offers less in terms of social mobility and prestige.

De labradores a pistoleros: El Movimiento de los Trabajadores Rurales sin Tierra en la revista Veja

Resumen es: La representacion elaborada por el semanario brasileno Veja con respecto a los movimientos sociales que cuestionan el status quo brasileno revela la tend...