Pia Lane

Frozen actions in the Arctic linguistic landscape: a nexus analysis of language processes in visual space

Abstract This article examines the linguistic landscape (LL) of seven villages above the Arctic Circle, in the region called North Calotte. The area forms a complex nexus of contested and changing multilingualism, particularly as regards to endangered indigenous Sámi languages and Kven and Meänkieli minority languages. Viewing LL as a discursively constructed space and consequently signs as ‘frozed actions’ by various actors, and by adopting a Nexus analytical approach we examine three interrelated aspects of Arctic LLs: (1) the synchronic aspect by addressing the question of how languages are used in the landscapes of northern villages in the year 2008; (2) the historical aspect through identifying traces of different processes in these landscapes; and (3) the functional aspect by exploring what happens to endangered indigenous and minority languages in these LLs. In this article we argue that the Arctic LL is multi-layered, containing minority, national and global language orders, each organising and prioritising language resources differently. The layers and orders are, however, nested, and together they create the Arctic LL that bears witness to both the past processes and the current trends.

Regulating Multilingualism in the North Calotte : The Case of Kven, Meankieli and Sami Languages

Abstract This article examines the dynamics of language relations by investigating the historical, political and ideological processes at play in the minoritization and revitalization of Kven, Meänkieli and Sámi languages in the North Calotte region. We focus particularly on language political and legal instruments developed and used to alter and regulate language relations in this area, and aim at providing a state-of-the-art overview of this quickly changing landscape. When looking at the minoritized languages in this region, we can see that developments in their status are linked to the creation of modernist nation states and their borders. More recent processes are related to new global cooperation and international policy efforts, resulting in the present synchronic variation. When reflecting on the considerable changes in both international and national language policies all the way from the beginning of the post-WWII period to the strengthening of pluralism in the 1970s to today, we can see that at least some of the minority languages of the North find themselves in a considerably better societal situation than ever before. At the same time, however, multilingual practices in the form of modern communication technologies, world-wide youth culture, international migration and tourism, intertwined with language revitalization efforts, make the terrain even more complex and varied.

We did what we thought was best for our children : a nexus analysis of language shift in a Kven community

Abstract The loss of intergenerational language transmission can be seen, in part, as a choice parents make, but in reality they do not always have a choice. Their actions are influenced by large-scale social factors such as language policies and attitudes toward minority languages. Issues related to these factors are addressed by an analysis of language shift in Bugønes, a Kven community in Northern Norway. Data come from recordings of conversations and sociolinguistic interviews addressing language choice. Fifteen hours were recorded and transcribed. In order to analyze language shift a theoretical and methodological framework which allows for a historical perspective is essential since people, objects, mediational means, and discourses are seen as having a history and projecting a future (de Saint Georges, From anticipation to performance: Sites of engagement as performance, Routledge, 2005). The framework used here is nexus analysis, which emphasizes that discourses and individual social actors have a history and therefore cannot be analyzed without reference to the past (Scollon and Scollon, Nexus analysis: Discourse and the emerging Internet, Routledge, 2004). Findings about language shift in Bugønes illustrate how large-scale discourses such as the language policies become internalized and later materialized in action through language choice.

Identities in action: a nexus analysis of identity construction and language shift

This article investigates language shift and identity construction in two Finnic-speaking communities: Lappe in Ontario, Canada and Bugøynes in Northern Norway by asking how the people of these two communities perceive themselves at a time when their minority language is in the process of disappearing. Identity construction through visual and linguistic means are analysed and compared. In both communities, people speak similar minority languages, observe similar traditions and have Finnish items in their homes, but such actions do not carry the same symbolic value. In Lappe, these items and traditions have been allocated social meaning; they are explicitly referred to as ‘Finn’, whereas similar items and traditions do not carry any overt symbolic value in Bugøynes. This symbolic value, or lack thereof, is not a direct result of the items and traditions themselves; rather they mediate social action. An analysis of the social actions and the way these actions take part in identity construction reveals that it is not the traditions and items in themselves that carry symbolic value, but rather the actions that precede or accompany them.

The birth of the Kven language in Norway: emancipation through state recognition

Abstract This article investigates and applies the concept of language emancipation to the situation of the Kven language in Norway. This is done from a historical perspective by addressing the role of language in the ideological construction of the Norwegian nation-state, and from a contemporary perspective through the analysis of the consequences of Norways ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This ratification has lead to the recognition of Kven as a language. Through describing the historical development of Norwegian language policy with regard to Kven, this article discusses how this case is an example of nationalist or modernist language emancipation progressing to the contemporary situation where language emancipation processes reflect language policies which are in favor of Kven. This discussion is carried out in the context of current language ideology theory and shows that nationalist language emancipation is being reapplied in the contemporary language emancipation context. This is particularly the situation in the process of the standardization of Kven which, despite the best intentions of those involved, may result in a standard which not all Kven speakers can identify with.

Standardising Kven: Participation and the role of users

Norway’s ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has had a profound impact on Norwegian minority language policies. This article focuses on how the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in particular has changed the status of Kven, a Finnic language spoken by a minority in Northern Norway. Initially, though covered by the Charter, the Kven language was regarded as a dialect of Finnish and referred to as Kven/Finnish, but in April 2005 Kven was recognised as a language and not just a dialect of Finnish. This article investigates to what extent this recognition has influenced the situation of the Kven language by discussing what effects the status of Kven as a separate language has had on practical policies, such as standardisation. The aims of this article are to give an overview of Norwegian minority language policies from a historical and contemporary perspective, concentrating on the Kven language. The primary focus is on the participation and role of users in the standardisation of Kven. In the following, I will give an outline of the history of the Kven people and the Norwegian policies of assimilation and discuss to what extent the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has influenced Norwegian language policies towards the Kven language. I outline how various user groups were included in the standardisation process in order to create a standard that would be seen as legitimate by Kven speakers. In the final section of the article, I analyse how a Kven speaker relates to the idea of a Kven standard when interviewed and how her positioning changes when she reads a text in Kven for the first time. The article concludes by suggesting that a multifaceted methodological approach is called for when analysing complex social processes such as minority language standardisation.

MultiLing. Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan: A Center of Excellence in Norway

Abstract The world is connecting in many complex ways, driven by the globally integrated nature of technological innovation and human mobility across continents. Never before have so many different speakers and languages existed side by side in the OECD countries as they do today. This reality has placed multilingualism in the spotlight. Increased migration and transcultural flows across borders in Europe have highlighted the urgency for research on multilingualism in the individual and society. Academic institutions have recognized the necessity for such knowledge and research centers have evolved to meet this challenge (cf. Obermayer et al. 2014). MultiLing - the Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan is a research center aimed at academic excellence and financed by the Research Council of Norway through its Center of Excellence scheme. MultiLing is hosted by the Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Oslo in Norway. It opened in June of 2013 and is currently in its first five-year period of operation. The main goal of the Center is to generate state-of-the-art scientific knowledge on individual and societal multilingualism across the lifespan that will address the challenges and potentials multilingualism poses for the individual in the family, school, other institutions, and society in general. Moreover, the Center aims at providing research-based knowledge on multilingualism to central policymakers and stakeholders. Language planning and the standardization of languages are some of the Center’s key research foci and are indeed vital issues today at the top of the agenda for policymakers. The Center’s vision is to contribute to how society can deal with the challenges of multilingualism through increased knowledge, promoting agency for individuals in society, and a better quality of life, no matter what linguistic and social background.