Speaker
Description
This talk introduces research opportunities in second and third language acquisition among endangered Japonic languages. Topics range from research into content development for passive speakers and full hearers of a language, issues for child language acquisition in school, particularly concerning language policy, and the impact of language status on learner motivation and identity.
Abstract section 5: References
Anderson, Mark. 2019. “24. Language Shift in the Ryukyu Islands.” In Routledge Handbook of Japanese Sociolinguistics, edited by Patrick Heinrich and Yumiko Ōhara, 370–88. London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Hammine, Madoka. 2021. “Educated Not to Speak Our Language: Language Attitudes and Newspeakerness in the Yaeyaman Language.” Journal of Language, Identity & Education 20 (6): 379–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1753200.
Mosely, Christopher, Nicolas Alexandre, and Unesco. 2010. “Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.” New York: UNESCO.
Abstract section 3: Content/method
This talk will define the linguistic landscape of the Japonic language family and lay out a variety of research and other opportunities that both hold broad appeal to those involved in language teaching research and may help reverse the fate of severely and critically endangered languages of Japan.
Abstract section 1: Relevance
150 years of monolingual Japanese language ideology has culminated in three critical outcomes:1) all six indigenous languages of the Ryukyuan archipelago are projected to vanish in the following 30 years (Anderson 2019); 2) most Japanese dialects have significantly eroded; 3) the loss of all but the last hearers of all varieties of the Ainu Language (Mosely, Alexandre, and Unesco 2010). This set of unfortunate circumstances is also an opportunity for language teachers and researchers interested in second and third language acquisition.
Abstract section 4: Outcomes/results
The result will be in the eye of the beholders who are looking for research topics in language education and who are unaware of the many opportunities available in Japan, in particular among Ryukyuan languages, to test theories regarding topics ranging from bilingualism to identity and language learning.
Abstract section 2: Contribution/research questions
One primary research question: What are the wide variety of research opportunities that may appeal to language educators, particularly regarding second language acquisition, in the Japonic language context?
| Title | Research Opportunities in Japonic Languages |
|---|---|
| Teaching Context | General |