RECOGNIZING LANGUAGE REVIVAL AND PRESERVATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON ROMANI AND IRISH AS ENDANGERED LANGUAGES

Abstract

The central concern of this paper is to trace the reasons for the endangerment of Romani and Irish language in Europe and to put in perspective the threat of language extinction. Knowing the fact that both the languages are dying or almost dead in the era of 21st century and have been listed under “definitely” endangered list by UNESCO and Endangered Language Alliance, it is of utmost importance to discuss the risk factors for the decline of a language among its native linguistic community. The paper will also review the root origins of Romany and Irish as they both belong to Indo- European language and its genetic and historical kinship. The study sheds light on the need for language revitalization and re-awakening in the context to language shift. Simultaneously, the paper proposes a framework for the revival of the Romany and Irish languages in educational institutions and socio-cultural organisations. The study rounds off the arguments by sketching a roadmap for the implementation of language revitalisation and preservation of indigenous languages.

Keywords

language endangerment, the irish language, the romani language, language revival, language death, language shift, language preservation, language planning.

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To cite this article

Priyanka Raj. (2019). Recognizing Language Revival and Preservation:  A Comparative Study on Romani and Irish as Endangered Languages. Sparkling International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research Studies, 2(4), 9-26.