Revitalization of Inari Saami: reversal language shift in changing speech community

1. Revitalization of Inari Saami: reversal language shift in changing speech community 4.-5.3.2010 Bodø, SLDR Winter School Annika Pasanen, Ph.D.student at University of Helsinki, Department of Finno-Ugrian Studies Project coordinator in Anarâškielâ servi (‘Inari Saami language association’)

2. Researcher’s position;I am • A Finn, speaking Inari Saami and North Saami • Coming originally from Central Finland, living in Inari • Related to Inari Saami language in many roles: as language activist, project worker, researcher and mother of language nest children

3. Saami languages of Finland • Alltogether nine living Saami languages • Three of them spoken in Finland: North, Inari and Skolt Saami • Inari Saami spoken only in Finland, in the municipality of Inari • Inari: officially 4-lingual municipality

5. Endangerment of language / linguistic assimilation / language shift • A → Ab → AB → aB → B (Haugen 1953) • Typically happening during three generations • 50-95 % of the world’s appr. 7000 spoken languages in danger of disappearing until 2100 • Do languages die or fall asleep?

6. UNESCO 2003: Major evaluative factors of language vitality • Inter-generational language transmission • Absolute number of speakers • Proportion of speakers within the total population • Trends in existing language domains • Response to new domains and media • Materials for language education and literature • Governmental and institutional language attitudes and policies,including official status and use • Community members’ attitudes toward their own language • Amount and quality of documentation

7. Endangerment of Inari Saami • Small amount of speakers, endemicity • Position as a minority of a minority, “double-pressure” • Location in the crossroads of many cultures and languages • Humbleness and tolerance (!?) • Finnish education policy since the beginning of the 20th century, boarding schools • The II World War and it’s consequences • Since 1940’s diminishing use as a home language

8. Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove & Ole Henrik Magga (2003: 43) “Even if schools alone cannot save languages, schools can kill them more or less on their own.”

9. Revitalization / reversal language shift (RLS) • (A → Ab → AB → aB → B) → aB / AB / Ab • Not returning to the same situation than 50 or 100 years ago – monolingualism – but to bi/multilingualism • Modernization in minority language • Ideological clarification (Fishman 1991) as an important element of revitalization: what’s the goal and by which means can it be reached

10. Early steps in revitalization of Inari Saami • 1970s: Instruction of Inari Saami in primary school of Inari is started • 1980s: Broadcasts in Sámi Radio begin; Anarâškielâ servi ry is founded; Journal Anarâš is founded; language courses for adults begin

11. Year 1997 as a watershed of the revitalization of Inari Saami • Four speakers under the age of 30 • Very little active speakers under the age of 50 • Marginal role in school, some use in media and literature, very little public discussion • Two language nests were founded, one in Inari and another one in Ivalo

12. Language nest: what is it? • A kind of early, total immersion in a local minority / indigenous language • Kindergarten or daycare group, in which the staff uses only the minority language in question from the first day • Context of the activity: endangerment of the language, interruption of the inter-generational language transmission → children don’t learn the language at home

13. Impacts of language nests • Since 2000 Inari Saami as a medium of tuition in primary school of Inari • Reversal language shift in some families and many other social networks • Better status and prestige for the language • More visibliness in the community • Bilingualism of the youngest generation: until these days appr. 50 children learnt Inari Saami in language nests • More use in media and literature; developing children’s culture • Adults learning the language

14. Current challenges in the speech community • Problem of the lost generation • Lack of teaching materials • Lack of financial and human resources • Few Inari Saami –speaking domains for children outside language nest and school • Making Inari Saami a natural communication language among children and youngsters – realism or uthopy? • Restarting or widening the inter-generational language transmission at home – how?

15. Solving the problem of the lost generation: complementary education of Inari Saami • Intensive language course for adults, since August 2009 until August 2010 • Organised by Giellagas Institute of the Oulu University, together with Anarâškielâ servi and Sámi Education Center • Target group: adult members of the community, teachers and other professionals critical for language transmission • Goal of the education: to produce such language skills, that after the education participants are able to work in Inari Saami • Formal language instruction together with innovative methods like master-apprentice -program

16. Solving the problem of teaching materials (?): Oppâkirje-ráp

17. Inari Saami as a success story in the context of global revitalization movement – why and how? • Small amount of speakers, endemicity?! • Tolerance toward change: change of the language, speech community, livelihoods, culture • Acceptance of support coming from outside • Ideological clarification (Fishman 1991) and commitment of the speakers • Clear focus on language transmission and creating domains for language use • SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE, NOT ONLY ABOUT THE LANGUAGE – even if it excludes many people • Effective methods chosen: language nest, bilingual education • And of course: brave, innovative, hard-working activists of Anarâškielâ servi

18. “Language gap” describing inter-generational language transmission Language transmission has never broken off Language transmission has broken off and been restarted How would you place Saami languages ? Language transmission has broken off