“Kiel povas Esperanto helpi aliajn minoritatajn lingvojn? Stam mo a vèder! How can Esperanto help other minority languages? Let’s find out! A sociolinguistic enquiry into the linguistic practices of Esperanto and Emilian speakers.”

Hampton, Jessica and Iubini Hampton, Jessica (2023) “Kiel povas Esperanto helpi aliajn minoritatajn lingvojn? Stam mo a vèder! How can Esperanto help other minority languages? Let’s find out! A sociolinguistic enquiry into the linguistic practices of Esperanto and Emilian speakers.”. PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

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Abstract

Faced with an increasing number of speakers abandoning the use of the world’s minoritised languages, this thesis investigates two language communities by observing the linguistic practices and attitudes that characterise them to inform future efforts of language support. Taking Emilian and Esperanto as two comparable minoritised languages, data from the two communities are collected to reveal the key similarities and differences across them. While Esperanto boasts a thriving number of speakers, Emilian is thought to be rapidly declining. Likewise, the academic literature on Esperanto is both thorough and current, whereas, when it comes to its sociolinguistic landscape, the literature on Emilian is virtually non-existent. This thesis builds on the existing knowledge on Esperanto and lays the foundations for our understanding of the linguistic practices and attitudes in the Emilian community. In an attempt to provide a broad overview, research questions are open-ended and their aims are threefold: (i) to gauge linguistic practices comparatively; (ii) to deduce key factors in the maintenance of Esperanto in order to inform efforts for language support for Emilian; and (iii) to reveal the usefulness of a framework of interconnectedness in contexts of language endangerment. Adopting a published paper format, this thesis contains five self-contained journal articles: one of theoretical nature where the triangulation model designed to observe language attitudes is presented, and four of empirical content where analyses and findings are discussed to answer research questions. Following a triangulation of methods and of results, in this thesis I conclude that: (i) a positive correlation exists between language attitudes and language maintenance in both communities; (ii) Esperanto is being maintained in all domains investigated while Emilian is only meaningfully used in the local, physical environment; (iii) to successfully achieve language maintenance a balance of positive attitudes, competence, and use must be restored; and (iv) the concept of interconnectedness can serve as a practical strategy to foster reconnection with both language and green space.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	22 Aug 2023 14:08
Last Modified:	16 Jan 2024 17:21
DOI:	10.17638/03170753
Supervisors:	Tufi, Stefania Bermingham, Nicola
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3170753