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Articles on Minority languages

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Street sign for Fford Pen Llech, said to be the world’s steepest street, with text in English and in Welsh. Approximately 20% of Wales residents are fluent in Welsh, and the goverment is striving to increase that percentage.“ Wikimedia

Protecting endangered languages feels right, but does it really help people?

Media accounts on endangered languages abound, but they don’t always explore how to materially help native speakers. Peer-reviewed research shows that such efforts don’t always have positive effects.
The Welsh name Yr Wyddfa is now used for the mountain instead of Snowdon by the national park authority. Malgosia Janicka/Shutterstock.

Welsh place names are being erased – and so are the stories they tell

Welsh place names often reflect local legends, fauna and topography. The coining of English names to replace them has sparked an ongoing campaign to protect them.
Language policy in Canada suggests misunderstanding among government officials and the general public about language use, international language rights and their implications. (Shutterstock)

Supporting minority languages requires more than token gestures

Canada’s population is more diverse than ever, with many different languages represented. Government policy must reflect that diversity and offer meaningful support to minority languages.
Despite being French-speaking, CSIS Deputy Director of Operations Michelle Tessier, Director David Vigneault and Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre Executive Director Marie-Hélène Chayer testified in English only before the Rouleau Commission in November 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

English only? The Emergencies Act inquiry showed Canada’s hostility towards francophones

The almost complete absence of French at the Public Order Emergency Commission does not come from a subservient reflex on the part of French speakers so much as their fear of being scorned.
New immigrants to Canada, including Syrian-born Tareq Hadhad (centre) who founded the company Peace by Chocolate in Antigonish, N.S., swear allegiance at an Oath of Citizenship ceremony in Halifax in January 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Riley Smith

We speak a lot of languages in Canada — elections should reflect our diversity

Following the Sept. 20 federal election, an important question must be asked: How is the Canadian electoral process accommodating the country’s increasing linguistic diversity?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is seen with Québec Premier Francois Legault in December 2018 at the opening of a first ministers’ meeting. Legault has accused Trudeau of insulting Québecers because of the federal Court Challenges Program. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Canadians are entitled to legal help to protect their Charter rights

Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms doesn’t mean much if it can’t be enforced. That’s why the Court Challenges Program is so important — no matter what the Québec premier says.
More and more Māori words are commonly used by speakers of New Zealand English. The word aroha means love or compassion. from www.shutterstock.com

Māori loanwords in NZ English are less about meaning, more about identity

Usually, a minor language will adopt words from a dominant language, but NZ English bucks this trend. It has been borrowing a growing number of Māori words, not always to add meaning but to mark identity.
Andrew Foster with students from the boarding school for deaf children at Mampong-Akwapim, Ghana, about 1961. Courtesy of Gallaudet University Archives

Sign language needs policy protection in Ghana

Ghana urgently needs an official Ghanaian Sign Language (GSL) policy. Such a move has the potential to humanize education for people who are Deaf and alleviate the linguistic discrimination they face.

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