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IndigenousIndigenous Languages, Revival or Languages, Revival or Survival?Survival?

• The background: multiculturalism and indigenous populations issue

• Tifinagh …

Samira Houcine and Daphné L. Romy-Masliah

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Today’s paperToday’s paper

BERBER LANGUAGES

ABORIGINAL

AMERINDIAN

LANGUAGES

Meaningful political gesture? …Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity

Flash in the pan?

Success? English is the international language but this fact actually helps

preserving regional or minority languages

(Maurais, 2003)

Failure? Changes in the contents or function of a

language can only be actualized by social

acceptance and not by decree… » Khubchandani,

1977:38)

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A CROSSROAD?A CROSSROAD?

• DECADES OF LINGUISTIC ASSIMILATION THEN BILINGUALISM;

• WHAT LIES BEHIND OFFICIAL RECOGNITIONS?

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NATIONAL/OFFICIAL

PREVALENT LINGUISTIC SITUATION (indigenous PREVALENT LINGUISTIC SITUATION (indigenous populations)populations)

• MSL (Modern Standard language);

• Dialectal variety;• National, Official Language(s);• Non standardized varieties;• English/Foreign Languages;• Unilingual exceptions

confirming the rule (The Aurès, Cuzco…)

Indigenous L1/L2

FL

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Amerindian PopulationsAmerindian Populations

• Thanks to Miryam Yataco for the input!

• June 23d resolution• Tensions from within….• Attitudes from an external

point of view…• http://

atlaspueblosindigenas.wordpress.com/

• March 2003, la Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas, Mexico on individual and collective linguistic rights;

• In 2005, Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI) …

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Quechua: a vivid exampleQuechua: a vivid example• 1 million unilingual speakers and approx. 12 million bilingual;

• 2 congresswomen;

• One piece of legislation passed after Fernand de Varennes visited the Peruvian Congress….:

NOTA OFICIAL DE PRENSA del Despacho de la Congresista Maria Sumire NOTA OFICIAL DE PRENSA del Despacho de la Congresista Maria Sumire (23 june 2010)(23 june 2010)      CONGRESO DE LA REPUBLICA APROBO LEY DE PRESERVACION Y USO DE LENGUAS ORIGINARIAS     CONGRESO DE LA REPUBLICA APROBO LEY DE PRESERVACION Y USO DE LENGUAS ORIGINARIAS DE LA CONGRESISTA MARIA SUMIREDE LA CONGRESISTA MARIA SUMIRE  Tuvieron que pasar casi tres años para que el pleno del Congreso de la República aprobara y por Tuvieron que pasar casi tres años para que el pleno del Congreso de la República aprobara y por unanimidad, 88 votos, el Dictamen que propone una Ley para la Preservación Y Uso de las Lenguas unanimidad, 88 votos, el Dictamen que propone una Ley para la Preservación Y Uso de las Lenguas Originarias del Perú. Originarias del Perú.   La legisladora quechua precisó que la Ley aprobada guarda concordancia con La legisladora quechua precisó que la Ley aprobada guarda concordancia con lala UNESCO, que ha UNESCO, que ha reconocido que la lengua hablada o escrita de un pueblo es su mayor atributo cultural  y que por lo reconocido que la lengua hablada o escrita de un pueblo es su mayor atributo cultural  y que por lo tanto la diversidad lingüística es un bien humano valioso.tanto la diversidad lingüística es un bien humano valioso.  artículo 48º de la Constitución Política del Perú, que establece que son idiomas oficiales el artículo 48º de la Constitución Política del Perú, que establece que son idiomas oficiales el castellano y en las zonas donde predominen, también lo son el quechua y el aimara y las demás castellano y en las zonas donde predominen, también lo son el quechua y el aimara y las demás lenguas aborígenes, según la ley, y que sin embargo, agregó, el Perú es un país multilingüe donde lenguas aborígenes, según la ley, y que sin embargo, agregó, el Perú es un país multilingüe donde las lenguas originarias, al no ser valoradas, se reducen al uso familiar y doméstico. las lenguas originarias, al no ser valoradas, se reducen al uso familiar y doméstico. 

M YatacoM Yataco   à Fernand, moi congreso aprobo por unanimidad la ley de preseracion de lengua Hoy 23 de Junio de 2010 a congreso aprobo por unanimidad la ley de preseracion de lengua Hoy 23 de Junio de 2010 a las 5.00 pm de la tarde Todya is a a historic day. Cheers!las 5.00 pm de la tarde Todya is a a historic day. Cheers!   

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North Africa and North Africa and (T)amazight (T)amazight

French linguistic hegemony and ensuing arabization;

Algerian multilingualism and perpetual diglossia;

Tamazight and amazighity

Morroccan recognition of Tachelhit (Schleuh)

Tunisian on its final days (thanks Rahouda Kamoun!) despite UN demands

Diversity and globalization with english as an increasingly educational prerequesite…

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The various groupsThe various groups

• Oldest group in North Africa dating back to 10,000 BC (Gravel, 1978:28).

• The majority of the descendants of these Berbers are to be found nowadays in Algeria and Morocco.

• Very few Berbers remain in Tunisia, less than one percent of the population mostly located southern part on the island of Djerba.

• 5 groups in Morocco (estimated 50% of the population speaking Tamazighe, tarifit and tachelhit), 4 in Algeria (Kabyles, Schawias, the Mozabites and the touaregs)

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The spread….cf. Le Diplo 1994 and 1995The spread….cf. Le Diplo 1994 and 1995

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Recognition vs Application Recognition vs Application of a Lawof a Law

In Algeria, The 1989 Constitution, article 3, stipulates that « l’arabe est la langue nationale et officielle ». However a major step is taken in the preamble where a mention is made of the « amazighity », i.e. the Berber Civilization :

Aboutissement d’une longue résistance aux agressions menées contre sa culture, ses valeurs et les composantes fondamentales de son identité que sont l’islam, l’arabité et l’amazighité, le 1er novembre aura solidement ancré les luttes présentes dans le passé glorieux de la Nation.

•Executive Decree nr. 03-470, appendix B on National Educational and Linguistic Centre for the Teaching of Tamazight »•Some figures•In Peru the 23d of June RECOGNITION….•And even if a law were enacted and enforced…The Irish Case…

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In MoroccoIn Morocco

• 2001 creation of the IRCAM (Institut Royal de la Culture Amazigh au Maroc) with an aim to standardize and obtain official recognition of the language;

• 2007 introduction in the public education

• Introduction of the tifinagh alphabet

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International InstrumentsInternational Instruments

• UN Periodical reviews and their impact on Member-States (cf. the 74th Session of Feb.16th to March 6th, 2009 inviting Tunisia to amend).

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Reasons to doubtReasons to doubt

• While all these groups try, thanks to the UN working groups on Indigenous population, to unite, such as agreeing to hold an international Amazigh Congress ,

• « Ce qui a toujours nui aux Berbères, c’est leur isolement. Si l’on arrive à se regrouper, on constituera une force considérable, surtout au moment où le projet d’Union du Maghreb arabe a du plomb dans l’aile, estime M. Ouzzin Aherdan. Ce sera la première fois depuis deux mille ans, depuis Jugurtha, que les Berbères se regroupent. »Joël Donnet, Monde Diplomatique, 1995….

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Reasons to remain optimisticReasons to remain optimistic• Departments of Berber language and cultures have been created

since the 90s in Tizi-Ouzou and Béjaia Universities;• Daily news broadcasts in Berber languages (on the Arabic TV…)

and a national channel: Tamazight TV4 started on 18 March 2009 transmitting 6 hours a day in Kabyle, Chaouia, Targui, Chenoui and Mozabites.

• source of minoration : berber is only’ ‘également langue nationale’ while arabic is the national and official language;

• The central question of graphic transcription was finally decided in favour of latin characters instead of the arabic alphabet…not in Morocco, Algerian arch-enemy which adopted the tifinagh!

• Thursday 8 october 2009 : According to a survey by El Watan (daily newspaper), 59% of population (higher academic degree) is in favour of the generalisation of the optional teaching in Tamazight. 27% think that Tamazight shouldn’t be taught (lower or no primary education).

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Let’s conclude with an expertLet’s conclude with an expert

Exerpts from an Interview of Abdelaziz Berkaï, Berber Linguistics Professor at the Bgayet (Bougie)University

How did you get to where you are now ?During the Spring 80 Berber upraising the demonstrators made us conme with them and scream « Imazighen ! Imazighen !... Ad nerrez wala ad neknu !... This marked me for life. Then later with three students we created a secret group with a tifinagh symbol (Z) and collected words including the names of plants in kabyle

The UNESCO forecasts the disappearance of the berber language after 2050, what’s your opinion?

The simple fact that in amazigh speaking regions, thousands of young people less than 20 years old are unilingual (Kabyles, Touaregs, chleuhs...) However, it’s positive in the fact that it shakes the amazigh speaking population. And Internet helped reviving Esperanto and Yiddish…

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BibliographyBibliography

Abid-Houcine, S. (2006). Plurilinguisme en Algérie, Sidi Bel Abbès.Ali, M. O. (2003). Enseignement du Tamazight à Sidi Bel Abbès. Le quotidien d'Oran. Oran: 13.

http://www.amazighworld.orgKeon-Cohen, B. and B. Morse (1984). Indigenous Land Rights in Australia and Canada.

Aborigenes and the Law. P. Hanks and K.-C. B. Sydney, George Allen and Unwin: 74.

Grin, F. (1994). Combining Immigrant and Autochthonous language rights. Linguistic Human Rights: Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination. T. Skuttnab-Kangas and R. Phillipson. Berlin-New York, Mouton de Gruyter. 1: 39:70.

Jenson, J. (1993). "Naming Nations: Making Nationalist Claims in Canadian Public Discourse." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology(29): 385-396.

Koubi, G. (2000). Penser les Minorités en Droit. Le Droit et les Minorités: analyses et textes. A. Fenet, G. Koubi and I. Schulte-Tenckhoff. Bruxelles, Bruylant: 385-468.

Schulte-Tenckhoff, I. (2000). Le Droit et les Minorités. Le Droit et les Minorités: analyses et textes. A. Fenet, G. Koubi and I. Schulte-Tenckhoff. Bruxelles, Bruylant: 661.

UNESCO, Atlas des Langues en Danger, Mars 2009 version électronique.Varennes (de), F. (1999). Les droits de l'homme et la protection des minorités

linguistiques. Langues et Droit: Langues du droit, droit des langues. H. Guillorel and G. Kouby. Bruxelles, Bruylant: 129-141.

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Samira Abid-Houcine Samira Abid-Houcine <samhouc.univ@gmail.co><samhouc.univ@gmail.co>

Mes amitiés à Claudine et le bonjour aux collègues du groupe « Daphné »

Samira• Sociolinguists on FB and Académie Sans

Frontières on FB;• Cosmopolitanism.wordpress.com• Droit et Culture on English and Cultures and

upcoming issue S’entendre sur la Langue• daphneromy@gmail.com