Two perceptions of endangeredness

Authors: 
Issue Date: 
2005-04
Conference: 
International Conference on Endangered Languages, 27-30 April 2005, Addis Ababa University
Extent: 
8 pages
Abstract: 

The paper contrasts two perceptions of a language being "endangered".

On the one hand, there are the academic and administrative definitions of various stages of "endangeredness" - on the other hand, there are the perceptions of the speakers themselves.

  • The "UNESCO red book" definitions, for instance, include three categories of being "endangered", from (1) "seriously endangered" to (2) "endangered", and (3) "potentially endangered". Categories such as these are widely being used.
  • What the speakers themselves perceive about the future of their language may, however, differ from the status that tends to be assigned to the language from an academic or administrative perspective.

The paper illustrates such differences with samples from the survey of little-known languages of Ethiopia. The focus however, will be on the status of Beja, a N.E. African "major" language which constitutes a "minority" in three countries.

Publication Status: 
Preprint
Country: 
Egypt
Eritrea
Sudan
South Sudan
Subject Languages: 
Content Language: 
Work Type: 
Nature of Work: 
Entry Number: 
58779