Mercator Network Newsletter 186

September 2022

Open Mercator Network Newsletter #186 in your browser

Historic agreement on Alghero Catalan

The Catalan language in Alghero, on the Italian island of Sardinia, has reached a historic milestone after the Municipality of Alghero and the Region of Sardinia signed an agreement that certifies knowledge of Alghero Catalan in accordance with the standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR). Mayor of Alghero, Mario Conoci, said that this is a result of the "collaboration with the Generalitat de Catalunya and the University of Sàsser who accompany us in this first and concrete phase of safeguarding our linguistic heritage".


	New research department at Sorbian Institute The new interdisciplinary Department for Regional Development and Minority Protection started its work at the Sorbian Institute on 1 July 2022. The Departement will primarily focus on the revitalization of the Lower and Upper Sorbian languages and the valorization of the Sorbian culture in Lusatia, homeland of the Sorbian minority. Read more


	Language 4th reason for discrimination in Barcelona Language is the 4th reason for discrimination in Barcelona, and discrimination for speaking Catalan rises by 17%. The Report of the Discrimination Observatory in Barcelona 2021 points out that 30% of the cases in which a service is refused to someone is because of language, and it is just behind racist and xenophobic reasons. Read more


	INTERESTING LINKS




	EUROPE

● New research reveals Gaelic speakers' tongue movements

● Sfyria: Greece’s disappearing whistled language

● Catalan declines in Catalan Law studies, stagnates in the Balearic Islands and grows in the Valencian Country

● Social Justice Center from Georgia named winner of the 2022 Max van der Stoel Award

● West Belfast achieved official status as Irish language network

● Pau creates a cultural neighborhood of the Occitan language

● European Minority Languages: Meet the radio host trying to keep Cornish alive

● Serbian radio show provides space for ethnic minority languages

● Frisians concerned about announced large-scale cutbacks in Frisian language and culture by the Frisian provincial government

● Basque Language Council and Language Rights Observatory request knowledge of Basque to be valued more in all jobs

● Book: 'One Hundred Years of Irish Language Policy, 1922-2022'

● Welsh Government leads the way for seamless bilingual scheduled meetings with a new Microsoft Teams feature

● Researching multilingually as a political act

● Galician tune reaches final of artificial intelligence song contest

● South Tyroleans and Carinthian Slovenes win EUROPEADA

● Romania's biggest minority: Who are the Szeklers?

IndyLan app to save minority European languages

The IndyLan applicaton, designed by a consortium led by the Heriot-Watt University (UK), is an educational tool designed specifically for users to learn not only some of Europe’s endangered languages but also more about the cultures of the people who speak these languages. It helps speakers of English, Spanish, Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish to learn Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Basque, Galician and Saami. Despite the value of IndyLan, it has run out of funding. As a project started by a UK university, the EU funding it previously received is not available anymore.


	UK Lords pass Irish and Ulster Scots language bill The UK’s House of Lords passed a bill promoting Irish and Ulster Scots languages in Northern Ireland. In addition to giving the Irish language official recognition, it also promotes education in Irish and Ulster Scots. Read more


	Torn languages: series on language becoming political Swiss daily newspaper Le Temps published a series of articles on how language, an intimate object, can become a political object. It features stories on Albania, Belfast, South Tyrol and the Ukraine. Read more


	Against the decline of linguistic diversity in Europe On Wednesday 7th September, all are welcome in Brussels at the conference 'Let’s act against the decline of linguistic diversity in Europe.' This conference aims to bring together actors and stakeholders working for the promotion and protection of linguistic diversity and minority rights. Read more


	COMEX visits Netherlands to evaluate progress A delegation of the Committee of Experts (COMEX) of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities visited the Netherlands to evaluate progress made in the protection of national minorities and minority languages. Read more


	New Zealand



	Backlash over Te Reo Maori broadcast in New Zealand


Cymraeg / Llydaweg

Tiktok: Hear the similarities between Welsh and Breton


	International Conference on Minority Languages The 19th International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML) will be held in Wales between 20 and 24 June 2023.The organisers from University of Wales Trinity Saint David welcome proposals for papers, posters or panels: the deadline is 30 September 2022. Read more


	Book on family language policy: call for chapters For the book 'Family language policy: Verbal interaction and language transmission', the editors welcome proposals for chapters on the process of language transmission of the heritage languages or their loss within the household in the context of migration. Read more


	INTERESTING LINKS




	WORLD

● Morocco’s multilingual Amazigh: the pursuit of languages amid fight for recognition [Marocco]

● Polish recognized in Brazil [Brazil]

● Kusunda: the language that doesn't use 'no' [Nepal]

● NSF steps up preparations for 2022 Africa Scrabble Championship title defence [Nigeria]

● Phylogeographic analysis of the Bantu language expansion supports a rainforest route [South Africa]

● OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities discusses inter-ethnic policy and multilingual education [Kyrgyzstan]

● Students cheer as online translation tools add more African languages [Uganda]

● Justice Department watching Alaska election for language and disability compliance [USA]

● Can teaching English like Spanish close the achievement gap? [USA]

● 'Negotiating linguistic and religious diversity: A Tamil Hindu temple in Australia' [Australia]


	Theatre & Performance in Minoritised Languages The School of Irish, Celtic Studies and Folklore at the University College Dublin organises the Conference on Youth Theatre and Performance in Regional, Minority, and Minoritised Languages, 23-25 March 2023. The Call for papers is open. The deadline for submission is 28 October, 2022. Read more


	Book: 'Research Methods in Language Attitudes' Research Methods in Language Attitudes (co-edited by Mercator researcher Ruth Kircher) is an interdisciplinary guide to traditional as well as cutting-edge methods with many case studies from multilingual and minority language communities. It is now available in print and electronic format. Read more

Gaelic and Scots and Scottish Languages Bill: questionnaire

It has been a number of years since legislation was passed in support of the Gaelic language. The Scottish Government has made a number of strong and ambitious commitments to Gaelic and Scots. Now it is time to reflect on how the Gaelic language (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Education (Scotland) Act 2016 have operated in practice. Therefore, the Scottish Government asks the public to fill in a questionnaire. The views they hope to receive will assist in the decisions that are taken on these commitments.


	INTERESTING EVENTS



	5-8 September 2022, London (UK)/ Online Circle U. Multilingualism Week Organised by Circle U./ European Universty Alliance 7 September 2022, Brussels (Belgium) Conference 'Let’s act against the decline of linguistic diversity in Europe'.' Organised by a variety of partners, supported by European Free Alliance (EFA) Group 14-16 September 2022, Leeuwarden (Netherlands) 2nd Conference on Frisian Humanities Organised by Fryske Akademy, Mercator, NHLStenden, the University of Groningen, and RuG/Campus Fryslân 13-16 September 2022, Girona - Perpinyà (Spain/ France) III International Conference on Revitalisation of Indigenous and Minoritized Languages Organised by Universitat de Girona, Université de Perpignan – Via Domitia et Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage 15-17 September 2022, Zagreb (Croatia) 12th International Conference on Third Language Acquisition and Multilingualism Organised by University of Zagreb 16 September 2022, online LANGSCAPE & ENROPE Online Colloquium #2 Organised by the LANGSCAPE International Research Network & the ENROPE consortium 19-20 September 2022, Tblisi (Georgia) Language and Modern Technologies 2022 – Technologies for the Multilingual Internet (LMT2022) Organised by the LANGSCAPE International Research Network & the ENROPE consortium 6-7 October 2022, Joensuu (Finland) International Conference on Multilingual Awareness and Multilingual Practices Organised by University of Eastern Finland 6-7 October 2022, Trento (Italy) Beyond Borders. German-speaking Minorities in Italy and around the World Organised by University of Trento, Department of Humanities 19-21 October 2022, Levanger (Norway) Nord's Saami and Indigenous Peoples Conference 2022 Organised by Nord University and Nordland Research Institute 22-23 October 2022, Nicosia (Cyprus) Multidisciplinary Approaches to Migration and Multilingualism (MAMM2022) Organised by University of Cyprus 25-26 October 2022, Edinburgh/ online Bilingualism Matters Research Symposium (BMRS) Organised by Bilingualism Matters 10-11 November 2022, Madrid (Spain) Bilingualism and Bilingual Education: Sociolinguistic Approaches (BIUNED 2022) Organised by UNED Madrid 16 December 2022, online LANGSCAPE & ENROPE Online Colloquium #3 Organised by the LANGSCAPE International Research Network & the ENROPE consortium 27 February -3 March 2023, Berlin (DE) LANGSCAPE & ENROPE Winter School 2023 Call for Abstracts: deadline 14 October Organised by the LANGSCAPE International Research Network & the ENROPE consortium 17 March 2023, online LANGSCAPE & ENROPE Online Colloquium Organised by the LANGSCAPE International Research Network & the ENROPE consortium 23-25 March 2023, Dublin (IE) Conference on Youth Theatre and Performance in Regional, Minority, and Minoritised Languages Call for Papers: deadline 28 October 2022 Organised by University College Dublin 4-6 May 2023, Ottawa (Canada) Colloque du CCERBAL 2023 - Bilinguisme et multilinguisme: Compétences transversales, mobilité et bien-être * Call for Symposia and Papers is open Organised by Centre canadien d’études et de recherche en bilinguisme et aménagement linguistique (CCERBAL), Institut de langues officielles et du bilinguisme (ILOB), Université d’Ottawa. 16 June 2023, online LANGSCAPE & ENROPE Online Colloquium #4 Organised by the LANGSCAPE International Research Network & the ENROPE consortium 20-24 June 2023, Wales XIX International Conference on Minority Languages (ICML) Deadline Call for Papers: 30 September 2022 Organised by University of Wales Trinity Saint David 26-28 June 2023, Edinburgh United Kingdom Language Variation & Change 14 (UKLVC14) Call for Papers: soon to be published Organised by Linguistics and English Language / University of Edinburgh 26-30 June 2023, Sydney (Australia) - Hybrid conference International Symposium on Bilingualism (ISB14) * Call for Symposia and Papers is open Organised by Macquarie University 17-21 July 2023, Lyon (France) AILA 2023 * Call for Symposia and Papers is open Organised by ENS de Lyon


	Please send us your comments and suggestions! The next edition will be published around the 1st of October.

Please add us to your contacts to ensure the newsletters land in your inbox.

New research department at Sorbian Institute

Language 4th reason for discrimination in Barcelona

INTERESTING LINKS

EUROPE

UK Lords pass Irish and Ulster Scots language bill

Torn languages: series on language becoming political

Against the decline of linguistic diversity in Europe

COMEX visits Netherlands to evaluate progress

New Zealand

Cymraeg / Llydaweg

International Conference on Minority Languages

Book on family language policy: call for chapters

INTERESTING LINKS

WORLD

Theatre & Performance in Minoritised Languages

Book: 'Research Methods in Language Attitudes'

INTERESTING EVENTS