New speakers: Challenges and opportunities for variationist sociolinguistics

Abstract

While the field of variationist sociolinguistics has advanced rapidly since Labov (1966), it remains the case that a socially informed theory of language change continues to be influenced by only very few languages, typically English and a handful other dominant European languages. This article considers recent work on the emergence of new speakers in (severely) endangered or minority language communities, and what they might have to offer variationist theory. Although definitions can vary, it has become convention to describe new speakers as individuals ‘with little or no home or community exposure to a minority language but who instead acquire it through immersion or bilingual education programs, revitalization projects or as adult language learners’ (O'Rourke, Pujolar, & Ramallo, 2015: 1). There is now a wealth of literature available on new speakers in typologically dissimilar language contexts, though, so far, very little work has adopted the variationist paradigm. This article will argue that new speakers can figure prominently in variationist models of diffusion and change, taking the classic sociolinguistic factor of social networks as an example. The article ends by proposing a manifesto of potential research trajectories, based on current gaps in the literature.

Emergent sociolinguistic variation in severe language endangerment

“…New speakers have become the focus of a number of (predominantly qualitative) sociolinguistic studies in language endangerment. Kasstan (2017) highlights some general characteristics of new speakers based on the available evidence from threatened languages such as Breton. Broadly, they can be characterized as well-educated middle-class urbanites, who are highly politicized in the sense that they are often engaged in language revitalization initiatives.…”

(l) as a sociolinguistic variable in Francoprovençal

“…As a result they speak a standardised, pan-regional variety of Breton, which in some cases is reported to be incomprehensible to native speakers (Jones 1998). The level of linguistic insecurity felt by these types of speaker can therefore be acute when contact between the two occurs (see Kasstan 2017).…”

The role of linguistic ideologies in language contact situations

“…A pointed investigation into how the “negotiation, debate, contestation and appropriation” of these ideologies (Costa et al, , p. 12) are linked to the emergence of new forms of linguistic variation (including those that are contact induced) has powerful potential to help us better understand how hegemonic discourses are “re‐signified, reindexicalized [and] re‐imagined” (Gal, , p. 238), as well as how they lead to various forms of language contact. Though a few advancements on the study of new speaker contact outcomes have been made (Kasstan, ; Kasstan & Müller, ; Kennard, ; Lantto, , ; Nance, ; Rodríguez‐Ordóñez, , in press), future work on new speakers' linguistic practices is essential as we continue to theorize about how multilinguals linguistically mediate among their socio‐political structures and in‐the‐moment interactional contexts as they navigate sociolinguistics reality and continually construct their individualized notions of “speakerhood.”…”