Written not only for linguists and anthropologists, this book serves as a general reference guide to language revitalization for language activists and community members who believe they should ensure the future use of their languages, despite their predicted loss. Drawing extensively on case studies, it highlights the necessary background and central issues such as literacy, policy decisions, and allocation of resources. The volume's primary goal is to provide the essential tools for a successful language revitalization program, setting and achieving realistic goals, and anticipating and resolving common obstacles.
SAVING LANGUAGES, by Lenore A. Grenoble and Lindsay J. Whaley, is an introduction to revitalizing smaller languages in danger of disappearing. The authors have firsthand experience with the Tungusic languages of Siberia and they refer to an enormous amount of literature.
Grenoble and Whaley explore the whole range of language revitalization schemes through case studies, and they advocate a certain kind of approach. In my field, Finno-Ugrian linguistics, the Soviet Union's initial support of minority languages is seen as a positive thing, but the authors believe that this effort was doomed because it was instituted by the central government by fiat without adequate participation by locals. Successful revitalization, they argue, must come from the grassroots and be community-driven at every step of the way. There's also debate about the role of linguists, with some projects advocating that, as useful as linguists are for creating orthographies and grammars, they should not participate in the active teaching of the language.
There's ample coverage of the legal challenges to language revitalization, which is the most dismal part of the book. In my own experience, I often feel that certain languages don't have a real shot at survival without some kind of revolutionary movement first, regardless of the enthusiasm of some of their speakers. Advice is given on teaching methods and the creation of orthographies, the updating of the lexicon for modern society, and dealing with skeptical members of the community or their neighbours.
SAVING LANGUAGES feels somewhat lightweight. Perhaps a bit over 200 pages doesn't permit such substantial coverage and guidance. Nonetheless, it's an entertaining introduction to this field and its polemics, and the bibliography invites further reading.
I don't think I have enough of "the social worker" in me to want to get very involved with language revitalization, but I loved this book for exposing the complicated political problems surrounding language survival/attrition without being too sentimental. The chapters on developing multiple literacies and orthographies are especially good. Unlike a lot of general literature on endangered languages, this book consistently addresses the question of how much to compromise between tradition and modernity. Kevin Costner is not donning war paint, you don't have to grimace. Loved the bit about how Soviet policies and then post-Soviet counter-reactions have shaped the linguistic map of Siberia. More case studies, please.