Can schools save indigenous languages: policy and practice on four continents

The extinction of many of the world’s languages has been of concern to linguists for quite some time. Sasse (1992), for instance, reports that over half the world’s languages have disappeared in the last 500 years. Language extinction is particularly distressing because with the death of a language arguably comes the death of a set of cultural traditions and a store of world knowledge. Yet, not all indigenous languages are at risk. Some, in fact, are being revitalized through the active support and conscious effort of educators and community members (e.g. McCarty 2000). Can schools save indigenous languages: policy and practice on four continents is a collection of case studies in the revitalization of indigenous languages. The book assumes that language revitalization is a worthy goal, and its focus is on the issues involved in revitalization and ways to accomplish that goal. The book begins with an orientation to the case studies and an overview of some of the major issues faced by those who are committed to the support of indigenous languages. With this helpful structure, Hornberger focuses the reader on both pragmatic and philosophical considerations in establishing schools as places for language revitalization. In Part I, five case studies of indigenous-language education are presented, beginning with Hirvonen’s chapter on Sámi-language education in Norway. Here, Hirvonen briefly outlines the background of the Sámi people and the history of Sámi use, and Sámi-language education in Norway. Next, the chapter presents a recent effort to promote the teaching and use of Sámi. The chapter concludes with an important point that indigenous languages such as Sámi are best supported through truly bilingual faculty and through culturally appropriate approaches to teaching. López’s chapter on bilingual education in Latin America follows. In this chapter, López takes a broader perspective on indigenous education. He outlines the larger areas of conflict and tension that have arisen as indigenous people in Latin America have attempted to claim their economic, political, and linguistic identities. Bilingual intercultural education (BIE) has been an attempt to respond to those tensions, but it has by no means been universally accepted. López discusses the various perspectives on BIE, concluding that balance will need to be achieved between the importance of establishing a wide variety of unique cultural and linguistic identities in Latin America, and the importance of working together to resolve common problems and respond to common needs. May and Hill’s chapter on Māori-medium education in Aotearoa/New Zealand takes another perspective on the issue of balancing the needs of indigenous peoples International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism Vol. 13, No. 5, September 2010, 665 679