The Linguist

@Linguist_CIOL APRIL/MAY The Linguist 17 ONLINE INCLUSION developing an app for indigenous languages and applied for EU funding. Despite the importance of indigenous peoples and the value of their languages, there is much confusion – and controversy – over who, and therefore whose language, is considered indigenous. The languages offered in the IndyLan app are all widely considered to be indigenous, 3 however it is not always clear what this designation means in practice. The Unesco International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019, which aimed to raise awareness of the endangerment of indigenous languages across the world, does not clarify the criteria that determine that a language is indigenous. It does refer to indigenous people though, and to indigenous people's languages. Transposing the defining factors of indigenous peoples onto indigenous languages does not make the definition clearer. But it does reinforce the concept of an indigenous language as one that has existed in a particular territory before the dominant language, one that is recognised as distinct (and its speakers as a distinct collectivity) and one that has undergone – or is currently experiencing – subjugation, marginalisation, dispossession, exclusion and discrimination. Furthermore, self-identification and self-regulation seem to have more value than external recognition from the state, dominant groups or potentially rival groups. Still, these criteria are rather loose and open to interpretation. IndyLan languages are also endangered to some degree. According to Unesco's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing, Scots and Basque (Euskera) are classified as vulnerable, Cornish (Kernewek) as critically endangered, and Gaelic (Gáidhlig) and Northern Saami (Davvisámegiella) as definitely endangered. The Cornish language is a revived language, having been declared extinct by Unesco and then revitalised, with around 600 speakers today. It is worth noting that the Council of Europe's Charter on Language is still applicable in the UK, and that it includes the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This constitutes the European convention for the protection and promotion of languages used by traditional minorities. Therefore, the UK's continued membership of the Council of Europe, even after Brexit, may provide important frameworks for the UK's minority languages moving forward. SUPPORTING REVITALISATION IndyLan has featured on BBC Alba's 'An Là', BBC One's 'Spotlight South West', BBC Radio nan Gàidheal's 'Aithris an Fheasgair', and on Scots Radio, in addition to articles published in Scotland, Cornwall, the Basque country and Sápmi (the Saami region). Dr Philip McDermott, external evaluator to the project and Senior Lecturer at the University of Ulster, stated: "This app is more than just a technological piece of software. It's a showcase of the vibrancy of each of these languages, their role as part of the cultural wealth of Europe, within landscapes and the environment. We must ensure that this is a growing project that will continue to have impact." Our vision is for the app to contribute to endangered language learning and revitalisation so that these languages remain alive and relevant in contemporary societies and economies. We have received excellent feedback so far, particularly because, for some of these languages, there is a lack of resources that are freely available and easy to use. Of course, an app alone cannot revitalise or preserve a language, but it can contribute to this, together with government initiatives, education and cultural sector initiatives. We hope to see the number of people engaging meaningfully with endangered language learning increasing. The IndyLan app is free to download on iOS and Google Play. See https://indylan.eu, which is available in 11 languages, for details. Notes 1 Strani, K and Cocco, C (2020) 'Report on Endangered Indigenous Languages in Partner Countries and Mobile Learning Solutions', IndyLan project Output 1; indylan.eu/outputs 2 See http://movinglanguages.eu 3 For reference see, e.g, www.gov.scot/ publications/scots-language-policy-english "How can you learn our language if you don't know how we live?" Indeed, languages do not exist in a vacuum © SHUTTERSTOCK / INDYLAN

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