Admission requirements
To be registered as (Res)MA student.
Description
Language Endangerment and Language Vitality in Latin America
Experts estimate that only 50% of the over 7000 languages that are spoken today will still be spoken by the end of the century. Today, the intellectual heritage of diverse languages is disappearing at a faster rate than ever before. The situation in Latin America is particularly precarious: virtually all of the Indigenous languages currently spoken are endangered to some degree, and many are threatened directly with extinction. In this course we will explore the phenomenon of language endangerment and language loss alongside issues of language maintenance in Latin America. On the basis of both the theoretical literature and individual case studies, we discuss factors that influence the vitality of a language, the various stakeholders involved, and measures that can be proposed to increase the vitality of a language.
Course objectives
At the conclusion of the course the participants should be able to:
describe the situation of ethnolinguistic diversity in Latin America
identify the consequences for a community of language users to lose its language and culture
define and critique measures and policies aimed at reversing language loss in different situations
systematically analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of a speaker community in relation to the vitality of the language(s) they speak
propose measures and policies aimed at reversing language loss in specific situations
translate theoretical issues to individual cases of language endangerment and vitality
Timetable
Mode of instruction
Seminar
Assessment method
Assessment
Final paper
Oral presentations
Prepare and lead discussion on individual papers (ungraded requirement)
Weighing
To complete the final mark, please take notice of the following:
Oral presentation 1: 20%
Oral presentation 2: 20%
Final paper: 60%.
The final mark for the course is established by (i) determination of the weighted average combined with (ii) additional requirements.
Resit
Students who fail the course may resit the final term paper.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organized.
Reading list
To be announced.
Registration
Enrolment through My Studymap is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on this website
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Reuvensplaats
Remarks
Not applicable.