A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Standardising Cornish – The politics of a new minority language
Subtitle: The politics of a new minority language
Authors: Dave Sayers
Publisher: JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING COMPANY
Publication year: 2012
Journal: Language Problems and Language Planning
Journal name in source: LANGUAGE PROBLEMS & LANGUAGE PLANNING
Journal acronym: LANG PROBL LANG PLAN
Volume: 36
Issue: 2
First page : 99
Last page: 119
Number of pages: 21
ISSN: 0272-2690
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.36.2.01say
Abstract
The last recorded native speaker of the Cornish language died in 1777. Since the nineteenth century, amateur scholars have made separate attempts to reconstruct its written remains, each creating a different orthography. Later, following recognition under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2002, Cornish gained new status. However, with government support came the governmental framework of "New Public Management", which emphasises quantifiable outcomes to measure performance. This built implicit pressure towards finding a single standard orthography, for greatest efficiency. There followed a six-year debate among supporters of the different orthographies, usually quite heated, about which should prevail. This debate exemplified the importance of standardisation for minority languages, but its ultimate conclusion saw all sides giving way, and expediency, not ideology, prevailing. It also showed that standardisation was not imposed explicitly within language policy, but emerged during the language planning process.
The last recorded native speaker of the Cornish language died in 1777. Since the nineteenth century, amateur scholars have made separate attempts to reconstruct its written remains, each creating a different orthography. Later, following recognition under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2002, Cornish gained new status. However, with government support came the governmental framework of "New Public Management", which emphasises quantifiable outcomes to measure performance. This built implicit pressure towards finding a single standard orthography, for greatest efficiency. There followed a six-year debate among supporters of the different orthographies, usually quite heated, about which should prevail. This debate exemplified the importance of standardisation for minority languages, but its ultimate conclusion saw all sides giving way, and expediency, not ideology, prevailing. It also showed that standardisation was not imposed explicitly within language policy, but emerged during the language planning process.
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