Examinando por Autor "Urla, Jacqueline"

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    Ítem
    Authenticity and linguistic variety among new speakers of basque
    (University of Hawai'i Press, 2016) Urla, Jacqueline; Amorrortu, Estibaliz ; Ortega, Ane; Goirigolzarri Garaizar, Jone
    This paper argues that the type of variety learned and used by Basque language learners is a key element in their self-perception as “true” or authentic speakers of Basque. Drawing on focus groups and individual interviews, we f ind that new speakers are for the most part strongly oriented towards the value of authenticity epitomized by local varieties. While new speakers report the utility of their mastery over the new standard Basque variety, they are not inclined to view this mastery as granting themselves greater authority or ownership over Basque. Rather they strongly valorize the informal and vernacular speech forms indexing colloquial speech and local dialect most identified with native speakers. The new speaker’s sociolinguistic context and motivations for learning Basque seem to be predictive of the strength of this orientation. The f indings of this study point to the necessity of further study and documentation of local vernacular as well the urgency for language educators to find ways of incorporating the acquisition of local and dialectal features into language instruction.
  • Miniatura
    Ítem
    Linguistic identity among new speakers of Basque
    (Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2015) Ortega, Ane; Urla, Jacqueline; Amorrortu, Estibaliz; Goirigolzarri Garaizar, Jone; Uranga Arakistain, Belén
    The increase in Basque speakers in the last 30 years has been due in large part to 'new speakers' or euskaldunberri, a term that will be used here to refer to those who have learned the language by means other than family transmission. While very significant in numbers, to date this group has not been the object of much study. Little is known about their attitudes and motivations, how they perceive themselves as Basque speakers, or their language use and transmission patterns. Acquiring answers to these questions is of strategic importance for developing an effective evidence-based language policy for the future. This article presents the results of a qualitative study of new speakers. Drawing on data from focus groups and interviews, the central goal of the article is to examine how new speakers of differing profiles perceive and locate themselves with respect to the popularly used labels for "new" and "native" Basque speakers and the ideologies of authenticity and legitimacy that seem to shape these perceptions. The analysis shows that learning the language alone, even to a high degree of competence, does not guarantee a view of themselves as true and genuine speakers of Basque.