Minority languages / Coordinated by Nathalie Carré and Raphaël Thierry

Coordinated by Nathalie Carré (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, Inalco) and Raphaël Thierry (independent researcher)
Publication: 2020

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Presentation
More than half of the languages spoken in the world are in danger of disappearing; if nothing is done, UNESCO estimates that 90% of languages will have disappeared in the course of this century. Languages are an essential part of a people’s culture, yet they are much more than just a tool for communication; they offer a unique view of the world and of the people who live in it. What can the publishing sector do – and is already doing – to help preserve and sustain these minority languages? This book attempts to answer this question through academic articles and testimonies of book professionals who, together, propose a novel approach to the subject.

In the light of their publications, the book analyses the situation of several minority languages - Haitian Creole, Corsican, Innu, Yiddish, Kikuyu, Basque, Malagasy, Náhuatl, etc. and shows that solutions are possible when the actors in the book system are mobilised.

Summary:

  • Publishing in minority languages – On diversity of publishing languages in a
    globalized context / by Nathalie Carré (Inalco, France) and Raphaël Thierry
    (independent researcher, France)
  • Creole publishing in Haiti – Obstacles, initiatives and development prospects /
    by Sandie Blaise, Duke University (United States)
  • The spread of Yiddish poetry in German speaking world – The case of bilingual editions / by Caroline Puaud, Paris Sorbonne University
  • Write and publish in Madagascar – How to reach the world? / by Dominique Ranaivoson, University of Lorraine (France)
  • Make minority languages dialogue (online) – The example of intergenerational collaboration in East Africa / by Pierre Boizette, Paris-Nanterre University (France)
  • Normativity, diversity and dynamics of creation in the contemporary Basque literary field – Study of its operating trends through the literary trajectory of Eñaut Etxamendi / by Itziar Madina Elguezabal, Bordeaux-Montaigne Doctoral school (France)
  • Locate, catalog, make visible – The place of minority languages in collections of the University Library for Languages and Civilizations Studies (BULAC) / Interview with Marine Defosse, Soline Lau-Suchet and Nicolas Pitsos, librarians at BULAC (France)
  • As long as the language circulates, we will have books to produce” / interview with Bernard Biancarelli (Albiana Publishing, Corsica/France)
  • Publishing must grow the world” – Mémoire d’encrier and the languages of the world / interview with Rodney Saint-Éloi, Mémoire d’Encrier Publishing (Quebec / Canada)
  • Saving a language is a task for all of us” / by María Yolanda Argüello Mendoza, Magenta editions (Mexico)
  • Public book and reading policies for indigenous languages in Chile. Intervention (updated in 2020) in the Parliament of Books and Speech / by Paulo Slachevsky, Lom Ediciones (Chile)
  • Save, transmit – An example of transcription-translation from oral literature
    of some Vietnam’s peoples / by Mireille Gansel, translator, writer
  • PEN’s commitment to Linguistic Rights – The importance of writing, publishing and reading in marginalized languages / interview with Peter McDonald (University of Oxford) and Carles Torner (PEN International), July 2018, Oxford and London
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