Linguicide and Revival

In his lecture Prof. Ghilad Zuckermann will explain why language revival is (1) right, (2) beautiful, and (3) beneficial. In our globalized world, more and more groups are losing their heritage. Language reclamation (e.g. BarngarlaAboriginal language of South Australia, Hebrew), revitalization (e.g. Shanghainese, Adnyamathanha) and reinvigoration (e.g. Te Reo Māori, Welsh) are becoming increasingly relevant as more and more people seek to reconnect with their ancestors, recover their cultural autonomy, empower their spiritual and intellectual sovereignty, and improve their wellbeing and mental health. There is an urgent need to offer comparative insights, for example from the Hebrew revival, which is so far the most successful known linguistic reclamation.

Given capricious governmental policies, this address will propose compensation (for linguistic activities) for peoples whose mother tongue was killed (due to linguicide), making Indigenous tongues the official languages of their region, and erecting multi-lingual official signs, changing the landscape (linguistic landscape).

Entrance free, online registration is required.