About "Can Schools Save Indigenous Languages?"

This book offers a close look at cases of indigenous language revitalization on four continents: Māori in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Sámi in the Nordic countries, Hñähñö in Mexico, and Indigenous languages in Latin America. Contributions by experts from each case are in turn discussed in international perspective by four counterpart experts. Starting from the premise that Indigenous language revitalization is worth doing, the focus here is on HOW to do it, and in particular, the role of schools in that endeavour. Schools alone are not enough to do the job, but in tandem with other social institutions, can be a strategic resource. Indigenous language revitalization is never only about language, but also about the identities and experiences of speakers and communities. The authors advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples to exercise both voice and choice in determining their own Indigenous language revitalization and education processes.

Contents
Introduction: Can Schools Save Indigenous Languages? Policy and Practice on Four
Continents, by N.H.Hornberger

PART 1: CASE STUDIES ON FOUR CONTINENTS
"Out on the fells, I feel like a Sámi" - Is There Linguistic and Cultural Equality in the Sámi
School? by V.Hirvonen
Top-Down and Bottom-Up: Counterpoised Visions of Bilingual Intercultural Education in Latin
America, by L.E.Lopez
Māori-Medium Education: Current Issues and Challenges, by S.May & R.Hill
Learning with Differences: Strengthening Hñähñö and Bilingual Teaching in an Elementary
School in Mexico City, by N. Rebolledo R.

PART 2: COMMENTARIES: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE CASE STUDIES
Revitalization Through Indigenous Education - a Forlorn Hope? by L.Huss
Commentary from an African and International Perspective, by N.M.Kamwangamalu
Riding the Tiger; B.Spolsky
Schools as Strategic Tools for Indigenous Language Revitalization: Lessons from Native
America, by T.L.McCarty 
 

Publication Information
Palgrave Macmillan
June 2008
ISBN: 978-0-230-01332-2
ISBN-10: 0-230-01332-5
Hardcover, $74.95             ORDER
200 pages