Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe
This paper brings together two different communities, Kabyles (Amazighs) and Syrian Christians, who are nevertheless marked by some commonalities: a strong diasporic dispersal as a historical experience, political, cultural and linguistic marginalization in their countries of origin, the deep associ...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Languages |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/6/4/175 |
| _version_ | 1797503016722497536 |
|---|---|
| author | Heidi Armbruster Souhila Belabbas |
| author_facet | Heidi Armbruster Souhila Belabbas |
| author_sort | Heidi Armbruster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper brings together two different communities, Kabyles (Amazighs) and Syrian Christians, who are nevertheless marked by some commonalities: a strong diasporic dispersal as a historical experience, political, cultural and linguistic marginalization in their countries of origin, the deep association of collective identity with an “endangered” heritage language, a lived experience of multilingualism, and a post-emigration struggle of language maintenance and transmission. The Kabyles have roots in northern Algeria, and associate their language, Kabyle, with a pre-Arabized history of northern Africa, with claims to cultural authenticity and indigeneity. This paper focuses on research conducted in the UK, a relatively new immigrant setting for this community. The Syrian Christians originate from Turkey and have dispersed across different European countries since the 1960s. They make strong identity claims to Aramaic, “the language of Jesus”, yet have also found its preservation and intergenerational transmission challenging. This paper focuses on research conducted in the German speaking context. Drawing on ethnographic research with these communities, we bring their post-migration language preservation activisms into a dialogue. This shows the enduring significance of the heritage language for social, cultural and historical identity, despite considerable language decline. It also demonstrates that the current survival of the “mother tongue” hinges on multilingual and multi-sited language activisms which bear the hallmarks of both new creativities and diminishing fluencies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:44:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f519c7b0323a4f889895cb10ae18449f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:44:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Languages |
| spelling | doaj.art-f519c7b0323a4f889895cb10ae18449f2023-11-23T09:12:21ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2021-10-016417510.3390/languages6040175Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in EuropeHeidi Armbruster0Souhila Belabbas1Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKDepartment of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKThis paper brings together two different communities, Kabyles (Amazighs) and Syrian Christians, who are nevertheless marked by some commonalities: a strong diasporic dispersal as a historical experience, political, cultural and linguistic marginalization in their countries of origin, the deep association of collective identity with an “endangered” heritage language, a lived experience of multilingualism, and a post-emigration struggle of language maintenance and transmission. The Kabyles have roots in northern Algeria, and associate their language, Kabyle, with a pre-Arabized history of northern Africa, with claims to cultural authenticity and indigeneity. This paper focuses on research conducted in the UK, a relatively new immigrant setting for this community. The Syrian Christians originate from Turkey and have dispersed across different European countries since the 1960s. They make strong identity claims to Aramaic, “the language of Jesus”, yet have also found its preservation and intergenerational transmission challenging. This paper focuses on research conducted in the German speaking context. Drawing on ethnographic research with these communities, we bring their post-migration language preservation activisms into a dialogue. This shows the enduring significance of the heritage language for social, cultural and historical identity, despite considerable language decline. It also demonstrates that the current survival of the “mother tongue” hinges on multilingual and multi-sited language activisms which bear the hallmarks of both new creativities and diminishing fluencies.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/6/4/175endangered languageslanguage maintenancediasporamultilingualismKabylesSyrian Christians |
| spellingShingle | Heidi Armbruster Souhila Belabbas Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe Languages endangered languages language maintenance diaspora multilingualism Kabyles Syrian Christians |
| title | Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe |
| title_full | Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe |
| title_fullStr | Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe |
| title_short | Between Loss and Salvage: Kabyles and Syrian Christians Negotiate Heritage, Linguistic Authenticity and Identity in Europe |
| title_sort | between loss and salvage kabyles and syrian christians negotiate heritage linguistic authenticity and identity in europe |
| topic | endangered languages language maintenance diaspora multilingualism Kabyles Syrian Christians |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/6/4/175 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT heidiarmbruster betweenlossandsalvagekabylesandsyrianchristiansnegotiateheritagelinguisticauthenticityandidentityineurope AT souhilabelabbas betweenlossandsalvagekabylesandsyrianchristiansnegotiateheritagelinguisticauthenticityandidentityineurope |