Revitalization of Duoxu: A first-hand account

Katia Chirkova (1)

1 CRLAO - Centre de Recherches Linguistiques sur l'Asie Orientale

How can we revitalize a language that is unwritten and nearly extinct, a language that has no documentation record and is not officially recognized, and hence lacks any kind of institutionalized support? The chances of successfully revitalizing such a language are slim. One language that meets this dire description is Duoxu, the subject matter of this chapter. Under normal circumstances, revitalization of Duoxu would have little chance to take root. Yet, in spite of weighty objections, revitalization may be possible in the Duoxu case, albeit to a limited degree. Currently, revitalization of Duoxu is in the early stages of implementation. The encouraging lessons of Duoxu are that revitalization always remains a possibility, even under the most unfavorable conditions, and that efforts of individual community members dedicated to the cause can and do make an important difference. What matters is how to sustainably support grassroots revitalization initiatives and make the most out of the potential they offer.

Domaines: Linguistique

Katia Chirkova. Revitalization of Duoxu: A first-hand account . Leanne Hinton, Leena Huss, Gerald Roche. The Routledge Handbook of Language Revitalization, Routledge, 2018, 9781138674493. ⟨hal-01684082⟩