Chronicles in Language Revitalization

These papers share narratives, testimonials and experiences in language revitalization scenarios. These contributions are intended as a forum for language communities, their members, language activists and research scholars that want to support other revitalizationists by sharing their experiences.

  • Chronicles should be between 5 and 30 pages long (single space, including references). For papers with more than 30 pages, the authors should present a written justification to the editors.
  • There is no specific written style that is required for such papers. We encourage authors to explore a diversity of epistemological frames and perspectives, and create a narrative that reflects the work from the perspective of the community of speakers.
  • Chronicles may be written in the relevant language being revitalized. If the authors chose this option, we suggest (but do not require) a summary of the paper of about 1000 words in one of the lingua francas of the journal (Portuguese, Spanish or English) so that as many readers as possible are able to learn from the Chronicles. The authors may also opt to write the Chronicle in one of the lingua francas directly. A third option is a bilingual version of the paper in which the full content is presented in the community language and in a lingua franca. The journal is not in a position to provide translation services so all language versions need to be provided by the authors.
  • Thinking about potential readers from other communities, we do encourage authors to include in their narratives some information about the language, the people, the linguistic and demographic situation of the revitalized language, etc. Please see the section Topics of interest below with suggestions on topics that are appropriate for the journal.

Authors:

Authors are not required to have academic affiliations. Each author should include a short bio (30 words), where they mention their academic and non-academic affiliations, and/or connections to the relevant community and language. They can also include any experience or professional position they believe can demonstrate their expertise in relation to the experience being described. 

Topics of interest

The chronicles can describe different types of actions taken by a community or communities to sustain, revitalize and/or improve the use, teaching or learning of the target language. It could deal with a description of a more complex, large scale project, or focus on actions taken to prepare materials, provide teacher education, promote activities with the language in the community, etc. We suggest the following topics as sections or elements in the Chronicles:

  • Language use in the legal system (eg. in continuing education for judges, translations)
  • Language training for medical personnel
  • Music, theatre, film and other performing arts
  • Language and graphic arts
  • Language in media including television, radio and digital platforms
  • Translation and interpretation
  • Language in schooling
  • Visibility of the language in public and private domains and in daily life (ex. visibility and use in markets, sports, parks and recreation, workspaces, etc.)

Content

  • Please introduce in the first section of the paper the author(s), their relationship with/within the community, their role in the described project, etc. Who are the authors and their role in the revitalization efforts?
  • Please say something about the community and some characteristics of the local environment where the actions took (or are taking) place. You can also describe some of the key people or groups of people involved.
  • It is important to describe the actions taken. Were there meetings/workshops? Did you prepare any materials? When did the activities start (and finish)?
  • You can list the goals and objectives of the project and/or activities. What did the people involved want to achieve?
  • Please describe the products created, which can be physical objects (books, reports, videos, class materials, songs, etc) or actions (workshops, trips, community celebrations or activities, etc.)
  • You can include information about:
    • the assessment of resources available, both in terms of human, cultural and/or financial resources
    • project planning
    • language assessment
  • Think about providing some information about the outcomes. What happened during or after the activities? Were there any impacts in people's language use, general attitudes towards the language, everyday practices related to the language, etc?
  • Please share any thoughts as to what those involved in the efforts learned from the experience and if there are any perspectives or advice you would like to share with revatilizationists elsewhere.

Peer review process for Chronicles:

All contributions will undergo a peer-reviewed process.

  • Chronicles will be evaluated in terms of how informative they are.
  • We encourage Chronicles centered on community perspectives and that describe the impact of revitalization efforts on the language community.
  • If possible, we ask authors to suggest one to three names of people, as potential reviewers, who participated in or know about the described experience and can comment on the Chronicle and make suggestions for its improvement.
  • For contributions in languages being revitalized, we ask authors to arrange for another member of the language community to review the contribution and also suggest someone external who, if proficient in the language in question, might review the paper.