Your language or ours? Inclusion and exclusion of non-indigenous majorities in Māori and Sámi language revitalization policy

What is it about?

This paper compares to what extent non-Indigenous peoples have been an audience to Indigenous language revitalization as public policy in Norway and New Zealand. It finds that Norway has traditionally positioned Sami languages as a matter for and by Sami fare from Norwegianness, whereas New Zealand traditionally positioned Maori language as a mater of interethnic national identity. In the absence of significant policy gains the two countries may be shifting these premises.

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Why is it important?

The paper proposes a theoretical continuum between neotraditionalism and biculturalism to locate and trace ideological shifts in who is involved in Indigenous language policy and why.