From the Roots to the Shoots: A Hawaiian Case Study of Language Revitalization and Modes of Communication

Abstract

Throughout history, multiple indigenous groups have had their cultural, linguistic, and communicative identities supplanted by the norms of dominant groups. Nonetheless, the communication discipline has given minimal attention to the preservation and revitalization of minority languages. This article begins to redress this oversight by means of a case study of the Hawaiian language. In the last 200 years, the Hawaiian Islands have been significantly affected by Western influence, a process that has severely endangered the Hawaiian language. Beginning in the 1980s, scholars and community activists developed language immersion education programs to reverse this decline. In light of globalization forces and interview data, and drawing on the ethnolinguistic vitality framework, our integrative analysis uniquely assesses the history and status of the Hawaiian language as it is currently being revitalized through demographic support, media, and educational immersion programs. In addition to discussing future challenges to these efforts, we offer an agenda for research across an array of communication domains.

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