Studies in European Language Diversity 23 THE VÕRO LANGUAGE IN ESTONIA ELDIA Case-Specific Report Kadri KOREINIK Mainz Wien Helsinki Tartu Mariehamn Oulu Maribor Studies in European Language Diversity is a peer-reviewed online publication series of the research project ELDIA, serving as an outlet for preliminary research findings, individual case studies, background and spin-off research. Editor-in-Chief Johanna Laakso (Wien) Editorial Board Kari Djerf (Helsinki), Riho Grünthal (Helsinki), Anna Kolláth (Maribor), Helle Metslang (Tartu), Karl Pajusalu (Tartu), Anneli Sarhimaa (Mainz), Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark (Mariehamn), Helena Sulkala (Oulu), Reetta Toivanen (Helsinki) Publisher Research consortium ELDIA c/o Prof. Dr. Anneli Sarhimaa Northern European and Baltic Languages and Cultures (SNEB) Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz Jakob-Welder-Weg 18 (Philosophicum) D-55099 Mainz, Germany Contact: [email protected] © 2013 European Language Diversity for All (ELDIA) Cover design: Minna Pelkonen & Hajnalka Berényi-Kiss ELDIA is an international research project funded by the European Commission. The views expressed in the Studies in European Language Diversity are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. All contents of the Studies in European Language Diversity are subject to the Austrian copyright law. The contents may be used exclusively for private, non-commercial purposes. Regarding any further uses of the Studies in European Language Diversity, please contact the publisher. ISSN 2192-2403 i Table of Contents Tables and Figures ....................................................................................................... iii 1 Introduction: What is ELDIA? .................................................................................1 2 Sociohistorical and Linguistic Contexts ...................................................................3 2.1 Introduction....................................................................................................3 2.2 Sociohistory ....................................................................................................6 2.2.1 The context of the investigated language community ..................................................... 6 2.2.2 Territorial and political context ...................................................................................... 10 2.2.3 Cultural context .............................................................................................................. 13 2.3 Demographic Context ..................................................................................16 2.3.1 Statistics and basic demographic information ............................................................... 16 2.3.2 The assessment of the criteria that form the basis of existing information ................... 18 2.3.3 The basic shortcomings of existing demographic data ................................................... 20 2.4 Language and Minority Policies in Practice .................................................21 2.4.1 General context of language-political practices ............................................................. 21 2.4.2 Standardisation of the minority language ...................................................................... 21 2.4.3 Language use in different domains ................................................................................ 22 2.4.4 Identity-connected language-political behaviour ........................................................... 27 2.4.5 Gender aspects of every-day language policies ............................................................. 27 2.5 Languages in Contact and Language Maintenance......................................27 2.5.1 Monolingualism, bilingualism and multilingualism ........................................................ 30 2.5.2 Results of the language contact ..................................................................................... 31 2.5.3 Perception of learnability and willingness to use the language ..................................... 32 3 Data Sampling and Methods.................................................................................33 3.1 Introduction to Fieldwork ............................................................................33 3.2 Sample Survey ..............................................................................................34 3.2.1 The structure of the minority speakers’ questionnaire .................................................. 34 3.2.2 Minority language speakers’ survey ............................................................................... 36 3.2.3 The structure of the control group questionnaire .......................................................... 37 3.2.4 Control group survey ...................................................................................................... 37 3.3 Individual Interviews ....................................................................................38 3.3.1 On the organisation of the interviews ............................................................................ 38 3.3.2 Interview descriptions .................................................................................................... 41 3.4 Focus Group Interviews................................................................................42 3.4.1 Focus group interviews with MinLG speakers ................................................................ 42 3.4.2 Interview descriptions .................................................................................................... 43 3.4.3 Focus group interviews with CG representatives ........................................................... 45 3.4.4 Interview descriptions .................................................................................................... 46 3.5 Sociodemographic Distributions ..................................................................46 ii 3.6 The Principles Underlying the ELDIA Data Analyses ....................................47 3.6.1 Minority languages as part of multilingualism in modern societies ............................... 47 3.6.2 The operational goal of ELDIA ........................................................................................ 48 3.6.3 Defining and measuring language vitality ...................................................................... 49 3.6.4 Practical procedures in the data analyses ...................................................................... 53 4 New Data on Legislation, Media, Education, Language Use and Interaction.......57 4.1 Legal and Institutional Analysis ....................................................................57 4.2 Media Analysis .............................................................................................59 4.3 Sociolinguistic Analysis of Survey and Interview Findings ...........................62 4.3.1 Language Use and Interaction ........................................................................................ 62 4.3.2 Legislation ....................................................................................................................... 87 4.3.3 Media .............................................................................................................................. 90 4.3.4 Education ........................................................................................................................ 92 5 Case-Specific Language Vitality Barometer ..........................................................94 5.1 Capacity ........................................................................................................95 5.2 Opportunity ..................................................................................................98 5.3 Desire............................................................................................................99 5.4 Language Products .................................................................................... 101 5.5 The Vitality of Võro ................................................................................... 102 6 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 104 7 References ......................................................................................................... 105 8 List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................... 115 Annex 1: Policy Recommendations ......................................................................... 116 Annex 2: Transcription Symbols .............................................................................. 117 Annex 3: Questionnaires .......................................................................................... 118 iii Tables and Figures Table 1. Population data from the censuses of 1970, 1979, and 1989. (Source: Statistics Estonia) ................................................................................................17 Table 2. Population in 25 municipalities where Võro is spoken, 1 January 2009, by age group, year, and gender. (Source: Statistics Estonia) ..................................18 Table 3. Survey outcome: Võro ...................................................................................36 Table 4. CG survey outcomes ......................................................................................38