Linguistic minority, commonly known as a minority language, is the language that is spoken or used by the minority members of a population in a certain region or state. According to Stephen May (2013, p.47), author of Minority Languages, a linguistic minority is a language spoken by less than half of the population of a particular state or country. An example of a minority language is Navajo which is spoken by Native Americans in the United States. This analysis attempts to determine the characteristics associated with linguistic minorities while also highlighting the historical context of linguistic minority communities.
Characteristics associated with linguistic minorities are simply the attributes or traits which can be observed within a minority language. The first of three characteristics of linguistic minorities is they are mainly dominated and spoken by middle age or elderly people (May, 2013, p. 66). It is because of an apparent lack of transference of the language to the youth. In most cases, this is due to lack of interest or will to learn. Secondly, linguistic minorities are commonly found in rural areas. They are isolated in the rural regions which in turn hinders the spread and growth of the language. The third attribute of linguistic minorities is bilingualism which is the process of having two fluently spoken languages. It is a characteristic in linguistic minority communities which threatens to replace the primary minority language.
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Lastly, to better understand the historical context of a linguistic minority community, we will use the Native American community as an example. Native Americans migrated from the east and settled in America before it was discovered by explorers (Lindsay, 2012, p. 97). Soon after, European invasion followed which culminated in war and conflict which reduced the number of Native American speakers in the land. Additionally, epidemics and diseases brought by Europeans further added in the deaths of countless Native Americans.
References
Lindsay, B. C. (2012). Murder State: California's Native American Genocide, 1846-1873 . Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
May, S. (2013). Language and Minority Rights: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Politics of Language . London, England: Routledge.
