Fishman, Joshua. 1996. What do you lose when you lose your language ?

Fishman, Joshua. 1996. What do you lose when you lose your language ? In Gina Cantoni (ed.), Stabilizing indigenous languages, 80-91. Flagstaff, Arizona: Center for Excellence in Education, Northern Arizona University.

“Reversing language shift is a research field, it is an applied field, it is a cultural values field, it has new horizons, there are new things to do, things that are, if you like, differently focused than the ordinary school has been. And reversing language shift asks, “What happens with the mother tongue before school, in school, out of school, and after school?” so that it can be passed on from one generation to another. I started with a good question and I am ending with a good question and that is the question. “What are you going to do with the mother tongue before school, in school, out of school, and after school?” Because that determines its fate, whether it is going to become self-renewing. That is my question for you, no joke!”