Susan Samata – författare

This volume shows that, by moving away from code models that foster restrictive perceptions of language as learned words and rules, and towards an ecolinguistics capable of integrating with concepts of embodied cognition, it is possible to recognise a broad range of connections with a language from which an individual or community has become estranged. Using the Ainu of Japan as an example and comparator, this book reviews historical and contemporary suppression of languages as a means of, or as a bi-product of, the suppression of their speakers.Preservation of the Ainu language, which had no written form, has been central to official culture promotion programs, but the language has steadily declined in use. The Ainu experience has much in common with that of communities taken over and suppressed by oppressive forces in other countries and spans rural and urban contexts. Susan Samata examines the historical, social and ecolinguistic contexts of Ainu, with particular emphasis on presentation and perception in daily life. She also considers how aspects of ecolinguistic theory may be mapped onto museum practices, television and cinema, popular literature, and the promotion of tourism. These are then compared to the sociolinguistic situations of a selection of other languages and cultures in China, North America and Scandinavia. By highlighting points of similarity and dissimilarity, Samata demonstrates the factors that operate in the suppression of people and their languages and suggests ways in which the perspective described may support resistance to suppression and assimilation, not least in language teaching areas.

This volume shows that, by moving away from code models that foster restrictive perceptions of language as learned words and rules, and towards an ecolinguistics capable of integrating with concepts of embodied cognition, it is possible to recognise a broad range of connections with a language from which an individual or community has become estranged. Using the Ainu of Japan as an example and comparator, this book reviews historical and contemporary suppression of languages as a means of, or as a bi-product of, the suppression of their speakers.Preservation of the Ainu language, which had no written form, has been central to official culture promotion programs, but the language has steadily declined in use. The Ainu experience has much in common with that of communities taken over and suppressed by oppressive forces in other countries and spans rural and urban contexts. Susan Samata examines the historical, social and ecolinguistic contexts of Ainu, with particular emphasis on presentation and perception in daily life. She also considers how aspects of ecolinguistic theory may be mapped onto museum practices, television and cinema, popular literature, and the promotion of tourism. These are then compared to the sociolinguistic situations of a selection of other languages and cultures in China, North America and Scandinavia. By highlighting points of similarity and dissimilarity, Samata demonstrates the factors that operate in the suppression of people and their languages and suggests ways in which the perspective described may support resistance to suppression and assimilation, not least in language teaching areas.

"I can't even speak my own language," were the words overheard in a college staffroom that triggered the writing of this book. Calling something 'my own' implies a personal, proprietorial relationship with it. But how can it be your own if you cannot speak it?The Cultural Memory of Language looks at unintended monolingualism - a lack of language fluency in a migratory cultural situation where two or more languages exist at 'home'. It explores family history and childhood language acquisition and attrition. What is the present everyday experience of language use and life between two cultures? Examining interview data, Samata uncovers a sense of inauthenticity felt by people who do not fully share a parent's first language. Alongside this features a sense of concurrent anger, and a need to assign blame. Participation in the language, even to the extent of phatic or formulaic phraseology, occasions feelings of authentic linguistic and cultural inclusion. The book thus uncovers appreciable (and measurable) benefits in positive self-image and a sense of well-being. Looking at how people view language is essential - how they view the language they call their own is even more important and this book does just that in a qualified applied linguistic environment.