The activity spheres framework applied to language policy: Dispositions towards Romani revitalization in Romania

Résumé 0

Current research in language policy has shifted in focus from state-controlled provisions to how individuals and social groups act upon and envisage language policy. In this paper, we pursue this line of research by applying the activity spheres framework (Harvey, The Enigma of Capital, Profile Books, London, 2010) to language policy. More specifically, we examine mental conceptions of the world associated to different activity spheres. To illustrate this dynamic relation, we focus on dispositions towards Romani language policy expressed in an online survey by respondents with an interest in Romani culture, education and language from Romania. Romania officially recognizes Romani as a minority language and has included the Romani language in the education system. Our study shows how language policies in Romania over the past thirty years shaped language ideologies by introducing literacy and formal schooling as options to support language revitalization in addition to family and daily life interactions.