Investigating the Possibilities and Problems of Biliteracy With an Endangered Language in Web 2.0

• In Event: Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Multiliteracies and Multimodal Learning From Early Childhood Through Adolescence

Abstract

The ‘possibilities and problems’ paradigm currently dominates research into multilingualism on the internet. This is especially the case for endangered languages that struggle to establish a large web presence vis-à-vis more dominant languages, but can also avail of the new communicative opportunities offered by Web 2.0. New media practices have contributed to an irreversibly altered literacy landscape in the 21st century. Yet there is still a striking lack of primary data concerning ways in which bi- and multilingual youths utilise their linguistic resources online. Responding to this gap, this paper presents findings from a study on German-Sorbian bilingual teenagers and their online literacy practices. It reveals an overall preference for German online, and nuanced attitudes to the use of Sorbian.

Author

• Sarah McMonagle, Universität hamburg