Marginalisation: non-dominant language learning and teaching from a comparative perspective

Abstract

This article interrogates the meaning of marginalisation by comparing two non-dominant language communities in Europe, and in particular their language education and teachers. An interdisciplinary exploration of the marginalisation leads the authors to identify key aspects and expressions of the concept. The authors illuminate these broad expressions of marginalisation in both the case of the Moldavian Csángó in Romania and the Võro in Estonia. The article foregrounds the contours and expressions of the marginalisation of language education through a thematic, comparative view of qualitative data, particularly focused on teachers. In both cases, expressions of marginalisation intersect powerfully to endanger instruction in the language and the place of the language in schools. The compounded experience of these various expressions contributes to a persistence in marginalisation over time. Despite the fragility and uncertainty resulting from this marginalisation, the margins can also serve as sites of possibility for language revitalisation and survival.