The politics of language contact in northwestern California: Maintaining diversity in the face of cultural convergence

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the language ideologies and socio-political realities associated with the highly localized oral traditions of northwestern California, including both stories and songs, which are both connected in profoundly indexical ways to the distinctiveness of the languages. My findings suggest that the principle of linguistic relativity, whereby speakers of contrasting languages subscribe to different worldviews, often emerges from conscious choices of interpretation among community members, who actively strive to set their languages and worldviews apart from those of neighboring societies – in association with a pervasive ideology of localism. Today, as the languages undergo revitalization, this long-standing concern with local difference is receiving renewed attention in the context of the tribal language programs where speakers are also striving to keep their languages, stories, songs, and worldviews distinct – both from the neighboring tribes as well as the English-speaking world. Today, as in the past, the distinctive languages continue to play an important role in the maintenance of identity, setting the communities apart in publicly accentuated ways and instilling language learners with a sense of pride in the uniqueness of their own traditions.