'Mathinnyi' - Film Screening & Discussion of Music & Language Revitalisation in Jersey, SOAS
Channel: SOAS University of London
Date: 2017-06-27

https://www.soas.ac.uk/linguistics
This Linguistics Seminar titled "'Mathinnyi' – Film Screening, Presentation and Discussion of Music and Language Revitalisation in Jersey" was given by Kit Ashton (Goldsmiths) at SOAS University of London on 16 May 2017.
You can find out more about this event at https://goo.gl/siGWKP
To watch 'Mathinnyi' in full HD please go to: https://vimeo.com/128025089

Kit Ashton is a musician, just finishing the first year of a CHASE-funded PhD in Music at Goldsmiths. His thesis is currently titled:
"Applied Ethnomusicology and the Revitalisation of the Endangered Language of Jèrriais: A study of music, language ideology, and cultural identity in Jersey."

When it comes to language revitalisation strategies, Jeroen Darquennes and others have argued for the development of:
A comprehensive, multidisciplinarily conceived and multi-dimensionally oriented total concept that is intertwined with social reality as a prerequisite for successful language revitalisation.[1]

This seminar will propose that music should be considered as a potentially important element of this 'total concept', and will focus on the way it can shape cultural identity and language ideology, with reference to ongoing work in Jersey.

'Mathinnyi' is a short ethnographic film, made during Kit's MA, which explores the Jersey context from a personal perspective – providing insights into the island, the community and the language. Kit was born and raised in Jersey, and is the founder and lead singer of Jèrriais pop-folk band Badlabecques.

The film will be followed by a presentation and – hopefully – an interactive discussion on the following topics:
- Music as a strategy for language revitalisation
- Methodologies for measuring language change
- Film as a research tool

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[1] Jeroen Darquennes, "Paths to language revitalization," in Contact Linguistics and Language Minorities/Kontaktlinguistik und Sprachminderheiten/ Linguistique de Contact et Minorités Linguistiques (Plurilingua, 30), St. Augustin, Asgard, (2007): 61-76.