The value of heritage languages: Spanish at the Latin American School of Berne

Online lecture by Dr. Yvette Bürki (University of Berne, Switzerland)

Tuesday, October 31, 2023 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Online Location, (Registration link in description on event page)

The coexistence of four national languages - German, French, Italian and Romansh - is a fundamental characteristic of Switzerland. However, numerous other languages are also spoken, given the strong presence of immigrants in Switzerland, who represent 39% of the population. However, although Switzerland is becoming a superdiverse society, linguistic diversity is not structurally represented in the educational landscape, as the Swiss Confederation does not offer heritage language (HL) education. Instead, HL education is organized and funded by HL communities via complementary schools. In this talk, Dr. Yvette Bürki presents her findings from ethnographic research at the Escuela Latinoamericana de Berna (ELB) that examined the motivations of teachers, parents and students for promoting Spanish maintenance and transmission. Her analysis of the multiple, sometimes contradictory types of value that various social actors in the ELB assign to Spanish highlights the importance of HLs, not only for the ELB community but for Swiss society as a whole, given the advantages of HL maintenance  for positive socialization.

Registration required: https://gmu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAof-qgqj8vE9CANAUSc8zOKP-JTznV29c9

 

Sponsored by The Department of Modern and Classical Languages.