Doctoral Dissertation Research: Jicarilla Apache Language Socialization and Revitalization

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Doctoral student Mariann Skahan (University of New Mexico), under the supervision of Dr. Les Field, will undertake research on the bearing of Jicarilla Apache language ideologies on current efforts to revitalize the Jicarilla language. The study will examine how past and present practices and notions of communicative competence have shaped language use.This research focuses on language biographies of Jicarilla Apache language advocates, supplemented by information obtained in structured and semi-structured interviews, participant observation, sociolinguistic analysis of interactions, and archival research. The researcher's goal is to produce an account of the social and cultural vicissitudes of a Native American language that has gone from being a language in daily basis to one experiencing marked linguistic shift. This methodological and theoretical framework will provide the context to answer questions related to: 1) What is the relationship between language socialization experiences of Jicarilla Apache men and women and their attitude towards language revitalization; 2) What is the impact of the earlier Jicarilla Apache revitalization programs on former language students who are now adults; and 3) How do differing sects of Jicarilla Apache men and women define language competency and proficiency?This project will help social scientists to theorize the effects of social framing on language revitalization programs by examining language shift in the personal histories of tribal community members. This research also will give voice to qualities of discursive performance and forms of agency and authorship by members of minority speech communities that are otherwise difficult to recognize. This research supports the education of a social scientist.