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A language island (a calque of German Sprachinsel), also known as a language enclave or language pocket, is an enclave of a language that is surrounded by one or more different languages. Language and Space. An International Handbook of Linguistic Variation, Volume 1, 2009, Section "The history of language island research (Sprachinselforschung)", p.335 The term was introduced in 1847.Peter Auer, Frans Hinskens, Paul Kerswill. Dialect change: convergence and divergence in European languages. p. 221. "The term 'Sprachinsel' was used for the first time in 1847 to designate a Slavonic community surrounded by a German-speaking population close to Konigsberg, East Prussia cf. Mattheier 1996. 812" Many speakers of these languages also have their own distinct culture.
Language islands often form as a result of Human migration, colonization, imperialism, or trade without a common tongue. Language islands are common of indigenous peoples, especially in the Americas, where colonization has led them to isolate themselves greatly.
Language islands often overlap others. Language and Space. An International Handbook of Linguistic Variation, Volume 1, 2009, Section "The history of language island research (Sprachinselforschung)", p.335 For example, in Brussels, a Belgium language island, most of the population is fluent in both Flemish language and French language, and is still considered a language island or enclave; yet, some consider Brussels' Flemish and Brussels' French to be of separate islands, despite them generally being the same people.
Initially, Alguerese held sway as the dominant language in the region until Spanish language took over. However, in the mid-eighteenth century, Italian language supplanted Spanish, becoming the new official language. Notwithstanding, and with the Alguerese influence persevered, and today the language enjoys a form of semi-official status alongside Italian.
The first Arbëreshë who settled in Italy did so mainly because of their severe mistreatment in what was then the Ottoman Balkans, but even so they had been subjugated further in Italy; Pier Paolo Pasolini called their continued and prospering existence there an "anthropological miracle." It took very long for them to be granted equal rights, and longer yet for the general public to accept them as one of their own.
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The Sorbs of Germany have had a similar history to the Jews of Germany, in that they were both oppressed by the federal and state governments (particularly by federal), they were both dismissed minorities in favor of the German population, and were unfairly categorized and separated by region, age, generation. A notable difference between the two however, was that Jews had often fought to be represented with little prevail at the time, whereas although several programmes had been implemented to preserve the Sorbian languages and cultures, Sorbs often and still do reject West Slavic culture to blend in with the German surrounding. Granata, C. A. (n.d.). Celebration and suspicion:
The Sorbian languages are a language family of West Slavic languages spoken in Saxony and Brandenburg, Germany, by the Sorbs.
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Talian is still mutually intelligible with Venetian, and somewhat so with Italian. It has been influenced heavily by Portuguese, but it has also been influenced by German, another language island in the Brazilian coast. Most Talian speakers are at least bilingual in Talian and Portuguese, and tend to cluster around the south.A gramática do Talian: ação de salvaguarda da Língua de Referência Cultural Brasileira
Talian has an estimated population of 500,000 speakers.
Examples of language islands:
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