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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Revived languages [was: Re: Verb moods - Hebrew
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References: <32D04BD9.24D9@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> <k.e.arnesen-1001972151370001@xyplex18.uio.no> <32D783F1.7819@netvision.net.il> <k.e.arnesen-1101972121130001@xyplex05.uio.no>
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 1997 21:46:07 GMT
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In article <k.e.arnesen-1101972121130001@xyplex05.uio.no>,
KE Arnesen <k.e.arnesen@easteur-orient.uio.no> wrote:
>In article <32D783F1.7819@netvision.net.il>, Avi Jacobson
><avi_jaco@netvision.net.il> wrote:

KEA:
>> > It was this form of Hebrew that was taken up and revived as a spoken
>> > language a little over one hundred years ago, primarily among Jews in
>> > Palestine - so far the only succesful revival of any "dead" language.

AJ:
>> Speakers of Gaelic in Ireland would not agree with you.  Incidentally,
>> the Gaelic revival movement sought assistance from the Academy of the
>> Hebrew Language in seeking efective ways of reviving Gaelic.

KEA:
>To the best of my knowledge, Gaelic never completely ceased to be a spoken
>language in Ireland.
>More info, anyone?

This is true, although Irish only survives as a native language in a few
communities on the west coast (the "Gaeltacht") and Scots-Gaelic in even
fewer communities on the west coast, the Western Isles, and Nova Scotia.
The majority of people who know Irish have learned it in school, often 
from teachers who were not native speakers themselves. In this sense alone
is it a "revived language."

Besides Hebrew, the only other modern case of a "revived language" I can
think of is Cornish, which was really and truly dead by the beginning of
the 19th century.  Early in this century, it was revived and is now spoken
(to what extant and with what degree of competence, I cannot judge) by
several hundred people.  I'm not sure what percentage of these learned it
from childhood and, hence, can technically be called "native speakers".

Some years ago, I heard that Manx, which died in the 1970's, might be in
the process of being revived.  Does anyone know?

-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
