In this project, we aim to measure the effectiveness of past and present revitalization activities for North Frisian. Right now, the socio-demographic description of North Frisian lacks robust figures on its number of speakers and geographical spread. In addition, it is not sufficiently clear which language planning and revitalization efforts have been implemented throughout the region over what time periods, thus making it difficult to analyze the application and success of such efforts.
Through this project, we intend to fill these gaps, providing insight into the nature as well as the effects of these revitalization activities. We’ll offer a detailed survey of the language planning or revitalization initiatives that have been undertaken at different times and in different regions, villages or towns, and provide an overview of the research that has been conducted on North Frisian. Subsequently, the status quo of the usage of the language today will be documented, focusing particularly on language competence and perception.
Finally, the project compares these findings and seeks to identify any explicit or implicit correlations between the past and present revitalization activities and current competence and perception of the language.