The Vitality of the Communities
Page 17 of 36
Models of Community Vitality
Few researchers have proposed valid models of causality that are applicable to all linguistic minorities. Nonetheless, some theoretical models have made their mark on research, and others are emerging. In this section, we present the main outlines and thrusts of some of the most prominent models:
- the ethnolinguistic model of Harwood, Giles and Bourhis (1994), inspired by the classic model of Giles et al. (1977)
- the ethnolinguistic model of Landry and Allard (1990, 1999), together with its revised version (Landry, Allard and Deveau, 2006)
- the environmental model of community vitality proposed by Gilbert et al. (2004a)
- the longitudinal model developed by Acord (1991)
Ethnolinguistic model of Harwood, Giles and Bourhis: Harwood, Giles and Bourhis' (1994) model of ethnolinguistic vitality is a development of the classic model of Giles et al. (1977). It proposes a dynamic process with three main components and feedback loops between them (see Figure 1):
- The situation includes social and political conditions, social networks (education, media, etc.) and the measurable socio-psychological characteristics (identity, perceptions, etc.) of the population.
- The elements of vitality cognition and assessment include the differences perceived by the population in intergroup vitality, salience of vitality concerns and the degree of intergroup vitality difference.
- The outcomes of vitality assessments include manifestations of communication such as inter/intragroup language behaviour, vitality-related discourse, non-verbal aspects, attitudes and stereotypes, and relational strategies.
Figure 1. Precursors, Dimensions and Communicative Manifestations of Vitality Assessment (Harwood, Giles and Bourhis, 1994)
Source: Jake Harwood, Howard Giles and Richard Y. Bourhis, "The Genesis of Vitality Theory: Historical Patterns and Discoursal Dimensions," International Journal of the Sociology of Language 108 (1994): 167-206.
