LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD. THE ROLE OF EDUCATION AND LINGUISTIC RIGHTS IN PRESERVING MINORITY LANGUAGES

WIDESPREAD GLOBALIZATION HAS BROUGHT NOT ONLY ECONOMIC, POLITICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL STRUCTURAL CHANGES. IDENTITY, AS A SOCIETAL ELEMENT, AND LANGUAGE, AS A SPECIFIC TOOL OF PRESERVATION, ARE THREATENED BY THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS LINGUA FRANCA, ACCELERATING THE MARGINALIZATION OF MINORITY LANGUAGES. LANGUAGE SHIFT IS A CONCEPT DEALING WITH THE LOSS OF NATIVE LANGUAGES IN FAVOUR OF DOMINANT ONES, WHILE LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION AIMS TO RESTORE OR MAINTAIN THEIR USE. EDUCATION IS A MAIN TOOL IN REVITALIZATION EFFORTS, BUT IT IMPLIES THE ELLABORATION AND INFORCEMENT OF LEGISLATION AND GOVERNMENTAL POLICIES. DESPITE THE EFFORTS AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, LINGUICISM, OR DISCRIMINATION BASED ON LANGUAGE, STILL REMAINS A BARRIER IN EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND PUBLIC LIFE. THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES ON THE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION AND THE CONNECTION WITH POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL FACTORS. IN PRESERVING CULTURAL IDENTITY, LINGUISTIC RIGHTS ARE AT THE FOREFRONT, TOGETHER WITH COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS FROM INDIVIDUALS, COMMUNITIES, AND INSTITUTIONS. THE ARTICLE ARGUES THAT LANGUAGE POLICIES, ESPECIALLY THOSE IN EDUCATION, IF APPLIED CORRECTLY, CAN BE USEFUL TOOLS IN COUNTERBALANCING THE DOMINANCE OF MAJORITY LANGUAGES AND RESTORE NON-DOMINANT NATIVE LANGUAGES IN A GLOBALIZED WORLD, WITH A TENDENCY TOWARDS HOMOGENIZATION.

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