Resilience in Frisian Humanities
Resilience/ Fearkrêft
Frisian language and history possess great resilience in various domains. For example, Frisians were able to uphold their own form of government and law code in the Middle Ages. The famous “Frisian freedom” serves as a beautiful example of resilience. Another example is found in the 19th century, when the Frisian Movement came into existence as part and result of the European Romantic Period. The Frisian movement was a prime factor in the creation of a substantial Frisian literature, of an orthography for written Frisian and of a grammar for the Frisian language. It sparked off immense, often scientific, interest in Frisian history, folklore and language.
The resilience of Frisian language and culture is of vital interest nowadays. How can a minority language survive in a globalising world. Present-day developments involve for example education (Language Plan 2030) and language technology (speech recognition and synthesis). Minority languages are integrated in education through multilingualism and translanguaging at all levels of education. What challenges do minority languages face nowadays, and how can these challenges be met?