A Tale of Three Language Policies: A Narrative Inquiry Into the Plight of Romania's Roma Peoples — The Association Specialists
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  2. SESSION 5: Discourse analysis
  3. A Tale of Three Language Policies: A Narrative Inquiry Into the Plight of Romania's Roma Peoples

A Tale of Three Language Policies: A Narrative Inquiry Into the Plight of Romania's Roma Peoples (20142)

Mia Tarau 1
  1. Te Puna Wānanga - School of Māori and Indigenous Studies , University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

Once upon a time, a mysterious new people disembarked on the shores of Europe, bringing with them a unique way of life that unsettled the people of the land, who, based on their appearance, believed that they had come from Egypt. This led to a new imposed identity on them, that of gypsies, which, woven into their renown as performers, practitioners of the magic arts, and thieves, has followed them in their centuries-long pilgrimages through Europe. Their stories and life histories angered rulers and peoples alike throughout these centuries, filling European storytelling with myths about these monsters. Today, the times and rulers have changed; but Romaphobia remains a cloak that divides Europeans and the Roma. This narrative inquiry into language policy in practice in Romania (a country in which the numbers of Roma are high) investigates whether a focus shift from individual to group and language rights might better serve (European) Roma communities and give Roma (hi)stories a better ending, perhaps re-articulating who the monsters are in these (hi)stories today. By storying national legislation, institutional practices, and Roma lived experiences, this paper reveals three complicated, complex, and compelling stories of continued disenfranchisement still cloaking one of Europe’s most hated peoples.

 

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