Zwischen Aktivismus, Anwaltschaft und Expertise: eine Erkundung am Beispiel Kärnten/Koroška

Abstract

For several decades, there has been an alarming decline in the languages of the ethnic groups recognized in Austria – Croatian, Slovene, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak, and Romani. At the same time, there is growing interest in processes of linguistic reclaiming and revitalization, which in Carinthia/Koroška are reflected in rising enrollment figures for Slovene language classes. These processes go beyond a mere commodification of the minoritised language (cf. Dannerer 2021). They represent the beginnings of a counter-movement to a history marked by persecution, language bans, assimilation, and suppression from the public sphere. Language activism, advocacy, and expertise play an important role in language policy debates – roles that I have alternately, and sometimes simultaneously, assumed. In this contribution I reflect on the expectations and attributions associated with these roles.