How children's picturebooks can disrupt existing language hierarchies

How children's picturebooks can disrupt existing language hierarchies

6 years ago
Anonymous $2WKDXfy9lA

https://phys.org/news/2018-05-children-picturebooks-disrupt-language-hierarchies.html

One reflection of the differential status of languages comes through in bilingual children's picturebooks. Here I explore how te reo Māori (the indigenous language of New Zealand) is represented and argue that the way languages are displayed in bilingual picturebooks can disrupt the status quo.

As a sociolinguist, I am interested in the representation of languages in bilingual picturebooks. This not only reflects existing attitudes towards languages, but it can also be powerful in shaping future societal attitudes.