Can music save a language from extinction? | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This video follows the life of a PhD researcher studying a critically endangered language and using music to preserve it.

Key Insights

• 🤙 The Channel Islands, particularly Jersey, have their own endangered language called Grea.
• 🤨 Music is being used as a tool to raise awareness and promote the preservation of Grea.
• 👨‍🔬 Fieldwork and collaborations with local musicians are integral to Kit Ashton's PhD research.
• 🇯🇪 Despite being critically endangered, there are efforts to revitalize Grea and its cultural significance in Jersey.
• 🔇 The German occupation during World War II had a significant impact on the suppression of Grea and its speakers.
• 🤨 Kit Ashton's projects aim to connect generations and raise the status of Grea in Jersey society.
• 👯 The Jersey community has a passionate group of people dedicated to preserving and learning Grea.

Transcript

thanks to educational website brilliant org for sponsoring this video lots of people started following this YouTube channel because of the blogs I made during my PhD in atmospheric physics at the University of Exeter I loved doing my research and I loved making these videos but unfortunately I had to graduate at some point and that necessarily mean... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What is Grea and why is it endangered?

Grea is a dialect of Norman, a Latin-based language spoken in Jersey. It is endangered due to the break in generational transmission and suppression during the German occupation in World War II.

Q: How is music being used to help preserve Grea?

Kit Ashton's band, Bad Lebec, performs songs in Grea, raising awareness and promoting the language. Kit also formed a choir with school children to perform traditional Grea songs on Liberation Day.

Q: How many people speak Grea currently?

It is difficult to determine the exact number, but it is estimated that there are around 200 to 500 native speakers of Grea, with a few thousand more who understand the language to some extent.

Q: What are Kit Ashton's PhD projects?

Kit's projects involve using music to raise the status of Grea in Jersey society. This includes performing with his band, teaching Grea songs in schools, forming a youth choir, and organizing collaborative songwriting projects.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The video introduces Kit Ashton, a PhD researcher studying a critically endangered language called Grea in Jersey.

• Kit discusses his musical background and how he became interested in using music to preserve the language.

• The video showcases Kit's fieldwork in Jersey, his collaboration with local musicians, and his projects aimed at raising the status of Grea in Jersey society.