Language Beliefs and Responsibility in the Revitalization of Finland-Swedish Sign Language

This article examines the language beliefs of signers of the severely endangered Finland-Swedish Sign Language ( finlandssvenskt teckenspråk, FSTS). The study focuses on how signers perceive FSTS to be a linguistic entity and how they relate to the notion of responsibility in supporting language vitality. The data consist of video recordings of 14 FSTS signers drawing, describing, and discussing language portraits, and the material is analyzed through the theoretical lenses of language-making and responsibility. The results show that signers assign high emotional value to FSTS and express a strong desire to use their language. At the same time, they describe various obstacles that hinder their ability to support language vitality. For example, younger signers describe limited language skills and lack of opportunities to use and develop the language, while older signers express doubts about their own agency, reflected in their lack of confidence to take action. When study participants describe FSTS as a perceived linguistic entity, different naming practices of the language emerge. Changes in FSTS naming practices across generations of signers reveal the process of language-making by illustrating how FSTS has become a named language in its own right. The study also highlights the need to pay more attention to the concepts of language-making and responsibility to better understand the role that beliefs play in language revitalization.