Voltan Dolch
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| Voltan Dolch | |
|---|---|
| Woltdoltsch | |
| Native to | Volta |
| Region | Volta, various Voltan diaspora groups |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
Voltan Dolch is a dialect of the Dolch language spoken in some parts of Volta and among a large portion of Voltan Dolch diaspora. Though the number of speakers of this language within Volta is small, the dialect has been preserved outside of Volta. This was largely due to the Voltan diaspora preserving their language, along with efforts by the Voltan government-in-exile to preserve the language.
Origins
Though many of the initial settlers of Volta came from a region of Dolchland where the predominant dialect was Low Dolch, later settlers would arrive from all over Dolchland and speak a variety of different dialects. Much of the powerful elite spoke a dialect of High Dolch, and their language became the prestige dialect. As such, when the dialects began merging High Dolch served as the base. The result of that dialect leveling was a dialect very close to the standard Dolch language still spoken in Dolchland, albeit with some differences and some influences from other dialects.
Usage
Voltan Dolch does not have any official status in Volta. Since the end of the Voltan Civil War, the communist authorities labeled dialect (along with the entire Dolch language) a "language of the bourgeoisie". As a result, speakers of the dialect were persecuted until around 1990. Though active persecution of Voltan Dolch speakers ended in 1990, the dialect is still faces many obstacles and is in sharp decline within Volta. For example, Voltan Dolch is not the medium of instruction at any schools in Volta, and attempts to open such schools have continually been blocked by authorities.
However, the dialect has been kept alive in Voltan diaspora communities, particularly among ethnically Dolch Voltans. These communities continue to use the dialect at home in their daily lives, and the Voltan government-in-exile provides support to many private schools where the medium of instruction is Voltan Dolch.
