The article introduces the topic addressed by the study seminar on the theme of new speakers and semi-speakers in relation to the prospects for the transmission of minority languages to new generations. Following a brief theoretical framework and an overview of the state of research concerning the four minority languages under consideration (Corsican, Friulian, Ladin, and Sardinian), the article outlines the features shared by these linguistic contexts, the common challenges they face, and the research questions that have emerged from the comparison of different experiences. Special attention is devoted to types of lan-
guage acquisition and learning, to sociolinguistic issues, to the motivations driving language learning, to the attitudes of “traditional” speakers, to the linguistic characteristics of the productions of different speaker types, and to the relationship between “norm” and “variety.”
