Languages and their intangible cultural heritage

Languages are not merely tools of communication; they are repositories of culture, identity, and history. Within the realm of folklore and intangible cultural heritage, languages shape narratives, encode ecological knowledge, sustain oral traditions, and carry the symbolic meanings that give communities a sense of continuity and belonging. Through proverbs, songs, stories, place names, and everyday expressions, languages transmit ways of knowing and remembering the world. Yet languages are disappearing at an alarming rate, often alongside the cultural practices and knowledge systems they sustain. Safeguarding languages therefore also means recognizing and valuing the cultural vehicles through which heritage is transmitted and lived across generations.

This special issue of Journal of Folklore and Popular Culture invites contributions that explore the multifaceted relationship between languages and the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) they carry. We welcome submissions that examine how linguistic diversity intersects with folklore/ICH, cultural landscapes, traditional knowledge, memory, and identity, as well as initiatives aimed at documentation, revitalization, and strengthening intergenerational transmission. By bringing together diverse perspectives, the issue seeks to highlight the crucial role languages play in sustaining living heritage in both local and global contexts.

In the planned issue we aim to explore various dimensions of languages within the context of folklore and/or intangible cultural heritage, including but not limited to:

• transmission of oral traditions and folklore in different linguistic contexts;
• documentation and preservation of endangered/diminishing, minority, regional, contested etc. languages and dialects and their associated folklore and heritage;
• revitalization efforts and strategies for language and intangible cultural heritage conservation;
• bilingualism, multilingualism, language politics and their impact on folklore and heritage dissemination and interpretation;
• linguistic diversity and its intersection with cultural diversity in folklore studies;
• the role of language in shaping folklore genres, narratives, and performance practices;
• language ideologies and their influence on folklore interpretation and transmission.

Authors are encouraged to submit interdisciplinary work that can take the form of research articles, case studies, theoretical analyses, discussions and academic book reviews relevant to the main subject.

In addition, we warmly welcome short submissions (up to one single-spaced page) from heritage-language speakers themselves. These may include poems, songs, short narratives, reflections, or artwork presented in a heritage language. Please include an English or Polish translation and/or a brief contextual note to help readers understand the cultural or linguistic significance of the piece. These contributions aim to highlight lived linguistic experience and the creative expressions through which languages continue to carry and transmit cultural heritage.

Submission

• Manuscripts in Polish or English (with abstracts in their own heritage language or language discussed in the article, if possible) should be submitted by 31 December 2026 directly through the APCZ platform: https://apcz.umk.pl/LL
• Manuscripts should be original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and must adhere to the journal's formatting guidelines, available on the website https://apcz.umk.pl/LL/about/submissions
• Publication of the issue: December 2027
• For inquiries regarding this issue, please contact its guest editors:
  • dr hab. Agnieszka Pawłowska-Mainville, Associate Professor (University of Northern British Columbia / Nizdeh Nekeyoh Hohudil’eh Baiyoh), email: pawlowska-mainville@unbc.ca
  • dr Maciej Mętrak (Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences), email: metrak@ispan.edu.pl