Empirical evaluation of a mathematical model of ethnolinguistic vitality: The case of Võro

The paper presents the results of an empirical evaluation of a mathematical model of ethnolinguistic vitality. The model adds several new factors to the set used in previous models of ethnolinguistic vitality and operationalises it in a manner that would make it easier to compare the vitality of different groups. According to the model, the ethnolinguistic vitality (V) depends on the perceived cultural weight of one’s own community (M1) in relation to the weight of a relevant other community (M2); perceived intergroup distance between the communities (r) and the extent of utilitarianism (U) in the community under investigation. The overall ethnolinguistic vitality can be expressed by a formula VU(M1M2)=r: In this paper, the model is applied for evaluating the vitality of the Võro language, a minority language closely related to Estonian. The results are in concord with the results of previous studies about the language maintenance and shift in Võro. doi: 10.2167/jmmd537.