From a theoretical/definitional viewpoint this paper examines how the new speaker concept clarifies criteria with respect to which minority language-speaking communities of practice are conceptualized and defined. The ethnographic focus, on Corsican adult language classrooms, investigates how new-speakerness is implicitly referred to in Corsica, as target of language planning strategies. This ethnographic inquiry discloses intricate identity and language ideological matters concerning the legality, authority and validity of Corsican language learners in a sociolinguistic setting in which both formal and informal minority language use is very confined.