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Dear Gary (If I may), dear AN-LANG colleagues,</div>
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Thank you, Gary, for your thoughtful personal email in response to my post. Since my original message was meant to spark community discussion, and it seems my concerns about the Wix site
<span style="color: black;"><u><a style="color: black; display: inline; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;" data-copy-preserve="1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-1g4g62n r-yn5ncy r-clrlgt r-nvplwv r-1nao33i r-m71pgl r-1ddef8g r-1loqt21 OWAAutoLink" id="OWAcbc19be9-4de3-78fa-24a6-94ec278d5e6b" target="_blank" href="https://blusthawaii.wixsite.com/blust">(https://blusthawaii.wixsite.com/blust)</a></u></span> may
not have been fully clear, I’m replying publicly to clarify and invite broader input.</div>
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I deeply appreciate the efforts at UH, including the Kaipuleohone archive hosting Bob’s unpublished materials, and the modernized ACD at
<span style="color: black;"><u><a style="color: black; display: inline; margin: 0px; min-width: 0px;" data-copy-preserve="1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="css-1jxf684 r-bcqeeo r-1ttztb7 r-qvutc0 r-poiln3 r-1g4g62n r-yn5ncy r-clrlgt r-nvplwv r-1nao33i r-m71pgl r-1ddef8g r-1loqt21 OWAAutoLink" id="OWA4688de05-5564-54e1-4c07-436c473bcdc4" target="_blank" href="https://acd.clld.org/">https://acd.clld.org/</a></u></span> (thanks
to MPI). However, my core issue is the <i><u>posthumous creation</u></i> of the Wix site by individuals (students or colleagues, perhaps?) after Bob’s passing in 2022. In my experience, it’s extraordinarily rare in academia for a personal website to be newly
set up in a scholar’s name after their death, especially on a non-institutional platform like Wix. This setup risks confusion—updates to the site can appear as “Blust’s new work,” which unintentionally contributes to a sense of canonization, framing Bob’s
contributions as an untouchable endpoint rather than a foundation for ongoing work in Austronesian linguistics.</div>
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While the Wix site primarily lists Bob’s published papers (which, as you noted, can’t be hosted due to copyright), its informal nature and lack of clear attribution for updates (who’s maintaining it? what’s new vs. Bob’s original?) amplify this risk. I raised
similar transparency concerns with Alexander Smith when he took over ACD, alongside colleagues like Prof. Laurent Sagart, urging clear separation of Blust’s original data from new additions. Without this clarity, both Wix and ACD risk freezing Austronesian
linguistics in a “Blust-only” frame, potentially discouraging new hypotheses and voices.</div>
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Since Kaipuleohone already exists as a robust UH archive, why not integrate the Wix site’s bibliographic content there? This would ensure stability, avoid misperceptions, and create a centralized hub for Bob’s work alongside future contributions. The 2024 ICAL
moment of silence, while heartfelt, further highlights the need to shift from memorializing Bob to actively building on his legacy. I’d love to hear the community’s thoughts on transitioning Wix content to Kaipuleohone or another UH archive, and how we can
keep Austronesian linguistics dynamic and open.</div>
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Best regards,<br>
Yuko Kitada</div>
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<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Gary Holton <holton@hawaii.edu><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Monday, September 22, 2025 12:04 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> Yuko Kitada <yukokitada@outlook.com><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [An-lang] Moving Blust’s Legacy Forward: Archiving for the Next Era</font>
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<div dir="auto">Yuko,</div>
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<div dir="auto">I’m writing directly to you, not the list, as a representative of the UH faculty and a colleague of Bob’s. Could you be more specific as to what sort of resources you would like to preserve on the site? There is already an archive of Bob’s unpublished
materials here at the Kaipuleohone archive. If there are others on the Wix site, they could certainly be added to Kaipuleohone. But as far as I can tell the Wix site is essentially an academic bibliographic which points to existing published papers. Unfortunately
we can’t add those to the archive (or post them on the site) due to copyright issues. </div>
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<div dir="auto">Note that the ACD has already been ported to a more modern version at
<div dir="auto"><a href="https://acd.clld.org/">https://acd.clld.org/</a>, hosted by MPI.</div>
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<div dir="auto">For what it’s worth, I don’t think this site represents a canon. There is much ongoing work in Austronesian historical lingusitics beyond Blust's work, and no one should shy away from pursuing further research.</div>
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<div dir="auto">Gary Holton</div>
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<div dir="ltr" class="x_gmail_attr">On Sun, Sep 21, 2025 at 03:36 Yuko Kitada <<a href="mailto:yukokitada@outlook.com">yukokitada@outlook.com</a>> wrote:<br>
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Dear colleagues,</div>
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I hope you’re all having a great start to the semester! As an independent researcher diving into Austronesian linguistics, I’m constantly inspired by Robert Blust’s monumental contributions—his
<i style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">Austronesian Comparative Dictionary</i> and
<i style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">The Austronesian Languages</i> are true cornerstones of our field. His personal website
<span style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; color:black"><u style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif"><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" id="x_m_-6208174468535983906OWAb2d889d0-815b-c42e-b28b-2e8e1bb8744e" href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://blusthawaii.wixsite.com/blust__;!!PvDODwlR4mBZyAb0!WkMoXiEztY8oDpM1vZrnxeVR047InZ4qbK3vBS99BLlohgYhjoKMNfnwbzx0921lpbDpQnVkJu1udOW45rF-$" target="_blank" style="display:inline; margin:0px; min-width:0px; font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; color:black">(https://blusthawaii.wixsite.com/blust)</a></u></span> remains
a fantastic resource, and I’m grateful to the students or colleagues keeping it alive since his passing in 2022.</div>
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That said, Blust’s contributions are extraordinary, but I’m wondering how we can honor his legacy without deifying it and move our field into its next era. A few thoughts:</div>
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The site is a treasure, but its static nature risks deifying Blust’s work as an untouchable canon, potentially discouraging bold new hypotheses from younger or independent researchers (e.g., revisiting Formosan subgrouping and reconstructing the PAn and PMP
grammars).</li><li style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; text-indent:0px; margin-top:0.5em; color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Without updates, it feels frozen, missing recent Austronesian insights that could build on Blust’s foundation.</li><li style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:12pt; text-indent:0px; margin-top:0.5em; color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<div role="presentation" style="font-family:Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif">A personal Wix site, while accessible, is less stable than an institutional archive like UH’s digital library or the ACD. Operating it through UH would ensure longevity and clarity, avoiding
confusion about what’s Blust’s work versus posthumous additions.</div>
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What does everyone think? Could we transition Blust’s site to a dynamic, official archive at UH or the ACD to preserve his brilliance while making space for new voices? Isn’t it time to move Austronesian linguistics into its next era, building on Blust’s legacy
without being anchored to it? I’d love to hear if this has been discussed or if plans are in the works.</div>
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Best regards,</div>
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Yuko Kitada</div>
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