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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US">The Eleventh Conference of the
Foundation for Endangered Languages: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span
style="" lang="EN-US">Working Together for Endangered Languages:
Research Challenges and Social Impacts<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span
style="" lang="EN-US"></span></b><span style="" lang="EN-US">University
of Malaya<o:p></o:p><br>
Kuala
Lumpur<o:p></o:p><br>
Malaysia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><!--[endif]--> Dates:
</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">26-28 October 2007 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><b style=""><br>
Call for Abstracts:</b></span><b style=""><span style="" lang="EN-US">
FEL XI<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span
style="" lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> </span></b><span
lang="EN-US">Globalisation has an impact on
societies on various levels. One of its implications is the further
endangerment of languages, especially those of minority communities.
The
looming threat of language loss and death is due to the hegemony of
more
dominant languages in sociopolitical and economic domains. Linguists
therefore
have an important role in documenting, projecting, and providing
information
on, languages which face extinction. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US">
Linguists undertaking such research
must tread carefully in any community which faces language
endangerment. The
researcher by his or her very presence can disturb the established
social relations,
the socio-economic organisation, and the power relations within a
community, bringing in more globalisation, and more awareness of and
exchange with the outside world. Researchers must be made aware of the
impact
of their presence. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 21.3pt;"><span
lang="EN-US">Communities
facing language endangerment may not be cooperative towards outsiders
and may
view them with suspicion. In some communities breaking such barriers
requires
tact, effort, and strategic planning. Members of the community facing
endangerment should be perceived and treated by the researchers as
experts in
their heritage language. Such a view inevitably reduces the power
inequality
between researchers and members of the endangered language and eases
collaboration. Cooperation and collaboration may be impeded if the
linguist
sees him/herself or is seen as someone who is more authoritative and
linguistically more ‘correct’ than members of the community facing
endangerment. Such a perception may result in the infamous observer’s
paradox
where subjects become less natural in the presence of the researcher. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 21.3pt;"><span
lang="EN-US">When
researchers do not take members of the studied communities seriously,
collaborative
work is impeded as the input provided may be distorted due to the
researchers’
belief that they are the language experts. Linguists must be objective
and this
can be a challenge as prior knowledge may interfere in their
objectivity. Lack
of trust and collaboration may result in information not being
provided. One
way of combating the failure to share information is to ensure that
researchers
are aware that different members of the community facing language shift
are
responsible for different kinds of information. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 21.3pt;"><span
lang="EN-US">If
communities are informed of the dangers of losing their languages, they
may be
inclined to collaborate with the linguists to provide information of
the
language they speak as on them is entrusted the onus of transmitting
their
heritage to family members. Promoting the popularity of an endangered
language
in domains such as the workplace, at home and at school may prove to be
difficult, as endangered languages face many obstacles namely from the
economic
functionalities of more dominant languages and the attitudes of younger
speakers. At worst, linguists could be seen as counter-productive by
the very
community whose language they want to save, because the shift away from
an
endangered language is at times motivated by upward economic and social
mobility.<span style=""> </span></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;"><span
lang="EN-US"><br>
The task of the linguist in this is by no means simple. To
penetrate
and immerse oneself in an ethnolinguistic speech community whose
language may
be on the verge of death provides the linguist many challenges on the
social
and relationship levels. While the linguist is required to collect data
as a
researcher, s/he must also form a relationship with the members of the
community so as to collaborate with them in efforts to promote and
preserve the
language, in ensuring its revival, in establishing devices and
procedures to
stop endangerment etc. Given that the endangerment of languages can be
handled
sensitively through collaboration between researchers and members of a
community facing language extinction, this Conference will address the
research
challenges and social impacts of such collaborations. Amongst the
questions
raised in this Conference are: <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">What can researchers do
to ensure
collaboration with members of the language community?</span><span
style="" lang="EN-US">
What should the researcher do to find a way into the community through
proper
and accepted channels? What benefits can a language community expect
from such
collaboration?</span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">What are the
boundaries that the
researcher should not cross in order to protect the rights and privacy
of the
subjects and to safeguard collaborative ties between community and
researcher?
What are the limits of researchers’ duties to the language community,
and vice
versa?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">What is ‘best
practice’ for
researchers in order to be accepted and trusted as in-group members of
the
community? Does this require the linguist to reduce his/her role as an
expert,
in order to build trust and collaboration with the community? Can
cultural
immersion act as a collaborative means in data collection, creating the
notion
that the researcher is part of the community’s in-group? Are there any
advantages in maintaining distance between researcher and community?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US">What options do
researchers have if
they encounter non-collaborative behaviour from their target subjects? </span><span
style="" lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Can support for
maintenance of an
endangered language actually be socially counter-productive, when the
shift
away from an endangered language is seen as progress in economic and
social
mobility? In such conditions, can the community be made aware of the
importance
of language maintenance? How can the researcher convince the community
of the
negative impact of language loss on their culture and history and,
conversely,
of the benefits of recovery, preservation, promotion? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">How can
language documentation work,
and its fruits, be integrated into community activities and community
development? In what other ways can linguistic research benefit
language
maintenance and revitalization?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">How can the
researcher guard against
personally causing damage to existing social and political structures?
In
particular, how can the researcher avoid disturbing established social
relations and organization by seemingly conferring favours on specific
members
of the community?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">How can the
researcher ensure that
s/he is not unwittingly the agent of globalisation within the community
and
thereby the cause of further socio-economic and cultural disruption? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b><span
lang="EN-US">Abstracts should make reference to actual language
situations , and
ideally should draw on personal experience. The aim of the conference
is to
pool experience, to discuss and to learn from it, not to theorize in
the
abstract about inter-cultural relations.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span
style="" lang="EN-US">Abstract and Paper Submission
Protocols<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US">In
order to present a paper at the Conference, writers must submit in
advance an
abstract of not more than 500 words before 15 May 2007. After this
deadline,
abstracts will not be accepted. Abstracts submitted, which should be in
English, must include the following details:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Title of the
paper<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Name of the
author(s), organisation
to which he/she belongs to<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Postal address
of the first author <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Telephone
number (and fax number if
any)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Email
address(es)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Abstract text
(not more than 500
words)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US">The
abstracts should be sent via e-mail to </span><span
style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial;" lang="EN-US"><a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:waninda2001@um.edu.my">waninda2001@um.edu.my</a>
and<span style=""> </span><a href="mailto:nostler@chibcha.demon.co.uk"><span
style="color: windowtext;">fel@chibcha.demon.co.uk</span></a>
</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">with the subject of the e-mail
stating: “FEL Abstract:
<last name of author(s)>: <title of paper>”<span style="">
</span>Abstracts will acknowledged on receipt. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US">The
</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">name
of the first author will be used in all correspondence. </span><span
style="" lang="EN-US">Writers
will be informed once their abstracts have been accepted and they will
be
required to submit their full papers </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">for
publication in the proceedings </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">before
1 September 2007 together with their registration fee. Failure to do so
will
result in the disqualification of the writers to present their papers.
Once
accepted, full papers can be submitted in English or Malay. Each
standard
presentation at the Conference will </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">last
twenty minutes, with a further ten minutes for discussion and
questions and answers. Plenary lectures will last forty-five minutes
each;
these are awarded by invitation only. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><b style=""><span
style="" lang="EN-US">Important Dates<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Abstract
arrival deadlines – </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">15 </span><span
style="" lang="EN-US">May</span><span style="" lang="EN-US"> 2007</span><span
style="" lang="EN-US"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Committee's
decision: 15 June 2007<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">In
case of acceptance, the full paper should be sent by </span><span
style="" lang="EN-US">1
September 2007</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">.
(Further details on the format of text will be specified to the authors)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ListParagraph"
style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span
style="font-family: Symbol;" lang="EN-US">·<span
style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="" lang="EN-US">Conference
dates: </span><span style="" lang="EN-US">26</span><span style=""
lang="EN-US">-28
</span><span style="" lang="EN-US">October</span><span style=""
lang="EN-US"> 2007 <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p>The
site for the 2007 conference of the Foundation of Endangered Languages,
hosted
jointly this year with SKET, University of Malaya, will be Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p>University
of Malaya is the oldest university in Malaysia, and SKET, i.e. the
Section for
Co-Curricular Activities, Elective Courses by Other Faculties and
TITAS, is
responsible for the teaching of 80 co-curricular courses, and the
compulsory course
“Ethnic Relations.” (For more information, visit <a
href="http://www.um.edu.my/"><span style="color: windowtext;">http://www.um.edu.my</span></a>).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span lang="EN-US">The
Foundation for Endangered Languages is a non-profit
organization, registered as Charity 1070616 in England and Wales,
founded in
1996. It exists to support, enable and assist the documentation,
protection and
promotion of endangered languages. It awards small grants (of the order
of US$
1,000) for all kinds of projects that fall within this remit, and also
publishes a newsletter, OGMIOS. It hosts an annual conference, with
Proceedings
that are available as published volumes. </span><span style=""
lang="EN-US">(For
more information, visit <a href="http://www.ogmios.org/">http://www.ogmios.org</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p>Kuala
Lumpur</span><span lang="EN-US"> is the capital and the largest city of
Malaysia. It is an enclave
within the state of Selangor, on the central west coast of Peninsular
Malaysia.
Amongst some of the famous landmarks that the city houses are the
Petronas Twin
Towers, Menara Kuala Lumpur, Tugu Negara, the National Palace and most
recently, the ‘Eye of Malaysia’ Ferris wheel. Kuala Lumpur enjoys a
year-round
equatorial climate which is warm and sunny. Rainfall is especially
plentiful,
during the southwest monsoon from April to September.</span></p>
<span lang="EN-US"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--></span>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Nicholas Ostler
Chairman, Foundation for Endangered Languages
Registered Charity: England and Wales 1070616
172 Bailbrook Lane, Bath, BA1 7AA, England
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:nostler@chibcha.demon.co.uk">nostler@chibcha.demon.co.uk</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.ogmios.org">http://www.ogmios.org</a>
</pre>
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