[Lingtyp] Ethnologue goes for paid access?

[Matthew Dryer]

I think the discussion of SIL and Ethnologue a couple of days ago rather 
oversimplifies things. The assumption is that because they are a 
missionary organization, they are not an academic organization. The fact 
that their primary mission is Bible translation does not change the fact 
that many people with SIL conduct scientific research. This is 
especially true for those members of SIL who hold positions at 
universities but it also includes members of SIL who do not hold 
university positions but who have PhD’s in linguistics and engage is 
scientific research. The interest these people have in linguistic 
research is no different from the interest that non-SIL academics have 
in linguistic research. Their interest in linguistics is simply 
something that runs in parallel to their religious beliefs and their 
interest in Bible translation. It is clear that Kenneth Pike, who was 
president of SIL from 1942 to 1979, considered one of the major goals of 
SIL to be language description as an end in itself. It is for that 
reason that SIL is both a missionary organization and an academic 
organization.

While Dan is right about the origin and impetus for Ethnologue within 
SIL, it is clear that the primary motivation for those who have been 
most involved in Ethnologue is scientific. SIL has had a crucial role in 
the assignment of ISO codes because it is an academic organization.

We typologists owe an immense debt to SIL, for there is no academic 
institution or organization that has produced more than a fraction of 
the language description that has been produced by SIL (except, perhaps, 
Australian National University), something that is crucial for 
typologists whose work relies on language descriptions.

Matthew

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