30.4178, Review: Anthropological Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Language Documentation; Sociolinguistics: Rehg, Campbell (2018)
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Subject: 30.4178, Review: Anthropological Linguistics; Historical Linguistics; Language Documentation; Sociolinguistics: Rehg, Campbell (2018)
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Date: Tue, 05 Nov 2019 12:20:37
From: Alexandra Galani [algalani at uoi.gr]
Subject: The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages
Discuss this message:
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/30/30-69.html
EDITOR: Kenneth L. Rehg
EDITOR: Lyle Campbell
TITLE: The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
YEAR: 2018
REVIEWER: Alexandra Galani, University of Ioannina
SUMMARY
“The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages”, edited by Kenneth L. Rehg and
Lyle Campbell, is a collection of 39 chapters. It includes the contributors’
bibliographical note and an index. In his foreword, Michael Krauss introduces
the birth, issues and attempts which led to the establishment of endangered
languages as a subdiscipline in linguistics.
In “Introduction”, Lyle Campbell and Kenneth L. Rehg introduce the book’s
purposes and structure. They refer to the criteria determining language
endangerment, why language endangerment is necessary and define language
documentation, revitalisation and conservation.
Part I: Endangered languages
Chapter 1, “The status of the world’s endangered languages” by Anna Belew and
Sean Simpson, discusses the difficulties in determining the status of
endangered languages. An overview of the world’s regional language
endangerment--based on the Catalogue of Endangered Languages--is given. The
database provides information about speaker numbers, intergenerational
transmission and domains of use and language attitudes.
In Chapter 2, “Assessing degrees of language endangerment”, Nala H. Lee and
John R. van Way offer an overview of the methods/tools which have been
developed to assess language endangerment; i.e. Fishman (1991) Graded
Intergenerational Disruption Scale, UNESCO (2003), Krauss (2007), Lewis and
Simons (2010). The Language Endangerment Index, developed by the Catalogue of
Endangered Languages, takes into account the intergenerational transmission,
the absolute number of speakers, speaker number trends and domains of use.
In Chapter 3, “Language contact and language endangerment”, Sarah G. Thomason
explores the relationship between language contact and language endangerment
and the conditions under which contact results to loss (i.e. sociopolitical,
economic factors, standardisation of minority languages, speakers’ attitudes).
Language contact does not always result in language endangerment. It may
involve bilingualism, multilingualism or pidgin languages. Attrition in
receding languages results in a poorer language contrary to contact-induced
change/language loss.
In Chapter 4, “Indigenous language rights – miner’s canary or mariner’s
tern?”, Teresa L. McCarty presents the definitions attributed to the word
“Indigenous” and their legal-political status recognition in Norway, Finland
and Aotearoa. Indigenous language rights play an important role for the
self-determination of Indigenous people, their language and culture. Language
planning and policy orientations (i.e. tolerance versus promotions,
norm-and-accommodation versus official language rights, personality versus
territoriality) are reviewed. The status of Indigenous languages in education
(i.e. Māori, Kanienke:ha, Cree, Secwepent, Telugu, Oriya) is discussed. If
they are absent from the educational system, language loss, social and
educational inequalities are caused.
Part II: Language documentation
In Chapter 5, “The goals of language documentation”, Richard A. Rhodes and
Lyle Campbell refer to early attempts of written texts documentation (i.e.
Sanskrit, Latin, Greek grammars) to exemplify the value of extensive corpora.
Adequate language documentation should include an in-depth and theory-free
linguistic analysis of phonological, morphological and syntactic structures
and a dictionary of the vocabulary used in different cultural occasions.
Language documentation and revitalisation are interrelated as revitalisation
efforts contribute to documentation.
In Chapter 6, “Documentation, linguistic typology and formal grammar” by Keren
Rice, language documentation is defined as a process that includes the
collection and preservation of a corpus accompanied by linguistic analysis,
grammar, dictionary and recordings (p. 124). Three types of data should be
collected: observed communicative events, staged communicative events,
elicitations. Elicitation is the most commonly used source of data.
Documentation, linguistic typology and formal grammar greatly benefit from one
another. Linguistic patterns in Amazonian and Austronesian languages and
Kayardild (Epps, 2010) are discussed.
In Chapter 7, “The design and implementation of documentation projects for
spoken languages”, Shobhana Chelliah discusses what language documentation
researchers should keep in mind: e.g. use of audio and video recording
devices, methods for recording narratives and conversations (i.e. Basic Oral
Language Documentation, Aikuma app), creation of surveys, background knowledge
of the language’s history and the sound system, the political context in which
the language is spoken, digital repositories, funding and data management,
task descriptions, dissemination methods and project evaluations.
In Chapter 8, “Endangered sign languages: An introduction”, James Woodward
refers to the pressures culturally deaf people encounter. He discusses ten
sign languages in Thailand (Ban Khor, Chiang Mai, Original Bangkok, Modern
Thai), Viet Nam (Hai Phong, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City), Cambodia (Cambodian)
and Indonesia (Yogyarkarta, Jakarta) and notes that nine of them are
endangered or dying, six of them are being documented. Sign language figures
which illustrate sign phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon are provided.
Racquel-María Sapién discusses the “(D)esign and implementation of
collaborative language documentation projects” in Chapter 9. She focuses on
empowerment models (i.e. the Community Partnership Model (Yamada, 2010).
Collaborative projects have several benefits: they best account for a
community’s expectations, create a comfortable environment for the
participation of elderly speakers. There are six phases in a project’s design
and implementation: 1. community entry; 2. needs, assets, project management;
3: prioritising; 4: project planning and design; 5: training, team building;
6: implementation, reflection. How one can overcome obstacles related to time
management and the loss of elderly speakers is discussed.
Ιn Chapter 10, “Tools and technology for language documentation and
revitalisation” by Keren Rice and Nick Thieberger, the advantages and
drawbacks of technology when documenting and revitalising languages are
discussed. Technology can be used to digitalise and archive data from previous
studies or to record, transcribe and annotate new ones. There are several
transcription tools (Elan, Exmaralda, F4, CLAN). Automated transcription and
metadata systems (CMDI, OLAC) save researchers valuable time and help them
handle masses of data. Community members evaluate the technological products
(apps, games, (e-)learning devices) as engaging. Nonetheless, tools do not
provide cultural fluency and do not capture the complexity and social aspects
of the language.
In Chapter 11, “Corpus compilation and exploitation in language documentation
projects” by Ulrike Mosel, corpora types in language documentation projects
are discussed: dynamic, static, sample, opportunistic, contrastive,
sub-corpora of elicited data, comparable, parallel and multimodal. Different
genres and registers are identified in the corpora; folk tales, procedural
texts, descriptions, elicitations, spontaneous conversations, hybrid
documentary genres. Corpora can be organised based on: a) hierarchical
structure, b) the year of their creation or c) type, genre, topic,
participants. Data types include: metadata, raw, primary, secondary
annotations. A list of available tools for building and analysing corpora are
provided.
Chapter 12, “Writing grammars of endangered languages” by Amber B. Camp, Lyle
Campbell, Victoria Chen, Nala H. Lee, Matthew Lou-Magnuson and Samantha
Rarrick, offers a guide for writing grammars. The authors refer to the
audience a grammar is addressed to, the purpose it serves and the ideal
situation regarding authorship--grammars written by linguistically trained
native speakers or a team of authors (linguists and native speakers). There
are various grammar types: descriptive, reference, sketch, pedagogical,
community, comparative, formal. Grammar format, organisation and presentation
are sketched and a grammar template for endangered or lesser-studied languages
is also provided.
In Chapter 13, “Compiling dictionaries of endangered languages”, Kenneth L.
Rehg guides us through dictionary compilation; research, preliminary planning,
design and construction, distribution and support. During planning,
researchers consider the audience the dictionary is addressed to, its scope,
its orthography, team members and the software which will be selected.
Dictionaries are organised based on: a) the target language and the language
into which the target entries are being translated or b) its macrostructure
(e.g. an alphabetic or semantic categorisation of the information), its
microstructure (i.e. entries’ alternate spellings, pronunciation) and its
megastructure (front matter, dictionary’s body, appendices).
Chapter 14, “Orthography design and implementation of endangered languages” by
Michael Cahill, discusses various issues around orthography; when to
capitalise, where to put word breaks, how hyphens, question marks and
diacritics are used. An orthographic system is successful depending on the
degree of its usability and acceptability by native speakers. Governmental
policies, attitudes of neighbouring languages speakers and dialectal patterns
affect its acceptability. Its usability depends on the stand one takes on
phonemic matches, contrasts which are not represented or are
over-differentiated, tonal patterns’ representation. Native speakers’
intuitions and judgements should be taken into account during development.
Literacy in the mother tongue, community attitudes towards revitalisation, the
value a community attributes to oral communication versus written
representations affect a community’s attitude for the system’s development.
In Chapter 15, “Language archiving” by Andrea L. Berez-Kroeker and Ryan E.
Henke, digital archives development is discussed. We have moved from the
‘one-way’ model and adopted a participatory one, according to which language
users contribute to the curatorial process so that the archive serves their
needs. Depositors should consider the following: archive choice, data
formatting steps, material preparation for depositing the metadata, archive
access and use. A description of the Digital Endangered Languages and Music
Archives Network archives is offered.
In Chapter 16, “Tools from the ethnography of communication for language
documentation”, Simeon Floyd shows how Hymes’s (1972) anthropological model
(‘SPEAKING’; Setting and scene, Participants, Ends, Act sequence, Key,
Instrumentalities, Norms, Genre) can be applied to indigenous language
projects to unfold cultural information which may not be easily revealed in
purely linguistic studies. The model is applied to two language projects,
Cha’palaa and Imbabura Quechua.
In Chapter 17, “Language documentation in diaspora communities”, Daniel
Kaufman and Ross Perlin discuss the role and the organisation of non-profit
language documentation centers in urban diaspora communities. The work carried
out by the Endangered Language Alliance in New York is presented. Such
organisations may co-operate with municipal and academic departments,
journalists, filmmakers, artists, photographers, and illustrators to document
and preserve languages.
In Chapter 18, “Ethics in language documentation and revitalisation” by Jeff
Good, case studies dealing with issues related to the ethics of documentation
and revitalisation are reviewed (e.g. lack of trust between researchers and
the community, focus on a specific community when a language is spoken by more
than one, changes in the community’s political situation). Linguists and
community members have their own ideologies about language and identity.
Relationships between researchers and community members need to be established
and community members should be granted access to the collected material.
Part III: Language revitalization
In Chapter 19, “Approaches to and strategies for language revitalisation”,
Leanne Hinton argues that revitalisation of endangered and sleeping languages
may occur via child and adult learning, language modernisation and language
use. Child learning may take place at home, in language nests, bilingual or
immersion schools or in majority-language schools where minority language
classes are offered. Adult learning may occur in language learning courses in
universities, by adopting Master-Apprentice approaches or when accessing and
revising published material. Speakers should make an effort to use the
language on a daily basis.
Chapter 20, “Comparative analysis in language revitalisation practices:
Addressing the challenge” by Gabriela Pérez Báez, Rachel Vogel and Eve Koller,
aims to document existing revitalisation efforts. The Global Directory of
Revitalisation Initiatives (GDRI) serves as a guide for future projects and
revitalisation practitioners. The design and the results of the Global Survey
of Languages Revitalisation Efforts are discussed.
In Chapter 21, “The linguistics of language revitalisation: Problems of
acquisition and attrition”, William O’Grady focuses on children’s language
learning during the implementation of revitalisation/immersion programmes.
Such programmes should aim at the development of bilingual speakers and
communities.
Chapter 22, “New media for endangered languages” by Laura Buszard-Welcher,
provides examples of endangered language communities in which electronically
mediated communication (ECM) has been used. There are technologies which may
enable natural language processing in any language: language identifiers
(codes), Unicode, fonts and keyboard as well as corpora may all result in the
creation of language tools (i.e. spelling and grammar checking, search,
machine translation).
In Chapter 23, “Language recovery paradigms”, Alan R. King reviews two
revitalisation programmes in Basque and Nawat in order to exemplify the
implementation stages and paradigms of a successful language recovery (LR)
programme. Paradigms are sets of clusters of doctrines (beliefs and value
judgments), strategies (necessary actions) and focuses (emphases on specific
issues concerning the language). There are five stages in a LR programme:
Pre-LR, ineffective-LR, effective LF, mainstream LF, post-LR. Each stage is
associated with a paradigm. Project design, community awareness and training
also play a crucial role in a programme’s successful implementation.
In Chapter 24, “Myaamiaataweenki: Revitalisation of a sleeping language” by
Daryl Baldwin and David J. Costa, the language revitalisation efforts of the
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma are discussed. Community language revitalisation
should be seen as a social movement which involves capacity-building,
planning, working with various ideologies. Organisational entities play a
crucial role in such programmes as they can offer courses, workshops, weekend
youth programmes. The Myaamia Center covered a wide range of research topics,
created the first formal assessment to measure tribal student language and
cultural educational experiences, developed technological tools, online
learning tools and publications and provided teacher training.
In Chapter 25, “Language revitalisation in kindergarten: A case study of Truku
Seediq language immersion”, Apay Ai-Yu Tang presents the results of a
government-based indigenous language immersion programme which took place in
three kindergartens in Taiwan. There are three main language immersion types,
total, partial, two-way. Qualified teachers, pedagogical materials, immersion
pedagogy, sufficient amount of immersion, administrative support,
family/community participation are necessary elements for the successful
implementation of such programmes. Reference is made to the Truku speech
community, the goals and the activities of the programme and the
implementation method. It was noticed that lack of qualified teachers and
heavy administrative workload affected teaching quality.
In Chapter 26, “Māori: Revitalisation of an endangered language”, Jeanette
King provides an overview of the language’s decline and revitalisation. She
refers to the revitalisation movements (Kōhanga Reo, Te Ataarangi), the Māori
immersion schooling system, the role broadcast media played, the governmental
policies, the home and community support and tribal initiatives. Some of the
factors that contributed positively to the language’s revitalisation are:
Māori is the only indigenous language in New Zealand, it has a largely agreed
alphabet, and culture is incorporated into the social life and interactions
with non-Māori.
In Chapter 27, “Language revitalisation in Africa”, Bonny Sands sketches the
extent of endangerment in African languages and the reasons behind it; i.e.
socioeconomically dominant populations over smaller ones, minority language
shift to regionally dominant languages, minority languages’ lack of prestige,
and population movements due to war or political instability. Language
revitalisation attempts are pursued by individuals, grassroots, organisations,
missionaries and academics. An overview of the revitalisation attempts of
small (Keyan, “Khoesan” languages, Malawian Ngoni, Eegimaa, Safaliba),
medium-sized (Xironga, Maurice Tadadjeu, Tonga, Suba) and large languages
(Igbo, Ekegusii) is offered.
Chapter 28, “Planning minority language maintenance: Challenges and
limitations” by Sue Wright, shows how the nation-state system led to the
concept of minority languages. Historical and political developments as well
as human rights fights promoted minority linguistic rights. Nevertheless,
issues still remain: standardisation of a minority language suppresses
dialectal patterns, communication between speaker groups does not necessarily
mean that they share the same cultural, historical, economic background.
Consequently, language does not determine identity. Linguistic communication
reflects identity and contributes to its creation.
Part IV: Endangered languages and biocultural diversity
In Chapter 29, “Congruence between species and language diversity”, David
Harmon and Jonathan Loh show that species and languages behave similarly in
terms of their evolution, diversity and distribution in the world. They
discuss characteristics which led to this realisation, i.e. endemism,
environmental factors which affected biological and cultural diversity in
specific regions. Methods developed to assess biodiversity can be adapted to
measure linguistic diversity too. Human population growth, resource and energy
consumption, economic globalisation are factors which threaten both
biodiversity and linguistic diversity.
In Chapter 30, “Sustaining biocultural diversity”, Luisa Maffi refers to the
antecedents of biocultural diversity and the attempts to bridge the gap
between nature conservation and conservation of languages and cultural
traditions. Ecological, cultural and socioeconomic factors may cause
biocultural diversity loss. The chapter concludes with reference to projects
which have been implemented; Tanzania, Andaman Islands, Kimberley region in
Western Australia, Northwest Territories in the Arctic Region of Canada,
Arizona (Apache), Chihuahua (Rarámuri), Andean region of Peru.
In Chapter 31, “Traditional and local knowledge systems as language legacies
critical for conservation”, Will C. McClatchey defines knowledge systems,
knowledge about nature, traditional and local knowledge and knowledge
legacies. He discusses possibilities and problems which may emerge when
linguists co-operate with biologists, ecologists, physicians, local experts to
accurately document and conserve cultural diversity. Physical evidence can be
combined with linguistic documentation to conduct comparative analyses.
Beliefs and worldviews, livelihoods and practices, norms and institutions as
well as knowledge bases and languages apply to biological diversity and
traditional knowledge about diversity.
In Chapter 32, “Climate change and its consequences for cultural and language
endangerment” by Christopher P. Dunn, the effects of climate change on
cultural integrity and survival are discussed. Droughts have led to political
unrest and forced people to migration. Habitat destruction can result in the
erosion of cultural diversity and language loss (p.721). Indigenous
communities use ecological calendars to determine planting, harvesting, and
hunting. Consequently, climate change which affects the environment (i.e.
extinction of plants) results in the loss of cultural knowledge and thereby
language loss. Island populations are mostly affected by climate change.
Mitigation strategies should be developed.
In Chapter 33, “Interdisciplinary language documentation” by Gary Holton, it
is shown that interdisciplinary research improves the quality of documentation
as it results in accurate data documentation, description and analysis. The
following interdisciplinary research projects are brought as examples; Abui
ethnobotany, Gwich’in cultural astronomy, Yup’ik ethnomathematics.
Nevertheless, interdisciplinary research may also face challenges: data
ownership and access, availability of journals which may host
interdisciplinary papers, funding opportunities, logistic challenges (i.e.
transportation of equipment), and academic incentives for interdisciplinary
research.
In Chapter 34, “Why lexical loss and culture death endanger science” by Ian
Mackenzie and Wade Davis, background information about the theoretical
frameworks which did not place emphasis on the role the lexicon plays in the
architecture of grammar (i.e. the Chomskian school) is offered. The authors
refer to the lexicosemantics of Eastern Penan to show that vocabulary is an
integral part of a language as it shapes speakers’ thought and culture.
Part V: Looking to the future
In Chapter 35, “Funding the documentation and revitalisation of endangered
languages”, Susan Penfield explores issues one needs to take into account when
seeking funding: project characteristics, differences between grants and
fellowships, funding agencies, on time submission. To secure funding, projects
need to be innovative and interdisciplinary; new approaches should be proposed
and opportunities for language communities should be provided.
In Chapter 36, “Teaching linguists to document endangered languages”, Carol
Genetti provides a list of student learning outcomes when training linguists
in language documentation. Students need to familiarise themselves with
project planning, grant writing, fieldwork, ethical issues, data recording,
collection, management and archiving, transcription, glossing, translation,
analysis, production of vocabularies, grammars, and text collections. They
also need to learn how to collaborate with the language communities. They can
participate in field methods classes, workshops and courses or in-situ.
In Chapter 37, “Training language activists to support endangered languages”,
Nora C. England discusses her personal experience in training language
activists while working on Mayan Languages. Opportunities were given to Mayas
to study in secondary schools, universities, and Sunday classes. They now run
language courses in their communities and establish webpages.
Chapter 38, “Designing mobile applications for endangered languages” by Steven
Bird, discusses issues one should keep in mind when designing an application:
the audience it is intended for and their needs, the stages of the
application’s design. The co-design approach which can be applied to language
software is described in detail.
In Chapter 29, “Indigenous language use impacts wellness”, Alice Taff,
Melvatha Chee, Jaeci Hall, Millie Yéi Dulitseen Hall, Kawenniyóhstha Nicole
Martin and Annie Johnston discuss how language affect health. They refer to
speakers’ perceptions about the health benefits related to indigenous
languages use: pleasure, joyful emotions, balance, healthy spirit, identity
and direction. Finally, they show how language, land and culture are closely
interrelated.
The book concludes with David Crystal’s Afterward. Concluding remarks about
endangered languages and the book’s contribution are presented. A dictionary
of the terminology of endangerment linguistics is now necessary.
EVALUATION
The volume offers a complete guide to language endangerment and
revitalisation. It makes reference to theoretical and practical issues, the
history of the subdiscipline and current trends. It summarises various
programmes which have been implemented worldwide. Some of the chapters
identify areas for future research. They are well-organised and referenced.
The discussion in all chapters is rich in exemplification. Only minor issues
are noticed: p.109: helenist, p.275: 2.2.5 section heading should not have
been in bold, p.375: “she recommendations paying attention to language
ideologies”. The book will be of interest and a valuable guide to students and
young researchers interested in pursuing research and implementing language
documentation and revitalisation programmes. It is also a good source of
reference for those who seek information about language endangerment and
revitalisation worldwide. It promotes interdisciplinarity. The book appeals to
non-linguists, scientists from other disciplines, members of endangered
language communities and, generally-speaking, anyone who is interested in
language preservation.
REFERENCES
Catalogue of Endangered Languages. www.endangeredlanguages.com.
Epps, P. (2010). “Linguistic typology and language documentation”. In J. J.
Suong (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of linguistic typology. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Fishman, J. A. (1991). Reversing language shift: Theoretical and empirical
foundations of assistance to threatened languages. Clevedon: Multilingual
Matters.
Hymes, D. H. (1972). “Models of the interaction of language and social life”.
In J. J. Gumperz and D. H. Hymes (Eds.), Directions in sociolinguistics: The
ethnography of communication. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 35-71.
Krauss, M. (2007). “Classification and terminology for degrees of language
endangerement”. In M. Brenzinger (Ed.), Language diversity endangered. Berlin:
Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 1-8.
Lewis, M. P. and Simons, G. F. (2010). “Assessing endangerment: Expanding
Fishman’s GIDS”. Revue Roumaine de linguistique 55: 103-120.
UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages. (2003). “Language vitality
and endangerment”. Document submitted to the International Expert Meeting on
UNESCO Programme Safeguarding on Endangered Languages, Paris, March 10-12.
Yamada, R. M. (2010). Speech community-based documentation, description and
revitalisation: Kari’nja in Konomerume. Ph.D. thesis. University of Oregon,
Eugene.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Alexandra Galani is a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Primary
Education at the University of Ioannina (Greece). Her main research interests
are in morphology, its interfaces and language acquisition.
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