33.3203, Field Linguist Spotlight: Emily Hanink

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-33-3203. Sat Oct 22 2022. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 33.3203, Field Linguist Spotlight: Emily Hanink

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Editor for this issue: Everett Green <everett at linguistlist.org>
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Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2022 11:33:12
From: LINGUIST List [linguist at linguistlist.org]
Subject: Field Linguist Spotlight: Emily Hanink

 
Professor of Linguistics, Emily Hanink
On Fieldwork

I was at a department picnic in 2015 when I got to talking to Alan Yu. I was
in my third year of the PhD program at the University of Chicago, and I
mentioned in passing that I was looking for a new language to work on. Alan
told me he was going on a field trip to Wá:šiw country in the fall and
suggested that I come along and try it out. Wá:šiw (Wašiw, Washoe, Washo; iso:
was) is an isolate language spoken around Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada.
It is severely endangered with only a handful of native speakers remaining,
though Herman Fillmore and his staff at the tribe’s culture and language
center are constantly working to develop their language program. Now, I had
never envisioned myself as a fieldworker; I always assumed I would be too
awkward to interact with people in that way. Being very excited at the
prospect nevertheless, I took the trip to California and have been working on
Wá:šiw ever since.

Doing fieldwork has come to be the most rewarding experience I’ve had as a
linguist. I cannot express in words how deeply grateful I am to the Wá:šiw
community for welcoming me, and in particular to the elders that I’ve gotten
the chance to work with and learn from over the years. They have shown a great
deal of patience and have taught me many things beyond the grammar of their
language. As linguists, we know that fieldwork leads to great enrichment of
our field in innumerable ways, and indeed working on Wá:šiw has informed every
aspect of my day-to-day, having a profound impact on my research, my teaching,
and my advising. I’ve also been lucky enough to collaborate with some very
smart linguists (Ryan Bochnak and Alan Yu) who have likewise dedicated
themselves to the study of this language.

For many of us working on endangered languages, virtual elicitation was
difficult or impossible during the pandemic. LinguistList has named the theme
of 2022 as “The Return of the Field Linguist”, marking the year that fieldwork
has become possible again for many — something to be celebrated. However, 2022
is also a year in which many of us are taking stock of losses, and the losses
have indeed been great. The pandemic posed many challenges for Indigenous
communities, not least those working to preserve their languages. Communities
who already faced the constant threat of losing their elders faced new
challenges due to the danger and loss of contact caused by the pandemic. For
instance, when I was still in grad school, the Wá:šiw community lost elder
Ramona Dick (of Hung a Lel Ti, California), a longtime language consultant to
Alan and Ryan and the first speaker I ever worked with. Just this past summer,
the community suffered the loss of elder Adele James (of P’au Wa Lu, Nevada),
revered Wá:šiw language teacher and my primary consultant. Adele cared deeply
about her language and her community, and she taught me so much about so many
things. She grew to be a close friend and her loss is immeasurable.

On the bright side, 2022 is also a year where we regroup and plan for the
future. It is a year to look for silver linings: During the pandemic, Ryan and
I were able to keep in touch with the tribe by offering virtual linguistics
classes to the language staff, laying the foundation to develop materials for
the tribe’s use in their language program. We therefore look forward not only
to continuing our fieldwork but also to continuing to work together to
document and preserve the language in a way that is more accessible to all
tribal members. Over the past few years, we have learned many fieldwork
lessons without doing any fieldwork at all. But we are indeed back, with a new
perspective and ready to make up for lost time.






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LINGUIST List: Vol-33-3203	
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