UNESCO Handbook on Language Preservation and Documentation

[Nicholas Thieberger]

http://www.noticias.info/Asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=30621&src=0

UNESCO to Publish Handbook on Language Preservation and Documentation

Aimée Lahaussois, a Linguistic Expert in Nepalese 
languages, along with several leading 
international experts in linguistic and language 
revitalization, have been developing a Language 
Preservation Handbook. This project is one of the 
activities carried out by UNESCO's Initiative 
B at bel which seeks to promote multilingualism in 
cyberspace and preserve endangered languages.

Recently, Aimée was in Nepal carrying out 
independent research on endangered languages. She 
seized the opportunity to use the handbook and 
field test its effectiveness.

The handbook, entitled "Language Preservation and 
Documentation Handbook: South Asia version", 
provides a methodology for native speakers of 
endangered languages to record their languages 
for posterity. The project was inspired by 
requests from several members of ethnic 
minorities in Nepal who were interested in self 
documenting their languages. For many ethnic 
groups, assimilation and other processes have 
lead to the decline of indigenous culture as well 
as their languages and knowledge systems. UNESCO 
would like to see this rich human heritage 
preserved.

The handbook guides the reader through the 
process of collecting linguistic data on one's 
endangered language in the absence of a linguist, 
as well as stories which are an important part of 
the heritage of the community. The document 
begins with a questionnaire covering background 
information on the language community, followed 
by advice on creating a writing system, and lists 
of key words. It then guidelines them in 
recording and transcribing stories, and concludes 
with material on various aspects of the grammar 
of the language, through questionnaires and 
translation exercises. Oral recordings of the 
languages are also an important part of this 
exercise.

Here are some of the impressions of Aimée 
Lahaussois' first experience with the handbook:
"Working with a young speaker of an endangered 
language reinforced for me what documentation is 
all about, and why it is important to provide 
tools so native speakers can carry out their own 
documentation: after three weeks of excellent 
work with a very talented and enthusiastic 
speaker, I tried to pay him as compensation for 
the time and energy he put into our sessions, 
thinking this would be welcome, as life is 
particularly difficult for students in a 
developing country. I was moved when he refused 
the money, citing that it was I who deserved 
compensation as I was doing his community the 
enormous favour of making sure their language was 
recorded and preserved. Clearly there is a great 
need for efforts such as this."

It is hoped that the results will not only 
provide a record of the language, as spoken by 
native speakers, but will also stimulate renewed 
community-wide interest in the language, which 
may in turn reduce the rate at which languages 
are being lost.

Indeed, a great many minority languages are 
disappearing around the world and those which 
disappear without a trace represent a great loss 
of cultural heritage. One critical reason is that 
they are not being passed on to the younger 
generations. Some of the causes include pressure 
on children to use national languages, 
unavailability of education in the language 
spoken at home, migration away from the homeland 
amongst others. Often, only older speakers are 
left and when they disappear, so do these 
languages. In the case of languages with no 
written form which have not been documented, no 
trace remains of what was once a vibrant and 
unique language and culture.

A CD-ROM and print version of this handbook will 
be published by the end of September.

11/08/2004
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