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<TITLE>Funding possibility: Documentation of Endangered Languages</TITLE>
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<FONT SIZE="4"><FONT FACE="Monaco, Courier New"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:14pt'>Name: Documentation of Endangered Languages<BR>
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Sponsor: Volkswagen Foundation<BR>
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Deadline: 9/15/2011<BR>
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Amount: Varies<BR>
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Type: Arts & Culture, Social & Economic, Education<BR>
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Description: In view of the foreseeable fact that some languages will<BR>
rapidly become extinct within a mere one to two generations,<BR>
systematic documentation would appear to be the task which most<BR>
urgently needs to be tackled. Such documentation should be<BR>
characterized by three key terms: data orientation,<BR>
multifunctionality, and general accessibility.<BR>
<BR>
The exemplary character of the program does not only pertain to the<BR>
final product of the documentation of individual languages, but also<BR>
to developing and testing new methods of researching, processing and<BR>
archiving linguistic and cultural data. The program has a strong<BR>
interdisciplinary orientation: it not only supports interdisciplinary<BR>
data collection, it also intends to create opportunities for<BR>
subsequent multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary utilization of the<BR>
respective data.<BR>
<BR>
Two types of projects are funded:<BR>
(a) Documentation projects which collect, process and archive<BR>
linguistic and cultural data for (at least) one endangered language<BR>
lacking sufficient documentation. Existing field material (audio,<BR>
video, film, photo, texts) may be integrated into the planned<BR>
documentation, but should be combined with new data collections.<BR>
(b) Documentation projects which use the DobeS archive for scientific<BR>
purposes for example for comparative studies but also to detect new<BR>
research questions connecting documentation linguistics with other<BR>
branches of linguistics.<BR>
<BR>
A language shall be deemed to be endangered if, especially for<BR>
political and economic reasons, its speech community has ceased to<BR>
speak it in public in favor of the language of the surrounding<BR>
dominant culture. As a rule, the status of such a language<BR>
deteriorates to that of a "home language" until, finally, its native<BR>
speakers adopt the externally conveyed negative attitude towards it<BR>
and cease to pass it on to their children. Documentation projects may<BR>
focus on endangered dialects, moribund languages as well as sign<BR>
languages, too.<BR>
<BR>
Additional Contact:<BR>
Peter Wittenburg (for technical information)<BR>
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen<BR>
Phone +31 24 3 52 11 13<BR>
Fax +31 24 3 52 12 13<BR>
<a href="peter.wittenburg@mpi.nl">peter.wittenburg@mpi.nl</a><BR>
<BR>
<a href="http://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/funding/international-focus/documentation-of-endangered-languages.html?L=1">http://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/funding/international-focus/documentation-of-endangered-languages.html?L=1</a><BR>
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