Re AN native speaker/scholars

[Wolfgang B. Sperlich]

Fakaalofa lahi atu (greetings in Niuean)

while one must be sympathetic to Paz Naylor's missive, I would like to draw
attention to the Fourth International Conference on Oceanic Linguistics,
held in Niue last year, which had a significant number of indigenous (native
speakers) participants who presented most interesting papers (including
hardcore Oceanic linguistics) and who will be included in the soon to be
published proceedings. The organising committee had an important indigenous
member and the organising committee in Niue was totally made up of
indigenous
Niueans. The 'euro-centric' and other non-native speaking participants will
attest to a happy meeting of minds even at a time when some Niueans raised
the issue of 'euro-centric' appropriation of an indigenous language. Quite
clearly, deep in the recesses of academia there are remnants (and new-age
bastions) of imperialist linguists (including religious fanatics and
cliched anthropologists) and it is our duty to fight them in the trenches,
on the beaches, in cyberspace ... but 4-ICOL in Niue was certainly the
exception to the rule and perhaps even a new trend (hint: give the 4-ICOL
organisers the job to convene all future AN and OC conferences and there
shall be egalite, fraternite and liberte and other such linguistic
revolutions). Unfortunately in my view, in attacking AFLA as having a lack
of 'invited' indigenous speakers, one casts doubt on the 'invited' speakers
(and the list includes one of my esteemed colleagues who knows more about
formal AN syntax than anybody else I know ... and I do know a few, Noam and
Andy included)
who may well be on the side of the goodies. There is also a certain danger
of over-emphasising the need for indigenous linguists if it means that an
indigenous linguist has a better grasp of his/her language (as his/her
linguistic specialisation) than a non-native speaking specialist. For
example there are many an English linguist specialising in German
linguistics who knows 'more' about the subject than a native-speaking German
who specialises in German linguistics ... and I cannot see anything wrong
with it. Given linguistic imperialist history (and damn that history) it
will take good will and many a compromise to redress (if ever) the many
linguistic injustices perpetrated. Note also that to a certain degree the
appalling success of imperialism rests on recruiting indigenous accomplices
who are more than willing to betray their own people. This no doubt has
included, includes now and will include indigenous linguists who are happy
to pontificate from the ivory tower when all around them the world is
falling apart.  So let's not give AFLA too much of a hard time (although I'm
disappointed I didn't get an invitation, but then again I'm only an
unemployed -as a linguist- descriptivist who likes formalists).

Kia monuina, Wolfgang