Re AN native speaker/scholars

[Paz B Naylor]

Thank you for your comments.

I am sorry to see, however, that the concern
expressed in my posting has been viewed as an "attack" on AFLA.  I
certainly did not intend it to be.  It was meant to be a general
observation of a tendency that has been around for decades.

All the best, Paz


Paz Buenaventura Naylor, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor, Asian Languages and Cultures
Faculty Associate, Center for Southeast Asian Studies
Program Associate, Linguistics
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI  48109, U.S.A.
Tel./Fax (734) 995-2371




On Tue, 22 Feb 2000, Wolfgang B. Sperlich wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
>