Small house?

[David Nathan]

Dear EL list


In regard to the circulating messages about the so-called "House of Small Languages", to me the issues regarding it are less to do with who owns languages or data about them, but are about simpler issues of research and publishing.

Firstly, it was M Burgaud who plagiarised materials from others' websites - therefore clearly the materials were already in the public domain. No gatekeeping there - quite the opposite.
Secondly, M Burgaud is, of course, quite able to do his own research, and make an original contribution. Nobody is doing any gatekeeping there, either.
Finally, publishing is a kind of marketplace, and M Burgaud is, courtesy of the web, quite able to publish his own views on these matters; again, no gatekeeping there. Fortunately, there is plenty of good material, in growing amounts, as others have noted, and the audiences can decide for themselves ...


- David Nathan