Buffet, Gates, & the future of linguistic diversity

[phil cash cash]

Hi Mia, thanks for asking.  i just finished teaching a Language 
Documentation course here at AILDI.  soon i will be leaving Tucson and 
am heading back to the NW (Colville Reservation inWA) for more of the 
same with the Nez Perce and the Columbia River Sahaptin.  i'm pretty 
much on the road again until 2007 packed with recording equipment and a 
video camera.  soon i hope to be picking huckleberries in the high 
mountains and be camping out with the elders speaking our languages... 
;-p
l8ter, Phil

On Jul 1, 2006, at 11:17 AM, Mia Kalish wrote:

> Hi, Phil,
>
> How's it going?
> [How are the trout?]
>
> Mia
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Indigenous Languages and Technology 
> [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
> On Behalf Of phil cash cash
> Sent: Saturday, July 01, 2006 9:10 AM
> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [ILAT] Buffet, Gates, & the future of linguistic diversity
>
> Yes, I agree Don.  The Gates Foundation has had technology outreach
> programs targeting native communities, however, it seems these programs
> were short lived and did not continue for one reason or another.
>
> I do believe however that, at least from the perspective of 
> Gates-funded
> projects carried out here in the SW several years back, that language
> was and is a compelling component for any community development
> project.  Tribes certainly made this an important issue.
>
> Based on my own experience on working on a Gates-funded project, I can
> say that these projects were extremely valuable and rewarding.  I
> surely hope to see the continuance of community-oriented technology
> development in the future coming from the Gates Foundation!
>
> Phil Cash Cash (cayuse/nez perce)
> UofA, ILAT list mg
>
>
> Quoting d_z_o <dzo at BISHARAT.NET>:
>
>> With the news of Warren Buffet's donation of most of an estimated $44
>> billion to the Gates Foundation (GF), and remembering that the GF has
>> funded some programs for endangered languages, one wonders whether any
>> of this new mass of capital can be directed for use for language
>> revitalization and linguistic diversity.  Is not just a question of
>> whether some more money can be allocated for specific projects, but
>> rather whether resources can be found to develop and implement
>> long-term programs for the development of minority languages.  There
>> are a number of important but relatively small programs to assist in
>> documentation of endangered languages, and there are sometimes
>> programs in individual countries to promote teaching of and
>> development of literature in certain languages, but there does not
>> seem to be any overarching strategy involving a range of actors (or
>> "stakeholders") involved in or concerned with language preservation
>> and development.
>>
>> At this time, when we read so often about about the current and
>> expected rates of language extinction, when many countries and
>> communities lack the resources to plan and manage for their own
>> linguistic diversity, when many children especially of minority groups
>> do not have access to formal education of any sort let alone in their
>> maternal language, and when older people in minority language
>> communities pass away taking with them knowledge that cannot be
>> replaced (the proverbial "when an elder dies, a library burns"), while
>> at the same time we have the resources, both monetary and
>> technological, to record, manipulate, produce, and instruct in any
>> language, there is an urgent need to develop bold, coherent and long
>> term strategies.
>>
>> Basically we seem to be faced with a window of opportunity of limited
>> duration, and an imperative to act promptly. The GF even with this
>> added capital, is not the only organization that can assist in this
>> area, so it shouldn't be singled out.  There are other organizations
>> that can and should contribute as well – philanthropic, national,
>> intergovernmental, etc.  However, given the amount of resources now at
>> the GF's disposal, and its implied link via its founder to information
>> technology (which has a great potential to help work language
>> development and revitalization), it certainly is a logical starting
>> place. And since this story is big in the news at this moment, maybe
>> it deserves some focused discussion in order to produce a strong
>> policy proposal?
>>
>> Don Osborn
>