[Linganth] "other"/"authentic" languages in film

[Paul B. Garrett]

Hi All,

In my seminar on Language Contact, I have a student from a
Communications & Theater/Mass Media background who is interested
in examining the use of "other" and "authentic" languages in
film.  "Dances with Wolves," "Schindler's List," and "The Passion
of the Christ" would be some recent examples; he'd also be
interested in cases where authenticity is not exactly the issue,
e.g. the use of Klingon in Star Trek movies, Esperanto in
"Incubus," etc.  (Yes, he's well aware that "authenticity" is a
highly fraught issue, and that some of these films are way off
the mark in any case.)

To my mind, one authority on this sort of thing is Harald
Haarman; and I've pointed him in a few other directions to
encourage him to problematize the whole matter and put it into
broader perspective, e.g. Jane Hill on Mock Spanish, Basso on
Western Apache imitations of the Whiteman, and Hall on phone-sex
workers.  But I have a nagging feeling that there are some fairly
obvious things that I'm not thinking of.  Can anyone else offer
suggestions?  (Post either privately to me or to the list, as you
see fit.)

Thanks,
Paul


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