[Lingtyp] Evidentiality, gatekeeping, arguments to authority

Wed Dec 6 10:23:50 UTC 2023

Dear all,
I would like to second Jocelyn's remarks.
Prof. Aikhenvalds position is basically that analyses based on 30 years 
of fieldwork cannot be challenged or amended by researchers who do not 
have that amount of experience.
Sorry, this is gatekeeping and antithetic to science. If Marius Zemp's 
analyses are wrong or mistaken, these will be filtered out by the 
scientific method, but not by ad hominem or by arguments to authority. 
How feeble is it to put scare quotes around names, and to put question 
marks after the name of a colleague. My respect for you, Prof. 
Aikhenvald, has plummeted.
Best wishes
Sebastian

On 12/6/23 11:00, Jocelyn Aznar wrote:
> Dear everyone,
> 
> I hope this message finds you well. I would like to address Prof. 
> Aikhenvald's recent contribution to our discussion list. It's the first 
> time I've encountered such a message on the list, and I believe it's 
> important to respond in order to maintain the collegial spirit of our 
> exchanges.
> 
> Her message, which contained many ad personam attacks, is rude and 
> unfair. Such behavior goes against the collaborative atmosphere we have 
> on this list. Furthermore, I fully align with Marius Zemp's observation 
> that her message challenges a "basic principle of social science that 
> any data published are there for linguists to discuss and reanalyze."
> 
> In the interest of constructive dialogue, if Prof. Aikhenvald disagrees 
> with Marius Zemp's analysis, a more productive response would involve 
> engaging in a counter linguistic discussion. This approach aligns with 
> the principles of open academic discourse and encourages a more positive 
> and productive exchange of ideas.
> 
> Best regards,
> Jocelyn Aznar
> from Bern
> 
> Le 04/12/2023 à 11:20, Alexandra Aikhenvald a écrit :
>> Dear colleagues and friends
>>
>> I would like to share with you two recent papers on mine, dealing with 
>> evidentiality, including the expression of shared information source 
>> across languages, and a new approach to the multifaceted semantics of 
>> evidentials. In the most recent paper, ‘Speaking about knowledge’, you 
>> will see a discussion of the interaction between evidentiality, 
>> egophoricity, and mirativity which may lead to a new take on semantic 
>> typology of evidentials (a continuation of what has been done within 
>> the /Oxford Handbook of evidentiality, /now coming out in paperback 
>> with some corrections, later this year).
>>
>> A note is in order.
>>
>> All the information on Tariana - an endangered and yet vital Arawak 
>> language of North-west Amazonia, Brazil - is based on immersion 
>> fieldwork with the speakers of Tariana, over the past 30 years or so. 
>> The analysis in all my work (including the 2003 grammar, the Oxford 
>> Handbook, and umpteen other papers) is based on fieldwork, careful 
>> analysos and also on speakers’ intuitions, comments, and our discussions.
>>
>> An unfortunate incident has been recently brought to my attention. 
>> Someone by the name of 'Zemp' (currently at the University of Bern?), 
>> has been making quasi-typological pronouncements, spuriously and 
>> gratuitously misinterpreting the Tariana markers of visual 
>> evidentiality as something else. Naturally, his work does not make 
>> sense (see attached, for instance). Zemp does not know the first thing 
>> about the language - which is obvious from his 'typologies'.
>>
>>
>> We, grammar analysts, are no strangers to spurious re-interpretations 
>> by those who have little understanding of the languages they dare 
>> ‘reinterpret’ and even less of linguistic typology. However, such 
>> misinterpretations are worrying and upsetting for all, including the 
>> speakers themselves. If Zemp has any vestiges of honesty, he will make 
>> a public apology to the Tariana Nation.
>>
>>   Best wishes
>>
>> Sacha
>>
>> Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, PhD, DLitt, FAHA, FQAAS, MAE
>>
>> Professorial Research Fellow and Australian Laureate Fellow
>>
>> Jawun Centre (formerly Centre for Indigenous Health Equity Research), 
>> Central Queensland University
>>
>> Cairns, Queensland, Australia
>>
>> Foundation Director of the Language and Culture Research Centre (JCU)
>>
>> Consultant, OED (South American languages)
>>
>> phone 61-400305315
>>
>> http://www.aikhenvaldlinguistics.com/ 
>> <http://www.aikhenvaldlinguistics.com/>;
>>
>> https://staff-profiles.cqu.edu.au/home/view/25682 
>> <https://mcas-proxyweb.mcas.ms/certificate-checker?login=false&originalUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fstaff-profiles.cqu.edu.au.mcas.ms%2Fhome%2Fview%2F25682%3FMcasTsid%3D20893>
>>
>> https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/view/all/ADD43F35E4ED54959A3F28C152248725.html <https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/view/all/ADD43F35E4ED54959A3F28C152248725.html>
>>
>> https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Aikhenvald_Alexandra 
>> <https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Aikhenvald_Alexandra>alternative 
>> e-mail: a.aikhenvald at cqu.edu.au, nyamamayratakw at gmail.com, 
>> goldagorb at yahoo.com
>>
>> *Serial Verbs* *The Oxford Handbook of Evidentiality*
>>
>> By *Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald Edited By* *Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald*
>>
>> Now available from Oxford University Press 
>> <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/serial-verbs-9780198791263?cc=au&lang=en&>Now available from Oxford University Press <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-evidentiality-9780198759515?cc=au&lang=en&>
>>
>> Sig1 
>> <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/serial-verbs-9780198791263?cc=au&lang=en&>Sig2 <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-evidentiality-9780198759515?cc=au&lang=en&>
>>
>> My new book is https://profilebooks.com/work/i-saw-the-dog 
>> <https://profilebooks.com/work/i-saw-the-dog/>.
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Lingtyp mailing list
>> Lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
>> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp
> _______________________________________________
> Lingtyp mailing list
> Lingtyp at listserv.linguistlist.org
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/lingtyp