[RNLD] Melbourne Linguistics in the Pub Tuesday 24th November 2015: Here to help? – balancing research aims and community-oriented efforts in the field

Fri Oct 30 09:46:29 UTC 2015

Dear all

An earlier version of Paul Newman's paper is also available online: Newman,
Paul (1998 ):“We has seen the enemy and it is us: The endangered languages
issue as a hopeless cause”
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/11559/SLS1998v28.2-05Newman.pdf?sequence=2

There is a video of a talk by Newman at SOAS in October 2013 on the role of
the linguist at
https://www.soas.ac.uk/linguistics/events/deptseminars/15oct2013-the-law-of-unintended-consequences-how-the-endangered-languages-movement-undermines-field-.html

Best wishes

Julia

On 30 October 2015 at 07:40, Peter Austin <pa2 at soas.ac.uk> wrote:

> The paper by Yaron Matras is available free online at:
>
> http://www.elpublishing.org/docs/1/03/ldd03_13.pdf
>
> Peter
>
>
> On Friday, 30 October 2015, Ruth Singer <ruth.singer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> *Announcement: Melbourne Linguistics in the Pub Tuesday 24th November
>> 2015*
>>
>>
>>
>> *********NEW PUB: UNIVERSITY HOTEL*******
>>
>>
>>
>> This month we are trying out a new pub, the University Hotel, Lygon St,
>> Carlton which has more cheap(ish) food options than Naughton’s
>>
>>
>>
>> *Tonya Stebbins* (Monash University/Languagewise) will be leading the
>> discussion, she has written widely on her experiences of doing fieldwork
>> with a range of communities
>>
>>
>>
>> *Topic: *Here to help? – balancing research aims and community-oriented
>> efforts in the field
>>
>>
>>
>> Field linguists are also often well-intentioned, hoping to contribute to
>> the betterment of the world. This may be something they want to achieve
>> only through their academic research and teaching. But many would also like
>> to make a practical contribution to the community they research. Field
>> linguists often work with communities who are disadvantaged and feel a
>> strong desire to try and do something to redress the disadvantage. This can
>> take the form of providing support for language maintenance activities
>> (Newman 2003) or general volunteering such as collecting donations of
>> secondhand clothes, helping out with classes at the local school or driving
>> people to the next town.
>>
>>
>>
>> There has been quite a bit written about these competing pressures and
>> demands on a linguist. Newman suggests that due to time constraints on
>> fieldwork “‘the good-hearted, well-meaning linguist, to whom we can all
>> extend our admiration, will do less of a job of basic documentation than
>> one would have hoped for’”(2000:6). Matras (2005) warns against the dangers
>> of linguists taking the role of saviours, stepping in to ‘save’ a language.
>> Stebbins (2012) agrees that the role of the linguist is highly contested
>> and she looks at how power imbalances hamper linguists’ efforts to
>> contribute positively to the community they work with. However Stebbins
>> also argues that much what we do as linguists in the field is negotiable so
>> there is the possibility of creating a third space between the community
>> and academia, where people can engage on a more equal footing.
>>
>>
>>
>> Background readings:
>> Matras, Yaron. 2005. Language contact, language endangerment, and the
>> role of the “salvation linguist.” Language documentation and description 3.
>> 225–251.
>>
>> Newman P. 2003. The endangered language issue as a hopeless cause. In M.
>> Janse and S. Tol (eds.) 2003. Language Death and Language Maintenance.
>> Theoretical, Practical and Descriptive Approaches. Amsterdam: John
>> Benjamins, 1-13.
>>
>> Stebbins, Tonya. 2012. On Being a Linguist and Doing Linguistics:
>> Negotiating Ideology through Performativity.
>> http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/4501 (29 October, 2015)
>> .
>>
>>
>>
>> Walsh, Michael. 2005. Will Indigenous Languages Survive? *Annual Review
>> of Anthropology* 34(1). 293–315.
>> doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120629.
>>
>>
>>
>> Check RNLD MLIP page later for readings (to be uploaded soon): *http://www.rnld.org/mlip
>> <http://www.rnld.org/mlip>*
>>
>>
>>
>> Date:      Tuesday 24th November
>>
>> Time:       6:00 - 8:00 pm
>> Venue:     Function room (upstairs)
>>
>>               *University hotel* (NOTE NEW VENUE)
>>
>> *Address: *272 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053
>>
>> *Phone:   *(03) 9347 7299
>>
>>                 http://www.unihotel.com.au/ (menu available online)
>>
>>
>> LIP is an occasional gathering of language activists and linguists in
>> Melbourne and is coordinated by the MLIP committee: Ruth Singer (Melbourne
>> Uni), Harriet Sheppard, Jonathan Schlossberg, Alan Ray, Giordana
>> Santosuosso and Jonathon Lum (Monash Uni)
>>
>>
>>
>> Contact Ruth Singer (University of Melbourne) with any questions:
>> *rsinger at unimelb.edu.au*
>> You can receive these announcements by signing up to the RNLD mailing
>> list: *http://www.rnld.org/node/5 <http://www.rnld.org/node/5>*
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr Ruth Singer
>> DECRA Postdoctoral Fellow
>> Linguistics Program and Research Unit for Indigenous Language
>> School of Languages and Linguistics
>> Faculty of Arts
>> University of Melbourne 3010
>> Tel. *+61 3 90353774 <%2B61%203%2090353774>*
>> *http://languages-linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/academic-staff/ruth-singer
>> <http://languages-linguistics.unimelb.edu.au/academic-staff/ruth-singer>*
>> *http://indiglang.arts.unimelb.edu.au/
>> <http://indiglang.arts.unimelb.edu.au/>*
>>
>
>
> --
> Prof Peter K. Austin
> Marit Rausing Chair in Field Linguistics
> Director, Endangered Languages Academic Programme
> Research Tutor and PhD Convenor
> Department of Linguistics, SOAS
> Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
> London WC1H 0XG
> United Kingdom
>
> Homepage: http://www.hrelp.org/aboutus/staff/index.php?cd=pa
> Academia: https://soas.academia.edu/PeterAustin
> ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Austin2
> ResearcherID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/P-5066-2014
> ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3180-0524
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/peterkaustin
>
>
>


-- 
Dr. Julia Sallabank
Senior Lecturer in Language Support and Revitalisation,
Convenor: MA Linguistics, MA Language Documentation and Description, MA
Linguistics & Language,
SOAS, University of London,
London WC1H 0XG,UK

Tel. +44 (0)20 7898 4326


*Office hours 3-4 pm Thursdays.For other appointments please email to
arrange a mutually convenient time.*

*Mercator Research Centre '**Expert of the Month' *for Sept 2015:
http://www.mercator-research.eu/minority-languages/expert-in-the-spotlight/julia-sallabank/

*Giving the annual **Ned Maddrell Lecture *on Saturday, 7th November at St
John's Mill, Isle of Man, 2pm. See
http://learnmanx.com/cms/email_395218.html
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