Language Endangerment

Posted on by pamanyunganra Language Endangerment

Reviving Unique Words: The Niche of Scientific Names

http://www.adelaide.edu.au/australex/conferences/2013/nashsc.pdf

Reviving Unique Words: The Niche of Scientific Names

By David Nash

The concept of ‘endangered word’ is defined. The possibility of a word being ‘the same
word’ across more than one language allows for recognition of degrees of endangerment of a
word. The rarer a word is cross-linguistically, the more it is at risk of fading away. A minor way
to continue an endangered word, and thereby reduce its endangerment, is to incorporate it into
scientific terminology, in particular into a standard biological (Linnæan) name. Some examples
are given of how scientific borrowing has popularised words from severely disused languages,
and of recent adoption of terms from currently endangered languages.
Posted on by anggarrgoon Anthropology, Field work, Language Endangerment, Revitalisation

Documentation of Endangered Languages

Sally Thomason has a new book chapter out on the pitfalls of documenting endangered languages. Book details follow:

Responses to Language Endangerment

In honor of Mickey Noonan

Edited by Elena Mihas, Bernard Perley, Gabriel Rei-Doval and Kathleen Wheatley

 
This volume further complicates and advances the contemporary perspective on language endangerment by examining the outcomes of the most commonly cited responses to language endangerment, i.e. language documentation, language revitalization, and training. The present collection takes stock of many complex and pressing issues, such as the assessment of the degree of language endangerment, the contribution of linguistic scholarship to language revitalization programs, the creation of successful language reclamation programs, the emergence of languages that arise as a result of revitalization efforts after interrupted transmission, the ethics of fieldwork, and the training of field linguists and language educators. The volume’s case studies provide detailed personal accounts of fieldworkers and language activists who are grappling with issues of language documentation and revitalization in the concrete physical and socio-cultural settings of native speaker communities in different regions of the world.
[Studies in Language Companion Series, 142]  2013.  xv, 273 pp.
Posted on by pamanyunganra Language Endangerment, Morphology, Syntax

A Longitudinal Study of Ngarrindjeri

A Longitudinal Study of Ngarrindjeri

Corinne Bannister.

This thesis aims to follow the changes that occur in Ngarrindjeri, a language from South Australia, over a period of 130 years. Over this period of time the speakers underwent great social and cultural change, with the settlement of white people, and the language changed from being a vibrant living language to one where only a few lexical items can be remembered. Particular attention is given to the syntactic changes, with a focus on case, the pronominal system and the antipassive function. A range of sources have been used; however Meyer’s grammar from 1843 and the Berndt texts, recorded in the 1940s, plus the accompanying analysis provided by Cerin (1994), receive the main focus because they are the most extensive descriptions of the language. The other sources are used when necessary to fill in the gaps. Chapter one introduces the language and the source material. It also discusses general concepts in language attrition. Chapter two deals with nominal morphology, with a particular focus on how the cases have changed. It also contains some reanalysis of the forms, which differs slightly from previous analyses. Chapter three address the pronominal morphology and identifies and explains discrepancies among the sources. This chapter contains information on the personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns and also a small section on how the pronominal system influenced a change in word order. Chapter four addresses the antipassive in Ngarrindjeri. Previous work on the antipassive has been scarce, so firstly this chapter establishes the form of the antipassive. Next it identifies the semantic uses of the construction. Finally, there is an investigation into the existence of a syntactic antipassive and the type of pivots that may also exist.

Posted on by anggarrgoon Field work, Language Endangerment, Miscellaneous, Web

Grant opportunity

Aboriginal community organisations can apply for one-off grants worth up to
$25,000 to protect and teach Aboriginal languages.

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Paul Lynch said for Aboriginal people,
language is a direct link to their identity, land and country, reflecting
their unique way of looking at the world.

Applications for close on Friday, May 25. For more information or to get an
application form visit www.alrrc.nsw.gov.au or call 9219 0700.

http://www.alrrc.nsw.gov.au/