Training as empowering social action
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Carol Genetti
Abstract
A recent response to language endangerment has been the rise of training programs in language documentation and conservation. Here we consider the position of training activities within the sociology of language documentation and conservation (LDC) work, specifically focusing on paradigms of ethical research and the relationship between academic and community partners. We examine one training program in depth, InField 2008, which had two distinct components: a set of short workshops, and intensive field training that incorporated language research. Grounding the discussion in the social science literature, we argue that training constitutes empowering social action and that different types of training promote different dimensions of empowerment. Training programs can be organized into a typology that is independent from, but overlaps with, the typology of research paradigms.
Abstract
A recent response to language endangerment has been the rise of training programs in language documentation and conservation. Here we consider the position of training activities within the sociology of language documentation and conservation (LDC) work, specifically focusing on paradigms of ethical research and the relationship between academic and community partners. We examine one training program in depth, InField 2008, which had two distinct components: a set of short workshops, and intensive field training that incorporated language research. Grounding the discussion in the social science literature, we argue that training constitutes empowering social action and that different types of training promote different dimensions of empowerment. Training programs can be organized into a typology that is independent from, but overlaps with, the typology of research paradigms.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Dedication vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction xi
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Part I. Language Endangerment: Challenges and Responses
- The world’s languages in crisis 3
- What can revitalization work teach us about documentation? 21
- Unanswered questions in language documentation and revitalization 43
- Training as empowering social action 59
- How to avoid pitfalls in documenting endangered languages 79
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Part II. Case Studies in Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Languages in Contact
- Converb and aspect-marking polysemy in Nar 97
- Grammatical relations in Mixe and Chimariko 119
- Having a shinshii/shiishii ‘master’ around makes you speak Japanese! 141
- Internal and external calls to immigrant language promotion 157
- Code-switching in an Erzya–Russian bilingual variety 175
- Colonialism, nationalism and language vitality in Azerbaijan 197
- Revitalizing languages through place-based language curriculum 221
- Remembering ancestral voices 243
- Index 271
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Dedication vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Introduction xi
-
Part I. Language Endangerment: Challenges and Responses
- The world’s languages in crisis 3
- What can revitalization work teach us about documentation? 21
- Unanswered questions in language documentation and revitalization 43
- Training as empowering social action 59
- How to avoid pitfalls in documenting endangered languages 79
-
Part II. Case Studies in Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Languages and Languages in Contact
- Converb and aspect-marking polysemy in Nar 97
- Grammatical relations in Mixe and Chimariko 119
- Having a shinshii/shiishii ‘master’ around makes you speak Japanese! 141
- Internal and external calls to immigrant language promotion 157
- Code-switching in an Erzya–Russian bilingual variety 175
- Colonialism, nationalism and language vitality in Azerbaijan 197
- Revitalizing languages through place-based language curriculum 221
- Remembering ancestral voices 243
- Index 271
