Language documentation
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Martha J. Macri
Abstract
Ethical issues as they relate to documentation of endangered languages include consideration of the rights and obligations of the various parties who have interests in such work. Ownership, copyright, and access restrictions are examined from the perspectives of the language documenters, of the minority societies within larger governments, and of the individuals and communities whose speech have been documented. Goals for collaboration with speakers and other members of their communities, questions of ownership of archived materials, and access to collections – these can be negotiated between communities and academic institutions. Efforts toward language documentation might be most effectively aimed, not only at recording languages, but in supporting their continued use within their respective communities.
Abstract
Ethical issues as they relate to documentation of endangered languages include consideration of the rights and obligations of the various parties who have interests in such work. Ownership, copyright, and access restrictions are examined from the perspectives of the language documenters, of the minority societies within larger governments, and of the individuals and communities whose speech have been documented. Goals for collaboration with speakers and other members of their communities, questions of ownership of archived materials, and access to collections – these can be negotiated between communities and academic institutions. Efforts toward language documentation might be most effectively aimed, not only at recording languages, but in supporting their continued use within their respective communities.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors ix
- Preface xiii
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Part 1. Praxis and values
- Language documentation 3
- The linguist’s responsibilities to the community of speakers 25
- Language documentation 37
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Part 2. Adequacy in documentation
- Adequacy in documentation 51
- Necessary and sufficient data collection 67
- Documenting different genres of oral narrative in Cora (Uto-Aztecan) 75
- Constructing adequate language documentation for multifaceted cross-linguistic data 89
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Part 3. Documentation technology
- Valuing technology 111
- Using the E-MELD School of Best Practices to create lasting digital documentation 133
- Sharing data in small and endangered languages 147
- Representing minority languages and cultures on the World Wide Web 159
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Part 4. Models of successful collaborations
- Beyond expertise 173
- Models of successful collaboration 193
- Working with language communities in unarchiving 213
- Saving languages, saving lives 221
- Language documentation in the Tohono O’odham community 231
- Documentation of pragmatics and metapragmatics 241
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Part 5. Training and careers in field linguistics
- Training graduate students and community members for native language documentation 255
- Native speakers as documenters 275
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part 6. Conclusion
- Language documentation and field linguistics 289
- Selected online resources 311
- Name index 315
- General index 337
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors ix
- Preface xiii
-
Part 1. Praxis and values
- Language documentation 3
- The linguist’s responsibilities to the community of speakers 25
- Language documentation 37
-
Part 2. Adequacy in documentation
- Adequacy in documentation 51
- Necessary and sufficient data collection 67
- Documenting different genres of oral narrative in Cora (Uto-Aztecan) 75
- Constructing adequate language documentation for multifaceted cross-linguistic data 89
-
Part 3. Documentation technology
- Valuing technology 111
- Using the E-MELD School of Best Practices to create lasting digital documentation 133
- Sharing data in small and endangered languages 147
- Representing minority languages and cultures on the World Wide Web 159
-
Part 4. Models of successful collaborations
- Beyond expertise 173
- Models of successful collaboration 193
- Working with language communities in unarchiving 213
- Saving languages, saving lives 221
- Language documentation in the Tohono O’odham community 231
- Documentation of pragmatics and metapragmatics 241
-
Part 5. Training and careers in field linguistics
- Training graduate students and community members for native language documentation 255
- Native speakers as documenters 275
-
part 6. Conclusion
- Language documentation and field linguistics 289
- Selected online resources 311
- Name index 315
- General index 337
