Representing minority languages and cultures on the World Wide Web
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David Golumbia
Abstract
An inevitable and welcome consequence of linguistic documentation of minority languages is the production of world wide web resources made about, by, and for speakers of those languages. One danger of this development is that websites can proliferate in which speakers of minority languages are portrayed as objects of study, promulgating the view and the reality that the global electronic network exists “for” – is culturally oriented toward – members of majority cultures. This same development provides linguists with great opportunities to create resources in which speakers of all languages see themselves as subjects, in part by working with community members to create linguistic websites.
Abstract
An inevitable and welcome consequence of linguistic documentation of minority languages is the production of world wide web resources made about, by, and for speakers of those languages. One danger of this development is that websites can proliferate in which speakers of minority languages are portrayed as objects of study, promulgating the view and the reality that the global electronic network exists “for” – is culturally oriented toward – members of majority cultures. This same development provides linguists with great opportunities to create resources in which speakers of all languages see themselves as subjects, in part by working with community members to create linguistic websites.
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
