Babanki literacy classes and community-based language research
Abstract
Most of the linguistic work on Babanki, a Central Ring Grassfields Bantu language of Northwest Cameroon has been for the scientific world and not directly beneficial to the community. Such work on the language include Hyman (1979, 1980), Menang (1981, 1983), Tamanji (1987), Phubon (1999, 2002, 2007, 2014), Brye (2001), Mutaka and Phubon (2006), Akumbu (1999, 2008, 2009, 2011), and Akumbu and Chibaka (2012). Community participation in the above projects has been limited to providing information while the linguists have analyzed and published the findings. Efforts to give back research products to the community have met several obstacles including the lack of interest in reading and unavailability of electricity. This study draws from experiences in recent language documentation projects on Babanki (Akumbu 2013, 2014) and argues that in addition to using modern information and communication devices where possible, literacy classes present the best opportunities for the Babanki community to utilize research products.
Abstract
Most of the linguistic work on Babanki, a Central Ring Grassfields Bantu language of Northwest Cameroon has been for the scientific world and not directly beneficial to the community. Such work on the language include Hyman (1979, 1980), Menang (1981, 1983), Tamanji (1987), Phubon (1999, 2002, 2007, 2014), Brye (2001), Mutaka and Phubon (2006), Akumbu (1999, 2008, 2009, 2011), and Akumbu and Chibaka (2012). Community participation in the above projects has been limited to providing information while the linguists have analyzed and published the findings. Efforts to give back research products to the community have met several obstacles including the lack of interest in reading and unavailability of electricity. This study draws from experiences in recent language documentation projects on Babanki (Akumbu 2013, 2014) and argues that in addition to using modern information and communication devices where possible, literacy classes present the best opportunities for the Babanki community to utilize research products.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
- Collaborative research: Visions and realities 13
- When Participatory Action Research (PAR) and (Western) Academic Institutional Policies do not align 38
- Consultation, relationship and results in community-based language research 66
- Creating sustainable models of language documentation and revitalization 94
- Slowly, slowly said the jaguar: Collaborations as a goal of linguistic field research over time 112
- The Koasati Language Project: A collaborative, community-based language documentation and revitalization model 132
- Full collaboration of native speaker and linguist, working together for language revitalization 151
- Participatory action research for Indigenous linguistics in the digital age 164
- Implementing collaborative research in Blackfoot language instruction 176
- 100 years of analyzing Coeur d’Alene with the community 194
- Creating learning materials and teaching materials for language revitalization: The case of Mutsun 212
- Collaborative research and assessment in Kaqchikel 228
- The collaborative process in a Wounaan meu language documentation project 246
- Babanki literacy classes and community-based language research 266
- Exploring new research perspectives on African cultures through language documentation 280
- The field is not the lab, and the lab is not the field: Experimental linguistics and endangered language communities 296
- Transforming the landscape of language revitalization work in Australia: The Documenting and Revitalising Indigenous Languages training model 314
- Index 339
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
- Collaborative research: Visions and realities 13
- When Participatory Action Research (PAR) and (Western) Academic Institutional Policies do not align 38
- Consultation, relationship and results in community-based language research 66
- Creating sustainable models of language documentation and revitalization 94
- Slowly, slowly said the jaguar: Collaborations as a goal of linguistic field research over time 112
- The Koasati Language Project: A collaborative, community-based language documentation and revitalization model 132
- Full collaboration of native speaker and linguist, working together for language revitalization 151
- Participatory action research for Indigenous linguistics in the digital age 164
- Implementing collaborative research in Blackfoot language instruction 176
- 100 years of analyzing Coeur d’Alene with the community 194
- Creating learning materials and teaching materials for language revitalization: The case of Mutsun 212
- Collaborative research and assessment in Kaqchikel 228
- The collaborative process in a Wounaan meu language documentation project 246
- Babanki literacy classes and community-based language research 266
- Exploring new research perspectives on African cultures through language documentation 280
- The field is not the lab, and the lab is not the field: Experimental linguistics and endangered language communities 296
- Transforming the landscape of language revitalization work in Australia: The Documenting and Revitalising Indigenous Languages training model 314
- Index 339
