Towards an Integration of Language Documentation and Language Revitalization

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  • 危機言語記録保存と言語復興の統合へ向けて
  • キキ ゲンゴ キロク ホゾン ト ゲンゴ フッコウ ノ トウゴウ エ ムケテ

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Abstract

This paper introduces language documentation supportive of language revitalization as a new paradigm for the study of endangered languages. It is necessitated by the unprecedented endangerment of linguistic plurality and is facilitated by new technical developments. The research of endangered languages as proposed in our paper requires a shift from a 'language-as-a-system' to a 'language-as-practice' perspective, a shift from descriptive linguistics to interactional linguistics and a shift of focus from monolingualism to multilingualism. The present paper delineates these shifts and is thus theoretical in nature. It is important to note, however, that the integrated approach of language documentation which is supportive of language revitalization is all about application. It is interdisciplinary and involves members of the speech community. In view of current language endangerment, there are no alternatives if we are to document the linguistic ecology, i.e. more than just linguistic structures. We argue for an approach which connects two fields of study which have remained largely isolated until present, language documentation and studies in language revitalization. Connecting these two fields is beneficial for the discipline of linguistics as well as for the respective speech communities. Such an integrated approach can thus be regarded as a branch of welfare linguistics.

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