‘Auto-documentación Lingüística’: La experiencia de una comunidad Jodï en la Guayana Venezolana

Abstract

This article describes a self-directed project of linguistic documentation that was carried out over a five-year period in an indigenous Jodï community of the Venezuelan Guayana. The project was somewhat unique in that members of the local community were themselves responsible for producing documentary materials of their own language. The main results of this work include the compilation of the first Jodï-Spanish bilingual dictionary and the creation of an ethno-historical and cultural multimedia archive, with 79 hours of audio and video recordings stored at the local community. Reflecting on this experience, the author argues that more emphasis and support needs to be given to language ‘self-documentation’, in which the speech community acts as both principal investigator/compiler and user. A local community-centered approach offers an alternative that addresses certain unresolved issues in the practice of language documentation. Furthermore, it would make this activity more relevant to the larger issues of supporting the diversity of life on earth and enhancing the quality of life for human populations at the local and global levels.