LD&C Special Publication No. 13: Documenting Variation in Endangered Languages
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ItemWhole volume(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)
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Itemcover(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)
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ItemFront matter(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)
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ItemAreal analysis of language attitudes and practices: A case study from Nepal(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)This paper has two aims. One aim is to consider non-structural (language attitude and use) variables as valid in the field of dialect and linguistic geography in an inner Himalayan valley of Nepal, where four languages have traditionally co-existed asymmetrically and which demonstrate different degrees of vitality vs. endangerment. The other aim is an application of modified spatiality as it aligns with speaker attitudes and practices amidst recent and ongoing socio-economic and population changes. We demonstrate that variation in self-reported attitudes and practices across languages in this region can be explained as much with adjusted spatial factors (labeled ‘social space’) as with traditional social factors (e.g. gender, age, formal education, occupation, etc.). As such, our study contributes to a discourse on the role and potential of spatiality in sociolinguistic analyses of smaller language communities.
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ItemLanguage shift and linguistic insecurity(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)Variation in language is constant and inevitable. In a vital speech community some variation disappears as speakers age, and some results in long-term change, but all change will be preceded by a period of variation. Speakers of endangered languages may perceive variation in an especially negative light when it is thought to be due to contact with the dominant language. This contributes to negative evaluations of young people’s speech by older speakers, and in turn contributes to the linguistic insecurity of young speakers, which may result in even further shift toward the dominant language. In this paper we discuss language variation in the context of shift with respect to the notion of linguistic insecurity and what we identify as three distinct types of linguistic insecurity, particularly in cases of indigenous language loss in the Americas. We conclude with some observations on the positive results of directly addressing linguistic insecurity in language maintenance/revitalization programs.
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ItemDocumenting sociolinguistic variation in lesser-studied indigenous communities: Challenges and practical solutions(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)Documenting sociolinguistic variation in lesser-studied languages presents methodological challenges, but also offers important research opportunities. In this paper we examine three key methodological challenges commonly faced by researchers who are outsiders to the community. We then present practical solutions for successful variationist research on indigenous languages and meaningful partnerships with local communities. In particular, we draw insights from our research with Australian languages and indigenous languages of rural China. We also highlight reasons why such lesser-studied languages are crucial to the further advancement of sociolinguistic theory, arguing that the value of the research justifies the effort needed to overcome the methodological difficulty. We find that the challenges of sociolinguistics in these communities sometimes make standard variationist methods untenable, but the methodological solutions we propose can lead to valuable results and community relationships.
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ItemThree speakers, four dialects: Documenting variation in an endangered Amazonian language(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)This paper offers a case study on dialect contact in Máíhɨ̃ki (Tukanoan, Peru), with the goal of illustrating how documentation of variation can contribute to a general language documentation project. I begin by describing the facts of variation in one dialectally diverse Máíhɨ̃ki-speaking community. I then argue that the outcomes of dialect mixing in this speech community can be understood only through a fine-grained analysis centering the dialectal composition of the communities of practice to which speakers belonged in early life. The coarse-grained identity categories used in most variationist analyses, such as age and gender, are less informative. After proposing a network theory interpretation of this finding, I discuss its implications for the role of (a) ethnography and (b) the European dialect mixing literature in research on variation in endangered languages. Second, I describe some surprising similarities between this speech community and those described in classic variationist literature. Like urban English speakers, Máíhɨ̃ki speakers attach less indexical value to morphosyntactic than to phonological variation, and – although their language lacks a standard – engage in indexically motivated style-shifting. I discuss ways to adapt variationist methods to endangered language settings to capture these phenomena, then close with comments on the importance of documenting variation for conservation.
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ItemHe nui nā ala e hiki aku ai: Factors influencing phonetic variation in the Hawaiian word kēia(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)Apart from a handful of studies (e.g., Kinney 1956), linguists know little about what variation exists in Hawaiian and what factors constrain the variation. In this paper, we present an analysis of phonetic variation in the word kēia, meaning ‘this’, examining the social, linguistic, and probabilistic factors that constrain the variation. The word kēia can be pronounced with a constricted glottis (e.g., as creak or a glottal stop) or without one (Pukui & Elbert 1986: 142) and, like many words in Hawaiian, it can undergo phonetic reduction. The analysis was conducted on interviews with eight native-speaking kūpuna (elders) who were recorded in the 1970s. We find that the likelihood of the word being realized with a constricted glottis decreases if the word immediately following kēia begins with an oral stop or if the speaker is a man. Additionally, we observe a higher likelihood of phonetic reduction as word sequences (kēia + the following word(s)) are repeated during the interaction. The results contribute to current models of speech production and planning, and they inform work aimed at supporting the ongoing efforts to conserve and revitalize the Hawaiian language.
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ItemDocumenting variation in (endangered) heritage languages: how and why?(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)This paper contributes to recently expanded interest in documenting variable as well as categorical patterns of endangered languages. It describes approaches, tools and curricular developments that have benefitted from involving students who are heritage language community members, key to expanding variationist focus to a wider range of languages. I describe aspects of the Heritage Language Variation and Change Project in Toronto, contrasting a “truly” endangered language to a less clearly endangered language. Faetar, with <700 homeland speakers (in Italy) and some 200 in Toronto, and no transmission to a third generation in Toronto, is endangered by any definition. Heritage Italian, in contrast, is a diasporic variety related to a robust homeland variety as well as the mother tongue of 166,000 Torontonians. However, reports of strong English influence on the language and transmission statistics both suggest that it too is endangered in Toronto. Homeland and Heritage patterns are compared to better understand the processes of language variation and change in lesser-studied varieties, with a focus on null subject patterns. Analysis of the more endangered language helps interpret otherwise ambiguous patterns in the less endangered language. Results indicate that neither heritage language exhibits the simplification anticipated for small languages in contact with a majority language.
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ItemPerspectives on linguistic documentation from sociolinguistic research on dialects(University of Hawai'i Press, 2017-06-01)The goal of the paper is to demonstrate how sociolinguistic research can be applied to endangered language documentation field linguistics. It first provides an overview of the techniques and practices of sociolinguistic fieldwork and the ensuring corpus compilation methods. The discussion is framed with examples from research projects focused on European-heritage English-speaking communities in the UK and Canada that have documented and analyzed English dialects from the far reaches of Scotland to the wilds of Northern Ontario, Canada. The main focus lies on morpho-syntactic and discourse-pragmatic variation; however, the same techniques could be applied to other types of variation. The discussion includes examples from a broad range of research studies in order to illustrate how sociolinguistic analyses are conducted and what they offer for understanding language variation and change.