One Community's Post-Conflict Response to a Dictionary Project
Date
2012-12
Authors
Contributor
Advisor
Department
Instructor
Depositor
Speaker
Researcher
Consultant
Interviewer
Narrator
Transcriber
Annotator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Hawaii Press
Volume
6
Number/Issue
Starting Page
273
Ending Page
281
Alternative Title
Abstract
It may seem that dictionaries would be a low priority for communities struggling with
recent ethnic conflict, rapid social change, and economic hardship. However, the potential for dictionaries to have a positive effect on a community’s self-esteem has been noted for Melanesian societies. Furthermore, the potential for managing social change may also underpin a dictionary project. This paper describes the initial response to a dictionary project in a Solomon Islands community and how the community decided to combine lexicography with the revitalization of traditional crafts. The community’s decision to link the revitalization of cultural skills to the dictionary project moved the project firmly into the community’s hands and allowed them to conceive of a future that promotes the maintenance of language and culture. While there is no certainty about the success of the community’s plans, the energy and optimism evident in these initial stages of the project support the general assertion that dictionaries can play a role in increasing the self-esteem
of a language community. Within the context of a new, national-level languages policy,
the dictionary project is also expected to play a concrete role in language and culture
maintenance. The factors impacting self-esteem and language maintenance also have implications for other small language communities.
Description
Keywords
Solomon Islands, dictionaries, lexicography, Melanesian languages, language maintenance, culture maintenance
Citation
Hill, Deborah. 2012. One Community's Post-Conflict Response to a Dictionary Project. Language Documentation & Conservation. Vol. 6: 273-281.
Extent
9
Format
Geographic Location
Time Period
Related To
Related To (URI)
Table of Contents
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 Unported
Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 Unported
Rights Holder
Local Contexts
Email libraryada-l@lists.hawaii.edu if you need this content in ADA-compliant format.