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Lesson 1: The Basics of Language Documentation

Through this lesson, you will learn some important aspects of language documentation and reasons behind the disappearance of languages.

Key Concepts

  • Language

  • Documentation

  • Linguist

  • Language Death

  • Language Diversity

UNIT 1: SOME KEY FEATURES ABOUT LANGUAGE DOCUMENTATION

What is language? 

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Language is often defined as “a rule-based system of signs” (Amberg, 2010). This doesn’t mean that rules are enforced, but rather that every language has its own set of rules, which its speakers naturally follow. Native speakers, those who have a language (English for example) as their mother tongue, pick up these rules unconsciously through practice. However, those learning a language as a second language (L2), are consciously aware of the rules because they study the language explicitly. 

 

It’s really important to note that language reflects both the individual’s unique characteristics of a person and those of a community (such as beliefs and practices for instance).

lang doc 7.png

What is documentation?

 

In the field of linguistics, documentation refers to written information that describes and explains a language and its use. This documentation is essential since it provides valuable information to researchers, the investigated community, the future generations and anyone interested in the language.


Documentation in the linguistic domain has both internal and external purposes. Internally, it helps linguists in their studies and research: in the preservation of cultural heritage, for example. Externally, once the linguistic studies are complete, the documentation becomes a resource accessible by anyone that is interested: examples are linguistic passionate people who are driven by a desire to keep linguistic diversity alive or contribute to the preservation of linguistic heritage.

Activity 1: Fill in the gaps

Alone

Now that you’ve learnt the basic information, you’re ready to solve the first exercise. Here, you’ll have to read the sentences and fill the gaps with the correct missing information. You’ll find all the necessary words to use in the following provided box. Note your answers in a paper or in your computer and correct it.

Language

Information

Record

Rule-based

Linguistics

Linguists

Findings

Documenting

Unconsciously

Language community

characteristics

Community

Language is everywhere, in speech and written texts. In both forms, language is a [...1...] system, which means that it is based on certain rules that are often [...2...] followed by its speakers. [...3...] is crucial because through the use of a specific language, one can gain a lot of knowledge about you and your [...4...]. For example, where you come from or what peculiarities your language has.

 

While people generally recognize distinctions among languages, [...5...], through their scholarly investigations, explore the field of [...6...] to gain a deeper understanding of these language variations. This means they examine the [...7...] of languages and how language functions. Linguistics focus on language and its specific aspects, such as phonetics, phonology or syntax.


Linguists play a crucial role in [...8...] everything they come across. Documenting serves two essential functions. On the one hand, it helps linguists [...9...] their [...10...] and draw conclusions. On the other hand, it allows all interested individuals to access diverse [...11...] about a specific language and [...12...].

UNIT 2: WHY DO LANGUAGES DISAPPEAR?

Have you ever wondered why some languages disappear? Is it because the majority of people worldwide speak a certain well-known language? Is it because some languages are undervalued by their speakers? Here you will have the chance to explore the hidden reasons that lead to language hierarchies and language death.

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There is a broad diversity of languages. Today, there are around 7,000 languages spoken around the world. Many of them, though, are either extinct or not widely spoken. You can take Latin or Ancient Greek as examples. Latin has been kept alive and is known worldwide, but not many speak it, as is the case of Ancient Greek as well, since it’s a language which only few people still use. 

 

There are various reasons for the decline of languages. One of the major ones is globalisation, since people often find it more practical to learn a language that is spoken all over the world instead of one that is only spoken by a small community. Urbanisation also plays a big role. As many young people move to bigger cities, languages from smaller rural regions may not be passed down to the next generations. Therefore, migration has a significant impact on languages as well. These are some factors that influence a language being less spoken, but it might also happen that a language abruptly stops being used. This is what we call language death.

 

A language dies when there is nobody that speaks it anymore. It may continue being remembered in a recorded form. Traditionally, this was in writing and more recently, as part of sound or of video archive. Language diversity is under threat and the processes of endangerment continue, with estimated rates of loss equivalent to one language disappearing every one to three months. The most pessimistic forecasts propose that 90% of the world's languages will vanish within a century. In fact, without intervention, the rate of language loss could triple within 40 years, resulting in the disappearance of at least one language per month. To prevent more than half of the languages from disappearing by the end of the century, it's crucial to make immediate investments in documenting them, promoting bilingual education programs, and supporting community-based initiatives. 

 

Language change and shift represent natural aspects of human cultural evolution. Nevertheless, the rapid decline in global language diversity has been significantly accelerated. Various factors, including social, demographic, historical, and political influences, contribute to the endangerment of languages.

Part 1: Language hierarchy: Swiss or High-German? 

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Think about your personal situation in Switzerland. What are your feelings about speaking High-German vs. Swiss German with your friends? Do you think you would express yourself in the same way? What are some thoughts that come to your mind if you were told to speak with your classmates (outside in school) only in High-German? Would you prefer switching to Swiss-German? Explain your answers.

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Part 2: How would your language be affected under the following situations? 

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Imagine yourself in the following situations. How would your everyday languages be affected now and in the future? Would you use your current way of speaking? Would you stop speaking your language? 


a) You move to a different canton of the German speaking part of Switzerland.
 

b) You move to a different part of Switzerland where German is not spoken by many citizens.

 

c) You move to a different country where nobody speaks German.

lang doc 10.png

Activity 2: From theory to practice

Final thought for this lesson

Don't you want your language to be passed down to future generations? Would you like people to remember how you speak and what makes your language special? That's what really matters.

Sources

Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., SkirgaÌŠrd, H., Ritchie, A., Cardillo, M., Meakins, F., Greenhill, S., Hua, X. (2022). Global predictors of language endangerment and the future of linguistic diversity. Nature ecology & evolution, 6, 163-173. Wurm, S. A. (2001).  Atlas of the world's languages in danger of disappearing. Unesco Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01604-y

 

Crystal, D. (2002). Language Death. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.ch/books?hl=es&lr=&id=u_s9fR8pczMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Language+Death&ots=RhncxE8qCE&sig=613GQ4j1MAloWW4hKl-PleAOpU4&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Language%20Death&f=false 

 

Dodsworth, R. (2017). Migration and Dialect Contact. Annual Review of Linguistics, 3, 331-346. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011516-034108

 

Garcia, Alex (2022). What does a documentary linguist do? A brief guide to language documentation. Lund Language Diversity Forum Blog. 

 

Pixabay.com (2017, August 1). Global [Photograph]. https://pixabay.com/es/photos/global-mapa-geograf%C3%ADa-viaje-2566114/ (14.11.2023).

 

Pixabay.com (2017, March 27). Imagen de Computadora portátil, Mano y Bolígrafo [Photograph]. https://pixabay.com/es/photos/computadora-port%C3%A1til-mano-bol%C3%ADgrafo-2178656/ (14.11.2023).

 

Schultze-Berndt, Eva (2015). Language documentation. In: Kiss, Alexiadou (Ed.): Syntax - Theory and Analysis. An International Handbook. (pp. 2063 - 2095). Volume 3. Mouton: de Gruyter.

 

Shutterstock.com. Stock vector banner [Photograph]. https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-vector/banner-many-raised-hands-people-diversity-2316067929 (14.11.2023).

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