Paper short abstract:

We explore through two case studies the relationship between language documentation and revitalisation. We argue that work on both has failed to pay proper attention to local ethnographies and beliefs and ideologies about language and its role in society held by both communities and researchers.

Paper long abstract:

Language Documentation (or Documentary Linguistics) has the goal of "compiling a representative and lasting multipurpose record of a natural language or one of its varieties" (Himmelmann 1998). It involves creating archivable audio, video and textual recordings of language use and translating and annotating them, including contextual metadata. The approach emphasises transparency and multifunctionality, arguing that recordings and analysis should be available and accessible to a wide range of users for a wide range of functions, including community members.

Language revitalisation is concerned with increasing the number of speakers of a language and the range of domains within which it is used. This often involves collaboration between researchers and community members to create relevant materials and curricula as well as contexts within which the language can be used. Revitalisation is increasingly seen as not limited to language but as benefiting minoritised communities through increased self-confidence and awareness of minority rights. The origins of language revitalisation are older than language documentation; however it has not attracted the same level of funding or recognition. It has also been undertheorised and seen as a waste of time by some mainstream linguists.

We explore through two case studies the relationship between language documentation and revitalisation. We argue that work on both documentation and revitalisation has failed to pay proper attention to local ethnographies and management of language use, and the crucially important but poorly researched beliefs and ideologies about language and its role in society held by both speech communities and researchers.