The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas *** SSILA BULLETIN *** An Information Service for SSILA Members Editor - Victor Golla (golla@ssila.org) Associate Editor - Scott DeLancey (delancey@uoregon.edu) -->> --Correspondence should be directed to the Editor-- <<-- ___________________________________________________________________________ Number 257: August 20, 2007 ___________________________________________________________________________ 257.0 SSILA Business * July Newsletter available online soon * Abstracts due on September 1 257.1 Correspondence * Re: ISO 639-3 change requests (J. Spanne) * Elusive language of the Chane (B. Gustafson) * Mayan interpreters needed (C. Herland) * Need a translation, please! (K. Therrien) 257.2 Commentary: "Web 2.0" (Peter Austin) 257.3 Upcoming Meetings and Workshops * Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory (London, Dec. 7-8) * InField (UC Santa Barbara, July 23-August 1, 2008) 257.4 Grants and Fellowships * RCLT Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (South America) 257.5 Position Open * Assistant Professor, Indigenous Languages, UC-San Diego 257.6 E-Mail Address Updates --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.0 SSILA Business --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * July Newsletter available online soon ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The PDF version of the July 2007 SSILA Newletter will be posted soon at the SSILA website (http://www.ssila.org), joining PDFs for the January and April numbers. These files are available for downloading without charge, and all SSILA members--particularly those residing outside the US and Canada--are urged to take advantage of this mode of distribution. The regular hard-copy Newsletter will continue to be mailed to all members in the US and Canada, but due to steeply rising postage rates and long delays in delivery, a hard-copy will be mailed to addresses outside the US and Canada only if a specific request is made. (This does not apply to institutional subscriptions and exchanges). Requests for mail delivery of the 2007 issues to addresses outside of North America should be e-mailed to . Beginning with the 2008 volume, the default distribution of the Newsletter to ALL individual members, including those residing in the US and Canada, will be by PDF at the SSILA website, where access to the page with the current Newsletter will be password-protected. Hard copies will continue to be sent on request, but an additional fee will be charged for mailing to addresses outside of North America. * Abstracts for annual meeting due September 1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Members are again reminded that the deadline for receipt of abstracts for the January 2008 annual meeting of the Society, in Chicago, Illinois, is Saturday, September 1. Full details regarding SSILA abstract submission can be found in the Call for Papers posted at the SSILA website (http://www.ssila.org). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.1 Correspondence --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Re: ISO 639-3 change requests ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From Joan Spanne (ISO639-3@sil.org) 27 July 2007: The review period for the 2006 series of ISO 639-3 Change Requests ended On June 30. Of the 120 requests considered, seven are still pending, Either because they affect code elements included in both ISO 639-2 and 639-3 or because additional information has come to light which requires further analysis. Of the decisions finalized: 11 code elements are retired as having been duplicates of another language (2), determined to be nonexistent (2), or merged into another code as being mutually intelligible varieties of the same language (7); 4 code elements have undergone a broadening in their denotation due to merges with other language varieties; 8 code elements have been split into two or more distinct languages, accounting for the creation of 24 new code elements (net gain of 16 individual languages); 49 entirely new language code elements have been created for languages not previously accounted for in the standard. Of these, 11 are ancient languages; 47 code elements have undergone name changes and/or additions without any change in denotation. A summary report of changes and outcomes may be viewed and downloaded as a PDF document. Please see http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/default.asp for more information and a link to the summary report. The 2007 series of change requests is now visible via the Change Request Index, http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/chg_requests.asp, which permits sorting in various ways and has links to specific documentation for each change being proposed. Proposals for 2007 will be accepted until September 1, 2007, and will be formally under review from September 15 - December 15. Outcomes will be announced for these proposals in January 2008. Proposals received after September 1 will be a part of the 2008 series of Change Requests, and will await formal review from September 15 - December 15, 2008. --Joan Spanne, ISO 639-3/RA SIL International 7500 W Camp Wisdom Rd Dallas, TX 75236 (639-3@sil.org) * Elusive language of the Chane ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From Bret Gustafson (bdgustaf@artsci.wustl.edu) 27 July 2007: I am interested in finding word-lists or any kind of data from the Arawakan language known as "Chane," purportedly spoken by a people of the same name in southeastern Bolivia and northern Argentina who were displaced (or absorbed) by the later arrival of the Guarani. Though a problematic theory, the ethnic label "Chiriguano" (for the Bolivian Guarani) is said by some to derive from the combination of Chane and Guarani. Some Guarani (of the Bolivian Isoso region) consider themselves to be Guaranized Chane. A handful of elders are often said to speak some Chane (ritual songs), though this, if true, is closely guarded and has not been recorded by non-Guarani. I have had no luck finding any Chane linguistic data, despite numerous ethnohistorical references to the group by Nordenskiold, Metraux, Saignes, et al. Was this language (and its speakers) real? Perhaps I am missing an obvious source. Any tips, leads, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you. -- Bret Gustafson Department of Anthropology Washington University in St. Louis (gustafson@wustl.edu) * Mayan interpreters needed ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From Camille Herland (cherland@Vera.org) 3 August 2007: I am writing to you from the Vera Institute of Justice's Center on Immigration and Justice. Project sites for Vera's Legal Orientation Program, which gives "know your rights" presentations to people detained on immigration charges, have been reporting that they are coming across detainees, particularly unaccompanied children, who only speak their native indigenous languages. Most of these children are from Guatemala. The sites currently have no resources to accommodate indigenous languages, and I have thus been asked to identify any potential language resources for translation or interpretation of Central American indigenous languages, with a particular focus on languages spoken in Guatemala (K'iche, Qanjobal, Chuj, Mam, Kakchiquel, Ixil). I was told that you have broad membership among linguists and language activists and that you regularly post announcements in your publications. I was thus wondering if it would be possible for you to put out a call for interpretation resources in Mayan languages in your next Bulletin. Specifically we are looking for translation and interpretation resources, be they organizations, individuals, texts, et cetera. At the end of my research, I will be compiling a list of all of the resources I find to distribute to these centers, who would then contact individual resources as needed. If you were able to post a call for information that would be distributed amongst your membership it would be a tremendous help. --Camille Herland? (cherland@vera.org) * Need a translation, please! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From Kim Therrien (kim.therrien@sbcglobal.net) 6 August 2007: I need your help. I am not familiar with the native languages but have a need to know what something means and what nation and tribe it is from. Some have told me it is Sioux while others have told me it is Cherokee. I don't know what it is. Since I don't know proper spelling I will spell and emphasize in a phonetic manner as much as I can: "Wah SHEESH na HEY". I am a wee bit embarrassed to say why, but it is very important to me that I know. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. --Kim Therrien (kim.therrien@sbcglobal.net) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.2 Commentary: "Web 2.0" (Peter Austin) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Peter Austin of SOAS posted the following recently on "Transient Languages & Cultures", the blog maintained by Jane Simpson and her colleagues in PARADISEC (Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures) at the University of Sydney (http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/elac/). We reprint it here with Peter’s permission, and he has taken the opportunity to add a couple of sentences. --VG.] Several contributors to this blog, including yours truly, and no doubt a number of our readers too, have recently been bitten by the Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) bug. Facebook bills itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you", and it's kind of fun too. In addition to being able to track what your friends are up to, it is also possible to join groups of like-minded individuals to share ideas, and socialize (reminds me of those sessions in the bar at the end of a hard day's work at a linguistics conference). Along with the predictable groups centered around Noam Chomsky, there is also "You're a Linguist? How many languages do you speak?", "Typolo- gists United", and my particular favorite, "Thomas Payne is My Hero", whose members are: dedicated to the source of all linguistics knowledge, Thomas Payne. His manuals are so good that they can apply to any discipline at any time. Physics problems? Open the textbook and realize that you should really be a linguistics major. Life? Look up grammatical relations and discover meaning in existence. Linguistics? You better just read the whole thing. Oh Thomas Payne, what would we do without you? Facebook is part of what has been termed "Web 2.0" by Tim O'Reilly (http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html). The basic idea is that Web 2.0 uses the internet to connect people rather than connecting documents, as in the original conception of the web by Tim Berners-Lee (http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/). Since a number of us are now realizing that documenting and describing minority and endangered languages is crucially about people and establishing and maintaining human relationships, rather than data, standards and preservation, Web 2.0 opens up a range of possibilities for new ways of collaborating that go beyond what we have been able to do so far. This includes the following, among others: 1. Social (sharing) websites like Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. 2. Blogs, like this one. 3. Wikis, of which Wikipedia in its various versions and languages is just one example. The recently launched Glottopedia (http://www.glottopedia.org), which aims to become a "free encyclopedia for linguistics", is a moderated wiki and contributors must sign-up and use their own names when creating or editing content. 4. Web-based collaborative applications that are generally free and have much if not most of the functionality of desktop applications like word-processors, spreadsheets, calendars and slide shows. At SOAS, we have done some experimentation with wikis (mainly for our ELDP-grantee training courses), and with several of the "web-based apps" and find them very useful collaborative tools. We have a single shared calendar for the 12 ELAP and ELAR staff using the free My Calendars (http://my.calendars.net) tool, that enables us to see each other's comings and goings and commitments, and to plan meetings accordingly. We also looked at Google Calendars (http://www.google.com/calendar) and 30 Boxes (http://www.30boxes.com), but they weren't as easy to use and didn't have the facility of color coding each staff member, which we find to be especially helpful. For jointly writing documents Google Docs and Spreadsheets (http://www.google.com/docs) is excellent: it is simple and clean with the main functionalities of a word-processor. It truly enables collaborative team-based writing and sure beats e-mailing Word documents with layers of track-changes and comments that can easily become a versioning nightmare when two or three authors are involved. It is easy to save copies of documents to one's own computer. Similar facilities are offered by Zoho (http://www.zoho.com) (which also offers slideshow, meetings management, database and other office tools), and ThinkFree (http://www.thinkfree.com), though I prefer the Google Docs interface for collaborative writing. Although sharing of individual documents in these environments can be specified to particular users and appears to be secure, I personally have reservations about putting sensitive materials on other people's servers, and would certainly keep a back-up copy of valuable documents on my desktop computer. Another web-based application that I have found useful is FolderShare (http://www.foldershare.com) which allows secure virtual sharing of hard disks between machines that are accessible on the internet; I find this is especially useful for file transfers between my Macintosh and Windows machines. This is about as far as we have gone to date at SOAS with our social linguistic participation in Web 2.0. One of our MA students, Paul Butcher, is currently writing his dissertation on application of Web 2.0 concepts to language documentation and support and I look forward to reading what he has to say when it is finished in September. Perhaps he can be persuaded to contribute to this blog when he's done. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.3 Upcoming Meetings --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory (London, December 7-8) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ A conference on "Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory: 75 years of Linguistics at SOAS, 5 years of the Endangered Languages Project" will be held on December 7-8, 2007, at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. In 2007 the Department of Linguistics at SOAS celebrates its 75th anniversary. Founded in 1932 as the first department of general linguistics in Britain, the research carried out by linguistics within the department has made a significant and lasting impact on the fields of language documentation and description and linguistic theory. This conference commemorates both the 75 year tradition of linguistics within the School and the 5th anniversary of the Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project, comprising the Endangered Languages Academic Programme (ELAP), the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR), and the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP). The conference aims to bring together researchers working on linguistic theory and language documentation and description, with a particular focus on innovative work on underdescribed or endangered languages, especially those of Asia and Africa. The goal is to provide a forum to discuss the ways that linguists and others, especially community members, can respond to the current challenges to linguistic diversity and build on experiences of the past. For more information, please see: http://www.hrelp.org/events/conference2007/index.html * InField (UC Santa Barbara, July 23-August 1 2008) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From Rebekka Siemens (b3kaboo@yahoo.com) 14 August 2007: The Department of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, is pleased to announce that plans are under way to hold the first "Institute on Field Linguistics and Language Documentation" (InField) on the UCSB campus during the summer of 2008. InField will provide field linguists, graduate students, and language activists with state-of-the-art training in techniques and issues in language documentation, language maintenance, and language revitalization. Workshops --------- The first portion of the institute (June 23-July 3, 2008) will offer workshops of differing lengths on a variety of topics such as technology, archiving, life in the field, ethics, orthographies, and lexicography. A special curriculum designed specifically for native speakers interested in documenting their own languages will include workshops on basic linguistics, materials development, how to provide technical support to a community, and successful models of language maintenance and revitalization. Field training -------------- The field training portion of the institute (July 7-August 1) will be intensive, based on a traditional graduate course in field methods, but will specifically incorporate the techniques and technologies of the workshops into the course. We anticipate running two or three courses on different languages simultaneously. Workshop proposals ------------------ The organizing committee solicits applications for workshops in language documentation, language maintenance, and/or language revitalization. We particularly seek proposals from current practitioners in this area who would like to teach a workshop of two to eight hours in length to an audience of practicing linguists, graduate students in linguistics, and/or language activists with an interest in documenting, maintaining, or revitalizing a language. The proposal should include a statement of the topic of the proposed workshop, the rationale for including it as part of InField, the proposed length of the workshop, and a brief description of the workshop content and how it would be taught. Please keep proposals to a maximum of two- pages in length. Please include also a statement of qualifications of the instructor. Workshop instructors will receive reimbursement for travel, room and board, and a modest honorarium. Proposals should be submitted to infield@linguistics.ucsb.edu no later than September 15. For a full description of InField, including workshops currently being planned, visit the website at: http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/infield --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.4 Grants and Fellowships --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * RCLT Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (South America) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Immediate applications are invited for two 3-year Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in the Research Centre for Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia. They are to commence on December 1, 2007, or soon thereafter. NOTE: The deadline for receipt of applications is the Close of Business, Friday, August 24, 2007. Applicants should have been awarded their doctorate within the last five years. They should have experience of linguistic fieldwork and will, ideally, have already completed a grammatical description of some previously undescribed language (not their native language) in terms of basic linguistic theory. The University may consider cases in which the period is in excess of five years due to special circumstances. Applications will be considered from candidates whose thesis is currently under examination, but applicants must hold a doctoral degree or have equivalent qualifications at the date of appointment. A Fellowship will not normally be awarded to an applicant who already holds an appointment within La Trobe University. The successful applicant will work as part of a team with Professor Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, Professor R.M.W. Dixon, and other members of the Research Centre. Ideally, we are looking for one Postdoctoral Research Fellow who will work on a language from South America and one who will work on a language from New Guinea. However applicants with primary interest in another area will be considered. Each appointee will undertake extensive fieldwork and will either (i) produce a comprehensive description of some previously undescribed language; or (ii) pursue an in-depth study of a language contact situation. The second option will only be available to someone who already has good knowledge of one or more of the languages involved in a suitable contact situation (and has undertaken significant analysis on them). The choice of project will be made after discussion between the successful applicant and Professors Aikhenvald and Dixon. Each Fellowship will be a three-year appointment and is intended to advance the research activities of the University by bringing to or retaining in Australia a promising scholar. Before making a formal application, potential applicants are invited to communicate with Professor Aikhenvald (a.aikhenvald@latrobe.edu.au). Applicants are also invited to visit our website: http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt The remuneration package for the fellowship is $67,578 to $72,540 per annum, which includes 17% employer superannuation. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.5 Position Open --------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Assistant Professor, Indigenous Languages, UC-San Diego ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >From Catherine Alioto (calioto@ling.ucsd.edu) 7 August 2007: The Department of Linguistics at the University of California, San Diego (http://ling.ucsd.edu) invites applications for a tenure-track position in the area of indigenous languages, with preference for Native American languages. This position is part of a 3-year initiative to hire scholars doing work in the area of Indigenous and Native American Studies at UCSD. Applicants should have a strong research program on indigenous languages, including fieldwork and establishing relationships within indigenous communities. Any subfield will be considered; candidates should contri- bute to the department's focus on empirically-driven experimental and theoretical research. A Ph.D. or Ph.D. candidacy is required and candidates should demonstrate research productivity, undergraduate and graduate teaching ability, and extramural funding potential. Duties include research, teaching, and departmental/university service. Please visit the following online application link for further application information and requirements: http://ling.ucsd.edu/who/jobs.html For fullest consideration, all application materials, including letters, should be received no later than December 1, 2007. Salaries are in strict accordance with UC pay scales. Non-citizens should state their immigration status. UCSD is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity. Applicants are invited to preview campus diversity resources and programs at the campus website for Diversity http://diversity.ucsd.edu. Applicants are also invited to include in their cover letters a personal statement summarizing their contributions to diversity. --Catherine Alioto Academic Affairs Coordinator Department of Linguistics, UCSD La Jolla, CA 92093-0108 (calioto@ling.ucsd.edu) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 257.6 E-Mail Address Updates --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following additions or changes have been made to the SSILA e-mail list since the last Bulletin: Booker, Karen ............ kbooker@sunflower.com Brody, Michal ............ michalbrody@gmail.com Clawson, Anna ............ seadeer@gmail.com Hymes, Dell & Virginia ... vhymes@gmail.com Marean, Lindsay .......... lmarean@bensay.org Philips, Lisa ............ lphilips@ualberta.ca Radetzky, Paula .......... paula.radetzky@gmail.com Slate, Clay .............. clayslate@mexicanhomeart.com Speranza, Rose ........... fnrs@uaf.edu Stonham, John ............ stonham@pknu.ac.kr Whalen, Douglas .......... dwhalen@nsf.gov When your e-mail address changes, please notify us (golla@ssila.org). ************************************************************************** THE SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF THE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES OF THE AMERICAS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Victor Golla, Secretary-Treasurer & Editor P. O. Box 555 Arcata, California 95518-0555 USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ tel: 707/826-4324 - e-mail: golla@ssila.org Website: http://www.ssila.org ************************************************************************** The SSILA Bulletin is distributed electronically to all members of SSILA. Non-members may subscribe free of charge by sending their e-mail address to the editor (golla@ssila.org). SSILA also publishes a quarterly hard-copy Newsletter that contains book reviews, notices of journal articles and recent dissertations, and other news and commentary. The Newsletter and other publications of the Society are distributed only to members or to institutional subscribers. SSILA welcomes applications for membership from anyone interested in the scholarly study of the languages of the native peoples of North, Central, and South America. Dues for 2007 are $16 (US) or $20 (Canadian) and may be paid in advance at the 2007 rate. (The basic rate will rise to $20 in 2008.) Checks or money orders should be made payable to "SSILA" and sent to: SSILA, P.O. Box 555, Arcata, CA 95518. For further information, visit the SSILA website (http://www.ssila.org). **************************************************************************