Speaking of clans: language in Awyu-Ndumut communities of Indonesian West Papua

Vries, Lourens de

doi:10.1515/ijsl-2012-0018

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“….]. The languages that people identify with are not straightforward reflections of other aspects of their identity or their ancestry, upbringing and life history.” The same absence of a direct link of the language that someone speaks with the culture that they belong to or that they practice has been noted by de Vries (2012) for West Papua and Khanina (2021) for northern Siberia.…”

Section: Ideologies Of Small-scale Multilingualismsupporting

confidence: 52%

“…First of all, multilingualism can be seen simply as “a desirable state of social affairs” (Evans, 2010, p. 276) that has always been present, an ideology known from Aboriginal Australia, where people also praise the aesthetics of multilingualism as reflecting the diversity and the beauty of real life better than monolingualism (Evans, 2010; Merlan, 1981; Sutton, 1978, 1997). Secondly, multilingualism can be a strategy “that maximizes alliances and protective networks through different languages” (Lüpke, 2016, p. 53), where the protection can be sought from humans or from spirits connected to this language via the “land–language” or “land–political unit” link, as Di Carlo (2016), Lüpke (2016) and Watson (2019, p. 136) suggest for African cases, de Vries (2012) and Foley (2005) for West Papua, Cabalzar (2013) and Epps and Stenzel (2013) for Upper Rio Negro and Kroskrity (2018) for California. Thirdly, multilingualism can be perceived as a guarantee of peace, a way to prevent conflicts, realizing the urge to be distinct through languages (cf.…”

Section: Ideologies Of Small-scale Multilingualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A typology of small-scale multilingualism

Pakendorf

Dobrushina

Khanina

2021

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims: The paper aims at providing an exhaustive overview of studies of small-scale multilingualism, a type of language ecology typical of—but not exclusive to—indigenous communities with small numbers of speakers. We identify the similarities and differences among situations of such multilingualism, which lay the foundations for a future typology of this kind of language ecology. Approach and data: We outline the importance of language ideologies for multilingualism in small-scale societies, highlight the sources of this type of language ecology, with a special focus on the impact of marriage patterns, discuss to what extent situations of small-scale multilingualism are truly egalitarian and symmetric, and survey the different methods used in the study of this domain. In order to do so, we survey studies devoted to multilingualism in indigenous communities of all continents: the New World (especially South America), Australia, Melanesia, Africa, Europe and Asia. Conclusions: The multilingual ecologies of the pre- and postcolonial world are extremely diverse, with many factors playing a role in their constitution. They are also highly endangered, and thus their study is of the utmost urgency. Originality: The domain of small-scale multilingualism is still novel for sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. Although the researchers working with indigenous groups have been describing the peculiarities of multilingual repertoires, language acquisition and language attitudes in various parts of the world, the domain lacks the kind of comparison and generalizations that we provide here. Significance: The increased interest in small-scale multilingualism has been boosted by the realization of its significance for reconstructing the social conditions that favoured linguistic diversity in the precolonial world. Furthermore, insights into this type of multilingualism—which differs considerably from the better-studied situations of bi- and multilingualism in urban contexts and large nation states—are of prime importance for a better understanding of the human language faculty.

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Section: Ideologies Of Small-scale Multilingualismsupporting

confidence: 52%

Section: Ideologies Of Small-scale Multilingualismmentioning

confidence: 99%

A typology of small-scale multilingualism

Pakendorf

Dobrushina

Khanina

2021

International Journal of Bilingualism

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“…In rural areas in Vanuatu, people use lanwis (their vernacular) for every domain in life except school-related activities. In some parts of the world, communities have ambivalent or negative feelings about the LWC (de Vries 2012, 19). In those contexts, a vernacular translation is essential, regardless of how fluent people are in the LWC.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In regions where there is a high degree of ethnolinguistic diversity, people may have a mother from one language group and a father from another. Since speaking vernaculars is a way of fostering identity and making alliances, people have a large incentive for maintaining their multilingual heritage (de Vries 2012, 10, 12). Indeed, the boundaries of language use and language identity are not as rigid as we (who come from monolingual environments) tend to imagine.…”

Section: What Is a Heart Language?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Multilingual Speakers Understand the Bible Best in Their Heart Language? A Tool for Comparing Comprehension of Translations in Vernacular Languages and Languages of Wider Communication

Nehrbass

2014

The Bible Translator

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It has been argued that speakers who are fluent in a vernacular and language of wider communication (LWC) will inevitably understand the Scriptures better in their "heart language." I designed an experiment to determine the validity of that argument, using comprehension checks of seven passages in the New Testament that are difficult to comprehend. Preliminary results suggest that bilingual speakers performed better during checking sessions conducted in the LWC than they did while using the receptor language (RL), but their ability to identify key themes in either language was equivalent. While the experiment calls into question the validity of the "heart-language argument," I conclude that there are several other more compelling reasons for producing vernacular Bible translations.

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“…107–108). She claims that “[t]he languages that people identify with are not straightforward reflections of other aspects of their identity or their ancestry, upbringing and life history.” De Vries describes a non-hierarchical complexity of relational identities (linguistic, cultural, and political) among West Papuan communities, which reminds strongly of the Lower Yenisei situation: “languages transcend the boundaries of the clan, and speakers of the same language live on a different clan territory and may be your enemies” (De Vries, 2012, p. 15). All these cases contribute to dispelling the “one language–one culture” myth based on the European worldview (cf.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Languages and ideologies at the Lower Yenisei (Siberia): Reconstructing past multilingualism

Khanina

2021

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims and objectives: This paper reconstructs past multilingualism (1900–1930s) among the nomadic people of the Lower Yenisei in northern Siberia, with particular attention to the language ideologies behind it; it is validated by parallels from small-scale communities worldwide. Approach: An ethnographic approach is taken, which interprets sociolinguistic data in view of emic categorizations. Data and analysis: The reconstruction is based on: (a) 1926 census data; (b) ethnographic reports from the 1920s to 1960s; (c) narratives from the 1940s; (d) retrospective sociolinguistic interviews; and (e) ethnonyms of local languages. (a), (b) provide a background for the interpretation of the linguistic data from (c)–(e). Findings: The connection of local social categories/groups to languages was unstable both synchronically and diachronically. Linguistic repertoires described the authenticity of the speech communities better than the command of individual languages. The linguistic indexing of identity was relational and depended on social networks more than on ancestry/kinship. These ideologies together with constant migrations shaped the sociolinguistic profile of the area and facilitated language shifts. Originality: Besides providing a detailed sociolinguistic description for an underresearched part of the world, this paper uses a novel methodology for reconstructing multilingualism of the past. Implications: The described mechanisms of language shift within communities that are multilingual in related languages contribute to theories of language diversification and spread at least in the north, but possibly also in a broader perspective. The methodology can be applied to other cases of past multilingualism.

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Speaking of clans: language in Awyu-Ndumut communities of Indonesian West Papua

Cited by 5 publications

References 7 publications

A typology of small-scale multilingualism

A typology of small-scale multilingualism

Do Multilingual Speakers Understand the Bible Best in Their Heart Language? A Tool for Comparing Comprehension of Translations in Vernacular Languages and Languages of Wider Communication

Languages and ideologies at the Lower Yenisei (Siberia): Reconstructing past multilingualism

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