English
 
Help Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT

Released

Journal Article

Why make books for people who can't read? A perspective on documentation of an endangered language from Solomon Islands

MPS-Authors
/persons/resource/persons183

Terrill,  Angela
Language and Cognition Group, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society;
Pioneers of Island Melanesia, MPI for Psycholinguistics, Max Planck Society;

External Resource
No external resources are shared
Fulltext (restricted access)
There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.
Fulltext (public)

Terrrill_2002_small.pdf
(Publisher version), 123KB

Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Terrill, A. (2002). Why make books for people who can't read? A perspective on documentation of an endangered language from Solomon Islands. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 155/156(1), 205-219. doi:10.1515/ijsl.2002.029.


Cite as: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0013-17C3-2
Abstract
This paper explores the issue of documenting an endangered language from the perspective of a community with low levels of literacy, I first discuss the background of the language community with whom I work, the Lavukal people of Solomon Islands, and discuss whether, and to what extent, Lavukaleve is an endangered language. I then go on to discuss the documentation project. My main point is that while low literacy levels and a nonreading culture would seem to make documentation a strange choice as a tool for language maintenance, in fact both serve as powerful cultural symbols of the importance and prestige of Lavukaleve. It is well known that a common reason for language death is that speakers choose not to transmit their language to the next generation (e.g. Winter 1993). Lavukaleve is particularly vulnerable in this respect. By utilizing cultural symbols of status and prestige, the standing of Lavukaleve can be enhanced, thus helping to ensure the transmission of Lavukaleve to future generations.