Forthcoming: LDD 19 papers accepted for publication

This paper discusses songs as both an expression and instantiation of language ideologies, praising, demeaning, naming, and describing languages and their use in relatively transparent terms. Examining patterns of language use in song—what forms of speech are used, by whom, in what context, and in what ways—enables us to explore language ideologies regarding the perceived value and appropriateness attached to different forms of language. The aim is to see how colonialism has transformed language ideologies in ways that contribute to language oppression, focusing on unrecognized or minoritized languages of Tibet, spoken in Amdo, Kham, and U – Tsang, but concentrated in eastern Tibet, e.g. Manegacha, Henan Oirat, rTa’u, Khroksyabs, and Tosu. Language oppression in Tibet involves assimilation of languages within the minzu (‘nationality’), rather than the far more frequently discussed subordination of all minorities in China within a Han supremacist ideology.

Kanien’kéha is an endangered Northern Iroquoian language historically spoken in what is now the Mohawk Valley of central New York state in the United States of America. Today, it is spoken by about 3,800 people in six communities in upstate New York, USA, and in Ontario and Quebec provinces, Canada: Akwesasne, Kahnawake, Kanesatake, Six Nations, Wahta, and Tyendinaga. The varieties spoken in these communities differ slightly in terms of phonology, vocabulary, and orthography. Robust language revitalisation efforts are ongoing, and the language is of great cultural importance to the Kanien’kehá:ka people.

Southern Tepehuan consists of three varieties: Southeastern Tepehuan, Central Tepehuan (both called O’dam) and Southwestern Tepehuan (Audam). All three varieties are endangered. Southeastern Tepehuan is the most documented, with a limited reference grammar, while Audam has very little published grammatical descriptions and Central Tepehuan lacks published documentation entirely.

Iñapari is an Arawak language spoken by four siblings in the village of Sabaluyoc along the Las Piedras River in the department of Madre de Dios, Peru. In catalogs and other literature, Iñapari is often incorrectly classified as being (possibly) extinct. In response to the lack of information, an intensive five – week field research scenario in July 2019 was conducted with the primary goal of ascertaining the vitality of the language and if possible to collect information and resources on its morphosyntax. Information was recorded through elicitation, conversation, and naturalistic storytelling. This paper outlines the current language ecology and ongoing research on the language.

After a catastrophic reduction to only 23 individuals in 1953, today about 225 Awetí (in Awetí: Awytyza) live in five villages the Xingu park in Brazil, where 10 ethnic groups speaking six languages have live together for centuries. Awetí is a Tupian language closely related to the Tupí – Guaraní branch; many Aweti also know Kamayurá and, increasingly, Portuguese, as contact with Brazilian society is growing more intense. Awetí has no dialects but has genderlects, not clearly relatable to different adstrata. The language has been documented in the DOBES programme and some descriptive work has been published in recent decades.

Southern Alta people are hunter – gatherers living along the tributaries of rivers in the Sierra Madre mountains in the northern Philippines. Southern Alta, locally known as Kabulowan, is a Philippine Negrito language, and a coordinate branch of Meso – Cordilleran subgroup of the Northern Luzon family. Dialectal variations are present in different communities and the speakers are multilingual. The language vitality rating using the EGIDS scale is 6b ‘threatened’. The elders have considerable knowledge of their language, beliefs, customs, and traditions. Intermarriage, illegal trading, changes in socio – cultural lifestyle, religious orientation, other forms of political and cultural repression, and the use of Tagalog have been accelerating language attrition. No written history has been recorded although digitized religious commentaries are available. Because of the fast rate of language attrition, the production of audio and/or video documentation for further linguistic analysis and archiving is a high priority.

Kera’a is a Trans – Himalayan language traditionally spoken by the Kera’a (Idu Mishmi) in the Lower Dibang and Dibang Valley districts of Arunachal Pradesh, located in disputed territory between India and China. The language is still widely – spoken in the valley by up to 16,000 speakers total, but ongoing cultural, economic and demographic change in the region due to outside forces has led to partial disruption of generational transmission. There are some previously published resources on the language such as phrasebooks, but little audiovisual material is available and no comprehensive grammatical description exists. This report is based on initial field trips to the area in the second half of 2019 and early 2020.

Rokdung is the language of a small sept (subdivision of a clan) of the Rai community, known by the same name. The Rokdung are settled mostly in the village of Rolep in the East Sikkim district of Sikkim, India. Based on evidence from ongoing documentation, this previously undocumented language is classified under the Kiranti sub – branch of the Tibeto – Burman language family. The language, with no more than twenty speakers, can be classified as critically endangered. Current speakers only have partial fluency and low lexical recall. There is no previous scholarly work available on the language, nor is it recognised by the Indian or the Sikkim state governments, or other formal bodies. In this snapshot, we provide a brief description of the linguistic milieu, vitality, and current research.

Guébie (also known as Gaɓogbo) is a Kru language spoken by about 7,000 people in the Gagnoa prefecture in southwest Côte d’Ivoire. Guébie people are primarily subsistence farmers, growing cassava, rice, corn, and plantains. Many also grow cocoa and rubber for profit. In the past 20 years there has been an influx of outsiders settling in Guébie villages, new roads have been developed which lead to easier access to nearby cities, and new schools have been built where French is taught and use of Guébie is not allowed. For these reasons, among others, French and Bété, the local language of wider communication, are replacing Guébie in many domains of daily use, and Guébie is not always spoken in the home and passed on to children.

Sinasina Sign Language (SSSL) is used by both deaf and hearing people in the Kere and neighboring communities in Sinasina valley, Chimbu province, Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is one of only a handful of sign languages that linguists have reported in PNG (Reed & Rumsey 2020). In this language snapshot, I present early findings from our research on SSSL, highlighting: (i) past and present deaf members of these communities; (ii) vitality; and (iii) the label ‘Sinasina Sign Language’. I conclude with an overview of our ongoing documentation and description.