"Language documentation," also often called "documentary linguistics," is a relatively new subfield in linguistics which has emerged in part as a response to the pressing need for collecting, describing, and archiving material on the increasing number of endangered languages. The present book details the most recent developments in this rapidly developing field with papers written by linguists primarily based in academic institutions in North America, although many conduct their fieldwork elsewhere. The articles in this volume position papers and case studies focus on some of the most critical issues in the field. These include (1) the nature of contributions to linguistic theory and method provided by documentary linguistics, including the content appropriate for documentation; (2) the impact and demands of technology in documentation; (3) matters of practice in collaborations among linguists and communities, and in the necessary training of students and community members to conduct documentation activities; and (4) the ethical issues involved in documentary linguistics."

Up to now, the focus in the field of language documentation has been predominantly on North American and Australian languages. However, the greatest genetic diversity in languages is found in Latin America, home to over 100 distinct language families. This book gives the Latin American context the attention it requires by consolidating the work of field researchers experienced in the region into one volume for the first time.

This book offers the latest insights on language documentation, a reborn, refashioned, and reenergized subfield of linguistics motivated by the urgent task of creating a record of the world’s fast disappearing languages. Language documentation provides data to challenge and improve existing linguistic theory. In addition, because it requires input from various fields to be comprehensive, language documentation serves to build bridges between linguistics and other disciplines. Language documentation also provides resources for communities interested in language and culture preservation, language maintenance, and language revitalization. This book informs, evokes interest, and encourages involvement at all levels.

The prevalence of digital documentation presents some pressing concerns for efficient information retrieval in the modern age. Readers want to be able to access the information they desire without having to search through a mountain of unrelated data, so algorithms and methods for effectively seeking out pertinent information are of critical importance. Innovative Document Summarization Techniques: Revolutionizing Knowledge Understanding evaluates some of the existing approaches to information retrieval and summarization of digital documents, as well as current research and future developments. This book serves as a sounding board for students, educators, researchers, and practitioners of information technology, advancing the ongoing discussion of communication in the digital age.

The Indigenous languages of Australia have been undergoing a renaissance over recent decades. Many languages that had long ceased to be heard in public and consequently deemed 'dead' or 'extinct', have begun to emerge. Geographically and linguistically isolated, revitalisers of Indigenous Australian languages have often struggled to find guidance for their circumstances, unaware of the others walking a similar path. In this context Re-awakening Languages seeks to provide the first comprehensive snapshot of the actions and aspirations of Indigenous people and their supporters for the revitalisation of Australian languages in the 21st century. The contributions to this volume describe the satisfactions and tensions of this ongoing struggle. They also draw attention to the need for effective planning and strong advocacy at the highest political and administrative levels, if language revitalisation in Australia is to be successful and people's efforts are to have longevity.

Free Access in January 2019 There has been an increasing interest in the emerging subfield within linguistics and anthropology often referred to as community-based research (Himmelmann 1998, Rice 2010, Crippen and Robinson 2013, among others). This volume brings together perspectives from academics, community members, and those that find themselves in both academia and the community. The volume begins with a working definition of the notions of community-based research as a practice and illustrates how such notions shifted, without abandoning the outlined tenets within the working definition, as the chapters developed to include notions of community-based research as a tool and ideology as well as an orientation. Each of the 17 chapters represents a case-study with the first five including discussions of broader issues and theoretical perspectives while exploring community-based research as an emerging subfield within linguistics. The case-studies comprise work from the Americas, Australia, India, Europe, and Africa. The goal of the volume is to build on the emerging literature and practices in the field to arrive at a better understanding of how community-based research is theorized and practiced in a variety of environments, communities, and cultures.

The endangered languages crisis is widely acknowledged among scholars who deal with languages and indigenous peoples as one of the most pressing problems facing humanity, posing moral, practical, and scientific issues of enormous proportions. Simply put, no area of the world is immune from language endangerment. The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages, in 39 chapters, provides a comprehensive overview of the efforts that are being undertaken to deal with this crisis. A comprehensive reference reflecting the breadth of the field, the Handbook presents in detail both the range of thinking about language endangerment and the variety of responses to it, and broadens understanding of language endangerment, language documentation, and language revitalization, encouraging further research. The Handbook is organized into five parts. Part 1, Endangered Languages, addresses the fundamental issues that are essential to understanding the nature of the endangered languages crisis. Part 2, Language Documentation, provides an overview of the issues and activities of concern to linguists and others in their efforts to record and document endangered languages. Part 3, Language Revitalization, includes approaches, practices, and strategies for revitalizing endangered and sleeping ("dormant") languages. Part 4, Endangered Languages and Biocultural Diversity, extends the discussion of language endangerment beyond its conventional boundaries to consider the interrelationship of language, culture, and environment, and the common forces that now threaten the sustainability of their diversity. Part 5, Looking to the Future, addresses a variety of topics that are certain to be of consequence in future efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages.

It is generally agreed that about 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today and at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. This state-of-the-art Handbook examines the reasons behind this dramatic loss of linguistic diversity, why it matters, and what can be done to document and support endangered languages. The volume is relevant not only to researchers in language endangerment, language shift and language death, but to anyone interested in the languages and cultures of the world. It is accessible both to specialists and non-specialists: researchers will find cutting-edge contributions from acknowledged experts in their fields, while students, activists and other interested readers will find a wealth of readable yet thorough and up-to-date information.

A groundbreaking new work that sheds light on case studies of linguistic human rights around the world, raising much-needed awareness of the struggles of many peoples and communities The first book of its kind, the Handbook of Linguistic Human Rights presents a diverse range of theoretically grounded studies of linguistic human rights, exemplifying what linguistic justice is and how it might be achieved. Through explorations of ways in which linguistic human rights are understood in both national and international contexts, this innovative volume demonstrates how linguistic human rights are supported or violated on all continents, with a particular focus on the marginalized languages of minorities and Indigenous peoples, in industrialized countries and the Global South. Organized into five parts, this volume first presents approaches to linguistic human rights in international and national law, political theory, sociology, economics, history, education, and critical theory. Subsequent sections address how international standards are promoted or impeded and cross-cutting issues, including translation and interpreting, endangered languages and the internet, the impact of global English, language testing, disaster situations, historical amnesia, and more. This essential reference work: Explores approaches to linguistic human rights in countries of great demographic diversity and conflict Covers cases of linguistic human rights in the Americas, China, Europe, North Africa, India, Nepal and New Zealand, including international minorities, such as the Kurds and the Roma, and the Deaf worldwide. Illustrates how education worldwide has often blocked off minority languages by not offering mother-tongue medium education Presents and assesses conventions, declarations, and recommendations that recognize the rights of Indigenous peoples and minorities. Includes a selection of short texts that present additional existential evidence of linguistic human rights. Edited by two renowned leaders in the field, the Handbook of Linguistic Human Rights is an ideal resource for undergraduate and graduate students of language and law, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, language policy, language education, indigenous studies, language rights, human rights, and globalization.

While top-down policies and declarations have yet to establish equal status and opportunities for speakers of all languages in practice, activists and advocates at local levels are playing an increasingly significant role in the creation of new social imaginaries and practices in multilingual contexts. This volume describes how social actors across multiple domains contribute to the elusive goal of linguistic equality or justice through their language activism practices. Through an ethnographic account of Indigenous Isthmus Zapotec language activism in Oaxaca, Mexico, this study illuminates the (sometimes conflicting) imaginaries of what positive social change is and how it should be achieved, and the repertoire of strategies through which these imaginaries are being pursued. Ethnographic and action research conducted from 2013-2018 in the multilingual Isthmus of Tehuantepec brings to light the experiences of educators, students, writers, scholars and diverse cultural activists whose aspirations and strategies of social change are significant in shaping the future language ecology. Their repertoire of strategies may inform and encourage language activists, scholars, and educators working for change in other contexts of linguistic diversity and inequality.