Newsletter, Winter 2012: fieldwork in Arunachal Pradesh and Mother Language Day events

Enduring Voices field report from Arunachal Pradesh, India

The Enduring Voices team, including Dr. Greg Anderson, Dr. David Harrison, Jeremy Fahringer, Opino Gomango, and Dr. Ganesh Murmu, visited five endangered language communities in Arunachal Pradesh, India, in December 2011.

One goal of the trip was to expand and continue our documentation of the Hruso Aka and Koro Aka languages, which we began in 2008. Koro Aka has been a priority for us in part because, prior to our research, it was not acknowledged or listed in the scientific record as a distinct language, nor were any recordings available. Koro remains a mystery in terms of its position within the Tibeto-Burman language family.

Click here to see the full report and slideshow on the National Geographic website.

Presentation at California State University, Northridge

Dr. K. David Harrison and Dr. Gregory Anderson were distinguished guest speakers at CSUN in Los Angeles, California. They gave a presentation entitled “Endangered Languages: Global and Local Perspectives” on January 31st, 2012. Many thanks to the CSUN Linguistics Club for organizing this great event. Here is an article covering the event.

International Mother Language Day 2012: campus events

In conjunction with UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day (IMLD, Feb 21), Living Tongues is holding awareness-raising events in two universities. The events will include a free screening of the critically-acclaimed film The Linguists as well as a 2-hour workshop given by project coordinator Anna Luisa Daigneault for students who are interested in learning more about language endangerment and fieldwork methods.

1. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with UNC Undergrad Linguistics Club (Underling), the events will be called “Show Your Love for Languages” in celebration of IMLD and Valentine’s Day.

• February 13, 2012, 7–9 pm: Film Screening, Murphey Hall, Room 116.
• February 14, 2012, 10 am – 2 pm: Living Tongues Information Table at “Linguistic Diversity Week” (near the Student Union Building)
• February 14, 2012, 4–6 pm: Endangered Languages Workshop, Dey Hall, Room 209.

Please see our blog for more details on the UNC events.

2. At the University of West Georgia, one hour west of Atlanta, in collaboration with local UWG student group BABEL (Building Awareness for the Benefit of Endangered Languages), the events are being held on International Mother Language Day:

• February 21, 5–6:45 pm: Endangered Languages Workshop
• February 21, 7–9 pm: Film Screening

Location of both events: UWG in Carrollton, Georgia, 1601 Maple Street Dr., TLC Building, Lecture Hall C.

Stay tuned for more news about Mother Language Day! Living Tongues Institute will be releasing some important news on that day.