A tale of two worlds: A comparative study of language ecologies in Asia and the Americas

Language use patterns of individual speech communities are largely conditioned by the different language ecologies in which they are immersed. We believe this ecological stance helps explain why minority languages of Asia are more likely to be sustainable than those in the Americas. We have identified fourteen traits which characterize ecologies in general, describing how they play out differently in the Americas versus Asia. Each trait is considered to be on a continuum, with opposing values that measure whether conditions are more or less favorable to language maintenance. On one side of the continuum, we discuss the values in the Americas, and explain how these are more favorable to language shift. On the other side of the scale, we talk about the values in Asia, and explain how these are more conducive to language maintenance. To show the application of these traits, the paper also includes two in-depth case studies as prototypical examples from each area, one from the Americas and one from Asia. We conclude with some comments about how these traits can be useful for those engaged in language development work.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Reversing Language Shift: Can Kwak\u27Wala be Revived?

This thesis deals with the subject of reversing language shift, which comes under the rubric of language rivival. The particular situation and problems encountered by the endangered Kwak\u27wala language will be described in chapter one. Each community in which the language is spoken will be examined and individual language revival efforts will be discussed. The second chapter will look at different methods and procedures used in various language projects thoughout the world. In particular, it will examine some language projects which are (or were ) in a similar situation to Kwak\u27wala. It will also come to some conclusions regarding what the research shows are essential elements for successful language projects. The third chapter, the core of the thesis, will apply these findings to a proposal for the revival of Kwak\u27wala. The proposal will have two main components--that of the community and that of the educational institutions. The roles of each will be discussed, along with the elements for successful language projects arrived at in the previous chapter. Portions of this proposal were actually implemented in the village of Alert Bay. The last chapter will discuss the reaction of this community to the ideas and implementation of this thesis

The Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI): A Research Overview

There have been a number of important efforts to map out the languages of Iran, but until now no language atlas, or even a comprehensive and detailed country-level language map, has been produced. One of the recent initiatives which aims to fill this gap is the online Atlas of the Languages of Iran (ALI) (http://iranatlas.net). This article delineates objectives of the ALI research programme, atlas architecture, research methodology, and preliminary results that have been generated. Specific topics of interest are the structure and content of the linguistic data questionnaire; the handling of contrasting perspectives about the status of “languages” and “dialects” through a flexible multi-dimensional classification web; and the role of ongoing comparisons between language distribution assessments and hard linguistic data

A Model for Supply Allocation in the City of Vancouver to Prepare for a Natural Disaster

This paper aims to outline a supply plan that outfits 25 support hubs in the City of Vancouver with essential food and water supplies in the event of a natural disaster. We propose a model that takes as input the population, population distribution, percentage of the population that requires assistance, number of days to supply, number of cans and bottles per day, Costco weekly capacity constraints, cost of gas per kilometre for the chosen vehicle, and carrying capacity of the chosen vehicle. The model then proposes a supply plan that outfits the hubs with the necessary amount of supplies at the least cost in the least amount of time

Phonology and Morphology of Mambay (Niger-Congo, Adamawa)

Mambay is an Adamawa (Niger-Congo) language spoken by 15,000 people in Chad and Cameroon. The study opens with historical and linguistic background. A phonological inventory of the language is then presented and distribution patterns are examined. Some striking phenomena include a profoundly phonologized labial flap and a rich vowel inventory with contrastive length, nasalization, glottalization and pharyngealization. Special consideration is given to nasality and an underlyingly two-level tone system which exhibits tonal downstep as well as pragmatic employment of intonational register shift. In the description of the morphology, nouns are treated first, with attention dedicated to a “free vs. linked” distinction in noun forms and a series of noun prefixes unrelated to wider Niger-Congo noun class prefixes. A rich system of TAM (tense/aspect/mode) inflection is marked on both pronouns and verbs. Adverbs, adjectives and ideophones are treated together, as are the remaining minor word classes of numerals, demonstratives, and prepositions. A section on clauses and clause combinations concludes the dissertation, situating word classes within the context of syntax and discourse. Interlinearized texts rich in cultural information are selected from a variety of genres: song, legend, fable and proverb. The appendices catalogue inalienable noun possession paradigms and verb conjugations.LEI Universiteit LeidenSIL InternationalLanguage Use in Past and Presen

A grammar of Kumzari : a mixed Perso-Arabian language of Oman

This book presents an in-depth grammatical description of Kumzari, a mixed language of the Musandam Peninsula in northern Oman. Not mutually intelligible with adjacent languages Persian or Arabic, Kumzari has a mixed heritage of both language families and bears features of developments from Middle Persian and Semitic. Although the present work is synchronic in perspective, the introductory chapter includes a study of the history of the language from known sources, crucial for understanding Kumzari’s mixed nature. It follows with chapters on each constituent of the grammar: phonology, noun, verb, existential, modifier, evidential, preposition, clause, negation, and discourse. The twelfth chapter extends the analysis to the rhetorical aspects of the language, concerning the structures in Kumzari’s narrative oral tradition. The appendices provide transcripts of Kumzari texts and a lexicon. Of note are the descriptions of the mirative verb form, the wide-ranging role of the subordinator, evidentials, and the distinct word class of deverbs. From a comparative perspective, post-verbal negation is unique to Kumzari among Iranian languages. Rare also are Kumzari’s emphatic consonants, which occur even in words of non-Semitic origin. Rich in examples drawn from natural speech gathered in the field, this description situates linguistic data in its cultural context. The work documents a little-known language spoken in remote villages accessed only by boat, and it is of particular interest to scholars of both Iranian and Arabian languages as well as linguistic typology.Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic

The Indo-European Cognate Relationships dataset

The Indo-European Cognate Relationships (IE-CoR) dataset is an open-access relational dataset showing how related, inherited words (‘cognates’) pattern across 160 languages of the Indo-European family. IE-CoR is intended as a benchmark dataset for computational research into the evolution of the Indo-European languages. It is structured around 170 reference meanings in core lexicon, and contains 25731 lexeme entries, analysed into 4981 cognate sets. Novel, dedicated structures are used to code all known cases of horizontal transfer. All 13 main documented clades of Indo-European, and their main subclades, are well represented. Time calibration data for each language are also included, as are relevant geographical and social metadata. Data collection was performed by an expert consortium of 89 linguists drawing on 355 cited sources. The dataset is extendable to further languages and meanings and follows the Cross-Linguistic Data Format (CLDF) protocols for linguistic data. It is designed to be interoperable with other cross-linguistic datasets and catalogues, and provides a reference framework for similar initiatives for other language families

The Indo-European Cognate Relationships dataset

The Indo-European Cognate Relationships (IE-CoR) dataset is an open-access relational dataset showing how related, inherited words (‘cognates’) pattern across 160 languages of the Indo-European family. IE-CoR is intended as a benchmark dataset for computational research into the evolution of the Indo-European languages. It is structured around 170 reference meanings in core lexicon, and contains 25731 lexeme entries, analysed into 4981 cognate sets. Novel, dedicated structures are used to code all known cases of horizontal transfer. All 13 main documented clades of Indo-European, and their main subclades, are well represented. Time calibration data for each language are also included, as are relevant geographical and social metadata. Data collection was performed by an expert consortium of 89 linguists drawing on 355 cited sources. The dataset is extendable to further languages and meanings and follows the Cross-Linguistic Data Format (CLDF) protocols for linguistic data. It is designed to be interoperable with other cross-linguistic datasets and catalogues, and provides a reference framework for similar initiatives for other language families.Background & Summary Background: the Indo-European languages and phylogenetic research Summary of the IE-CoR Dataset. Background: research in cognacy, etymology and lexical semantics. Methods Overview of methodology Language sample. Meaning sample. Lexeme determination: Overview. Lexeme determination: Synonymy. Lexeme determination: Meaning definitions. Cognate determination. Loanwords. Dataset Data Records Technical Validation Usage Notes Code availabilit

The Arthropod Fauna of Oak (Quercus spp., Fagaceae) Canopies in Norway

(1) We document the invertebrate fauna collected from 24 oak canopies in east and west Norway as a contribution to the Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre’s ‘The Norwegian Taxonomy Initiative’. (2) A snap-shot inventory of the canopies was recorded by means of emitting a mist of natural pyrethrum into the canopies at night using a petrol-driven fogger and collecting the specimens in butterfly nets spread on the ground under the canopy. (3) Almost the entire catch of more than 6800 specimens was identified to 722 species. Out of 92 species new to the Norwegian fauna, 21 were new to science and, additionally, 15 were new to the Nordic fauna. Diptera alone constituted nearly half of the species represented, with 61 new records (18 new species). Additionally, 24 Hymenoptera (one new species), six oribatid mites (two new species) and one Thysanoptera were new to the Norwegian fauna. (4) Our study emphasizes the importance of the oak tree as a habitat both for a specific fauna and occasional visitors, and it demonstrates that the canopy fogging technique is an efficient way to find the ‘hidden fauna’ of Norwegian forests. The low number of red listed species found reflects how poor the Norwegian insect fauna is still studied. Moreover, the implication of the IUCN red list criteria for newly described or newly observed species is discussed.</jats:p