SBP: Workshop: Expanding Linguistic Science By Broadening Native American Participation

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

The Native American Languages Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1990, enacted into policy the recognition of the unique status and importance of Native American languages. Similarly, the field of linguistics emphasizes the importance of Native American languages, not only because of languages' intrinsic value as bearers of culture and identity, but also with reference to scientific questions whose answers lie in the diverse grammatical features, vocabularies, and usage patterns of these languages. Less recognized, however, is that there is an equally important and similarly diverse set of ideas held in Native American communities about their languages -- ideas that reflect Native American intellectual traditions, cultural norms, and contemporary needs. This project focuses on identifying, disseminating, and applying Native American ideas about language in linguistic science through a workshop at which American Indian and Alaska Native language practitioners (e.g., citizen scientists, language program coordinators, educators, language activists) and professional linguists will engage in dialogue about these issues. This project will thus test a model of expanding science through the participation of an underrepresented group in a way that emphasizes the intellectual tools and cultural values of that group, contributing to the science of broadening participation. The ideas from this project will be widely disseminated, with project presentations and other materials shared online and archived for others' use. Broader impacts also include the increased participation of Native Americans in the language sciences, the development and training of non-Native graduate students, and the online dissemination of workshop outcomes, videos and content through the Linguistic Society of America, the largest professional society in the world dedicated to the scientific study of language. Co-chaired by two Native American linguists, this workshop will improve linguistic science by fostering a scholarly space to explore and to expand the intellectual lens through which the goals, questions and methods of linguistics are framed. Through a collaborative model in which people who have shared interests but different types of expertise train each other, this project seeks to increase the representation of Native Americans in language sciences through an approach that puts Native American colleagues on equal footing with colleagues from other backgrounds. Motivating this project is a general question of how to apply linguistic diversity, broadly defined to include views about language, as a base to guide and expand scientific inquiry. Its specific focus on Native American ideas about language emerges from the shared commitment of the U.S. Congress, the field of linguistics, and Native American communities to promoting Native American languages. The workshop will occur immediately prior to the 2018 annual meeting of the Linguistic Society of America, the premier professional conference of American linguists. The project team will select workshop participants through a competitive application process; selection criteria will include documented expertise in, and commitment to, project themes. The workshop will include a lecture to contextualize the history of linguistics and its current areas of focus, a session in which participants share their personal definitions of "language," and several collaborative discussions on core project themes. Workshop participants will then attend the rest of the Linguistic Society of America annual meeting, which will include a symposium to share the ideas that emerge from the workshop with a large audience of linguists.