ScholarSpace (University of Hawaii at Manoa) · 2009 · 132 citations · 8 references
Open access
Linguistic FieldworkLanguage CommunitiesLinguistic AnthropologyMultilingualismLinguistic EcologyLanguage ResearchIndigenous PeopleIndigenous MovementSocial SciencesIndigenous StudyApplied LinguisticsIndigenous LanguageWorld LanguagesLinguistic DiversityLanguage StudiesLanguage PromotionIndigenous LanguagesIndigenous HeritageCanadian Indigenous CommunitiesCommunity EngagementCommunity DevelopmentIndigenous IdentityIndigenous Knowledge SystemsResearch ModelsIndigenous StudiesSecond Language StudiesLanguage RevitalizationCultural AnthropologyEthnographyAnthropologyLanguage PlanningLinguistics
The paper contrasts a linguist‑focused research model, where community participation is limited to providing fluent speakers, with a Community‑Based Language Research model that actively engages linguists as partners, noting that this collaborative approach aligns with Indigenous community advocacy. The study reflects on the motivations for adopting collaborative research models, the challenges linguists encounter in such settings, and broader questions faced by outsider linguists conducting fieldwork in Indigenous communities.
This paper reflects on different research models in linguistic fieldwork and on different levels of engagement in and with language-speaking communities, focusing on the Canadian context. I begin by examining a linguist-focused model of research: this is language research conducted by linguists, for linguists; the language-speaking community’s participation is limited mostly to being the source of fluent speakers, and the level of engagement in the community by a linguist is relatively small. I then consider models that involve more engaged and collaborative research, and define the Community-Based Language Research model which allows for the production of knowledge on a language that is constructed for, with, and by community members, and that is therefore not primarily for or by linguists. In CBLR, linguists are actively engaged partners working collaboratively with language communities. Collaborative models of research seem to be closest in spirit to models advocated by Indigenous groups in Canada and elsewhere. I reflect here on (1) why one might choose to work within a collaborative research model, and (2) what some of the challenges are that linguists face when they conduct research collaboratively. In a broad sense the purpose of this paper is to think through some questions that an “outsider” linguist might face when undertaking linguistic research in an Indigenous community today.
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