Dictionary Making as a Tool for the Revitalization of Endangered Languages: Two Case Studies
Many Brazilian indigenous languages have been forced into a path that causes the loss of spaces of use and, ultimately, lead to their disappearance, mainly due to lack of intergenerational transmission and the consequent reduction in the number of speakers. In this context, initiatives aimed at do...
| Autores: | , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2024 |
| País: | Brasil |
| Institución: | Associação Brasileira de Linguística (ABRALIN) |
| Repositorio: | Cadernos de Linguística |
| Idioma: | inglés portugués |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:ojs3.cadernos.abralin.org:article/704 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://cadernos.abralin.org/index.php/cadernos/article/view/704 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Retomada linguística Patrimônio cultural Povos indígenas Linguistic resumption Cultural heritage Indigenous people |
| Sumario: | Many Brazilian indigenous languages have been forced into a path that causes the loss of spaces of use and, ultimately, lead to their disappearance, mainly due to lack of intergenerational transmission and the consequent reduction in the number of speakers. In this context, initiatives aimed at documenting and revitalizing these languages have increased in the country. Multimedia dictionaries that present images and audio and/or videos with the pronunciation of words and examples of use, are among the different strategies, products and activities that can be used to help processes of linguistic strengthening and revitalization. Dictionizing a language is a complex task, but one that can be an ally in documentation and revitalization processes. Dictionaries are a means of easy access to language information and data. This work aims to present the report of a research developed within the scope of two undergraduate projects which had as their goals to organize bilingual multimedia dictionaries for two extremely endangered languages. Based on this experience, we reflect on how description and documentation methodologies can be associated with the dictionary making methodology to help in the process of revitalizing endangered languages. The results indicate that dictionaries of endangered languages are important tools in the process of revitalizing and documenting a language. The dictionary is useful and important from a scientific point of view and also from the point of view of practical application. If incorporated for use by the speech community it can serve as a tool for the language revitalization process. Dictionaries are also relevant as a source of linguistic data for historical-comparative and typological studies. Participating in research projects as students has positive impacts for new researchers. |
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