We are the world, we are the linguists! Linguists of the world stand united...

If you think linguists are simply nerds living in the world of academia digging up books because they're mad about language, check this out; they have singing talents too! Not very catchy, but the lyrics are humorous and indeed speak the truth (although I'm not sure about the grammar part).

Thank you professors and students of linguistics in Budapest for coming up with this creative way to appreciate linguistics and linguists. Great performance! 

This is dedicated to all linguists in the world :)

There comes a time
When we heed a certain call,
When linguists must come together as one. 
There are people speaking,
They bind and c-command;
It's grammar, the greatest gift of all.

We can't go on 
Pretending day by day
That we know our language works in the brain.
We are all a part of 
God's linguist family,
And the truth, you know, grammar's all we need.

We are the world,
We are the linguists,
We are the ones who make a brighter day 
By making theories.
There's a choice we're making
By forming hypotheses 
And we'll describe a language 
Just you and me. 

Send them a research group
So they'll know that someone cares 
And their data will be thoroughly explored.
God has shown us 
By turning stone to bread 
That even a linguist must be fed.

We are the world,
We are the linguists,
We are the ones who make a brighter day 
By making theories.
There's a choice we're making
By forming hypotheses 
And we'll describe a language 
Just you and me. 

When you're criticized 
There seems no hope at all,
But if you just believe 
There's a usage-based approach.
Well, well, well, well, let us realize 
That debates will always come 
Even though we stand together as one.

We are the world,
We are the linguists,
We are the ones who make a brighter day 
By making theories.
There's a choice we're making
By forming hypotheses 
And we'll describe a language 
Just you and me.

Andaman Islands linguistic treasures, documented just before extinction

The BBC recently reported that Professor Anvita Abbi at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, managed to compile a dictionary of 4 endangered languages spoken in the Andaman Islands. Most parts of Andaman Islands politically belong to India, while a small part belongs to Myanmar. Although it only captures a small angle of language, dictionaries are a good way to document the lexis (vocabulary) of an endangered language. Apparently, Andaman Islands are one of the most linguistically diverse spots in the world although many of these languages are critically endangered according to the UNESCO website. 

It took Professor Abbi 6 years to compile the dictionary of the 4 endangered languages in the Island which are the Bo, Khora, Jeru and Sare languages. While working on her research, Bo and Khora became extinct. Bo, an ancient language of a culture that is more than 65,000 years old died with its last speaker early in 2010. The rapid rate at which languages are dying is compelling enough to try and avoid such a loss in some of the minority languages spoken in Oman. 

Professor Abbi with Boa Sr, the last speaker of the Bo language.

Professor Abbi’s words, "This was my way of documenting ancient and traditional knowledge as words are cultural, archaeological, and environmental signatures of a community” should be indeed a motivation so save the left signatures of the endangered languages in Oman. 

The original article about Professor Abbi's great achievement can be accessed here.

An innovative way to save an endangered language: Possible in Oman?

Lakota is an endangered language spoken in the United States and some parts of Canada by Native Americans who descend from the Sioux tribes. Lakota’s situation is not very different from Jabbali, since the former has around 6000 speakers left while the latter has around 5000. It is mostly the older generation who can speak Lakota fluently.

A Lakota chief 1885 (from Wikipedia) 

However, the good news is that in an effort to save Lakota from dying, the animated cartoon The Berenstain Bears, which for decades has been aired in various languages including Arabic, is now going to be aired in Lakota.  That's right, The Berenstain Bears are going to be speaking Lakota as part of a project that attempts to spread the language to the younger Sioux generation in order to preserve the language. 

The Berenstain Bears was created in 1962

I think this approach to save a language is innovative. Instead of accepting the fact that the language is dying hence document it, record it, and observe it from the older generation while it’s at the verge of extinction, this project attempts to preserve the language not by saving it on paper, but by teaching it to little children, and therefore the possibility of having another generation that speaks the language. In other words, this project foresees the possibility of saving a language by giving children access to another source of input of the language, which is probably more interesting and captivating to them than a conversation with an old person in their family. Consequently, this can increase their chances of acquiring the language.

This brilliant idea makes me wonder if such a project is possible to adopt in Oman. Knowing that a language which is more or less in a similar condition to Jabbali is getting a lot of attention and effort is a motivation. What makes it impossible in Oman?

I leave you now with the Lokata Berenstain Bears trailer:

Jabbali, an endangered language in Oman: is it worth a look before it’s gone?

The fact that the Jabbali language in the south of Oman is in danger of extinction cannot be denied. The younger generation do not have the same mastery of the language as their parents, who have even less command of it compared to their own parents. The UNESCO website lists Jabbali (which has a different spelling variation, ‘Jibbali’) as a 'severely endangered' language; and only about 5000 speakers are left.

I’m not sure what is being done about the situation of Jabbali, but it certainly needs a more serious stand and a stronger push. If the critical situation of Jabbali continues to be ignored and overlooked, the language will actually extinct. Some might argue that language change is unavoidable in situations where there is another language dominating a society (in this case Arabic), however while this might be true, it does not mean that an endangered language should be left to die without documenting and recording it.

Jabbali, just like any language is a treasure on its own. It gives you insights to the culture of its speakers, how they think and see things, how they do things and how they live their lives in general. It is a culture on its own and losing it would be a real cultural loss in Oman. The Jabbalis for instance, have a wide plant vocabulary due to their wide use of these products of nature in their daily lives. This suggests that they have a wide knowledge of herbal healing or medicating by plants. Documenting the language can save this knowledge which can lead to the development of plant science or botany.

Let’s make the most of Jabbali while it struggles to survive.

Do Omani broadcasters suffer from linguistic insecurity?

Every time I tune in the radio to a local Arabic FM channel and a music program is on, I stop to ask myself, are these broadcasters directing their speech to an Omani audience? Or are they directing it to a Gulf audience in general? As a listener of such programs (and away from being an objective linguist for a second) I would say that I find the use of ‘Khaleeji’ Arabic features in their speech radical, unrealistic and sometimes unfriendly. There is hardly any consideration for the language of the caller who is usually an Omani speaking a more ‘realistic’ variety of local Arabic that is more common in the country. It surprises me that it doesn’t seem to occur to the broadcaster that speaking in such a divergent way emphasises the distance between him/her and the caller; especially in music programs where the context is meant to be relaxed and informal. 

Many would argue that this is actually the way the broadcaster speaks and that it is far from artificial; or some might argue that it is a personal choice. Indeed both arguments could be true but when you listen to the vast majority of callers speaking in a different way and that they sound very similar to each other linguistically, while the broadcaster sounds very different, one can’t help but ask, what is it that motivates the broadcasters to continue distancing themselves from the language of the local public and choose to speak in Khaleeji Arabic? Is it because Omani dialects lack prestige? Are Omani dialects embarrassing? Is it because they have linguistic insecurity? Or is it because they look up to other Gulf countries and wish to be more similar to them? Should a broadcaster ignore the way most of his callers speak and continue to speak in the way s/he chooses? Is it really a matter of personal choice, or a deeper issue that goes beyond egocentrism?

As I listen to the FM, I'll keep wondering why there is a big gap between the linguistic reality in Oman and the public face of it which is heard through the media.

علم اللغويات للجميع

لقد اختصر علي مقال للكاتب وإخصائي اللغة بيغهام، رئيس تحرير مجلة مختصة بعلم اللغة الكثير مما اريد ان اقوله عن هذا العلم وسوء فهمه وعدم وضوحه لدى الكثيرين. اختصر علي المقال الكثير من الكلمات ، فهو يحكي واقع غاليبة من درسوا علم اللغويات. انه سوء الفهم لهذا العلم وقلة المعرفة به بل وعدم الدراية بوجوده في كثير من الاحيان!  ولا يجب ان يقع اللوم هنا على من لم يسمعوا بهذا العلم، بل على اصحاب الدراسة في رأي الكاتب الذين يجدر بهم نشر ما تعلموه بصورة اكبر وبالطريقة التي يستوعبها القارئ الغير متخصص بهذا العلم. ومما يزيد من حجم الفجوة بين المتخصصين بهذا العلم والغير متخصصين به هو عدم الاهتمام به كعلم في كثير من الدول ومنها (وبشكل كبير) الدول العربية. فلا يزال الكثيرون في هذه الدول يستصغرون العلوم الاجتماعية والانسانية.

يسأل الكاتب في حيرة عن سبب عدم ثقافة المجتمع في علم اللغة ويخشى ان يكون المتخصصين في هذا العلم السبب في ذلك لانهم لم يجتهدوا بالشكل الكافي لايصال محتوى هذا العلم ولو بشكل بسيط الى الفرد العادي في المجتمع. اي ان الكاتب يرى ان المختصون بعلم اللغة لم ينشروا هذا العلم الى القارئ الغير متخصص في اللغة كما ينبغي.

يشير الكاتب الى نقطة مهمة وملهمة جدا في نفس الوقت. يقول انه اذا كان بامكان علماء الفيزياء وعلم النفس من نشر الكثير من مفاهيم علومهم للقراء الغير مختصين في هذه المجالات بحيث تصل افاكرهم وحصيلة بحوثهم الى اي فرد في المجتمع، فلماذا لا يفعلون الاخصائيون اللغويون مثل ذلك؟ كانت هذه الفكرة المحركة للكاتب والتي شجعته على بدء مجلة عن علم اللغة التي تسعى لكاتبة مقالات عن احدث البحوث في هذا العلم وشتى مجالاته الفرعية. اي ان المجلة تكتب لغير المتخصصين في هذا المجال، بحيث تصل المعلومة بشكل مبسط وبعيد عن التعقيد لمن يود ان يتعلم عن هذا العلم بغير هدف الاختصاص.

اسعدني قراءة هذا المقال لانه بالفعل لا يكاد المتخصص بعلم اللغة ان يقول انه كذلك حتى تتبدل الوجوه الى علامات استفام كبيرة او سوء فهم حيث يظن الكثيرون ان علماء اللغة هم بالضرورة مدرسوا لغة انجليزية او مترجمون او قد درسوا الادب الانجليزي.  لقد جاء الاوان لبذل جهد اكبر لاعلام الافراد في المجتمع وتثقيفهم اكثر عن هذا العلم الذي يسهم في فهم ما قد يكون من اقدم الظواهر البشرية، الا وهي اللغة والتي هي في تطور دائم.



Jabbali in Oman: reality through cartoon

The Omani cartoon Youm oo Youm indirectly contributes to linguistics in Oman in several ways. First, it is an attempt to shed light on the linguistic situation in Oman. It tries to eradicate the negative stereotypes about the Omani dialect especially since it has been used for comedy effects in other Arabian Gulf cartoons such as Shaabiyat Al Cartoon or even an episode from Freej. Second, Youm oo Youm tries to show the diversity of the Omani society culturally and indeed linguistically. Third and perhaps most importantly, is the episode below which portrays a man's effort and enthusiasm to save the Jabbali language, which is critically endangered in Oman.
In the episode, Mhaat (who is himself a Jabbali) faces endless difficulties when he requests opening a Jabbali Language Centre in Oman; he faces complications of legal procedures and eventually his request is rejected.

This episode brings hope yet presents a sad reality at the same time. On the positive side, it's a relief because it shows that some non-linguist Omanis do actually realise that their country’s linguistic treasures are in danger of extinction; which means that someone knows and cares. Yet the negative side makes the main theme of the  episode; which is basically that in reality decision makers don't really care. It shows how Oman’s linguistic treasures are being ignored and are left on the verge of extinction because no one would support the enthusiastic man’s idea. No one sees in it a preservation of a culture. The irony is that at the end he receives a phone call from what seems to be a Western university that is interested in his project. It is indeed disappointing to see that while there is hardly an effort made to save Jabbali or other endangered languages in Oman, academics overseas seem to show concern and interest in the situation of Jabbali.
Until decision makers in Oman realise that saving languages is not “useless” and is just as important as learning English or French, let’s hope that Jabbali hangs on.