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From Babine to Yakima: Academic Libraries and Endangered Language Preservation

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From Babine to Yakima: Academic Libraries and Endangered Language Preservation From Babine to Yakima: Academic Libraries and Endangered Language Preservation Gabriella Reznowski Introduction teristics. Within the twelve genetic language units of In his book, When Languages Die: the Extinction of the the Pacific Northwest, there are fifty-four languages, World’s Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowl- alphabetically from Babine to Yakima, spoken in the edge, linguist K. David Harrison states the following: region.3 In addition to these twelve units, there are “You do not need to go to Amazonia or Siberia to also nine identified extinct genetic units, meaning observe language death; it is going on all around us.”1 that the languages have no known living speakers. For librarians working in the Northwest Pacific Coast The Pacific Northwest therefore represents an area of and Western Plateau, this statement rings especially high linguistic diversity; however it also represents an true. The area has been identified as a region of high area of extreme language endangerment. The current language endangerment, where “Every language in situation is the equivalent of a linguistic crisis; but the American part of the hotspot is either endan- aside from the occasional newspaper article, the lan- gered or moribund.”2 Linguists Harrison and Ander- guages of this region are disappearing quietly into the son have identified twelve genetic units in the area, night. Harrison estimates that a last speaker dies ev- referring to the twelve distinct language families pres- ery ten days, and this scenario is expected to continue ent in the region. We can understand a genetic unit “for the foreseeable future.”4 A paper on endangered as a group of languages belonging to the same lan- languages and libraries written thirty years from now guage family, having developed from an earlier com- will therefore be describing a situation that is dras- mon language. For example Romance languages, such tically different from the current one. As Harrison as French, Italian and Spanish, all having developed states, “Languages in our own backyard and in remote from Latin, belong to a different genetic unit than corners of the globe vanish apace.”5 do Russian, Ukrainian and Czech, all belonging to For languages to survive, linguists agree that they the Balto-Slavic language family. Languages belong- need to be passed down to a new generation of speak- ing to the same genetic unit, or language family are ers. In order to foster language revitalization, linguists closely related to each other and share similar charac- and endangered language communities recognize Gabriella Reznowski is Librarian for Foreign Languages and Cultures, Washington State University, e-mail: [email protected] 55 56 Gabriella Reznowski that collaborative relationships must be forged, and mere warehousing of recorded language materials. In libraries have been occasionally referred to in the lin- order for a language to survive, new speakers must be guistics literature. Harrison refers briefly to “library recruited and their skills fostered. Within this role, knowledge” as knowledge that is “catalogued, indexed, school based language programs can make significant orderly, and it can be searched.”6 Harrison makes a contributions to revitalization efforts. McCarty con- distinction between the knowledge collected in li- cedes that while the role of schools is important, they braries, and “traditional knowledge”, which he states will have little impact without collaborative efforts. seems “much more diffuse, folksy, messy, and prone to If one were to similarly ponder the role of academic being forgotten.”7 Because much of the body of tra- libraries in saving endangered languages, it is likely ditional knowledge that exists in the world today has that they would feel that such institutions are on the yet to be written down, we might be inclined to view periphery of revitalization efforts. However, commu- the relationship between libraries and endangered nity, immersion, after school, summer, academic and languages as mutually exclusive. However, as levels school-based language programs, when coupled with of language endangerment become more severe, the the work of linguists, Elders, and anthropologists, role of the library becomes increasingly important. can have a significant impact. The most successful Libraries should strive to meet a two-fold responsi- language revitalization programs appear to be col- bility: that of building endangered language collec- laborative efforts that engage expertise from a variety tions that will support the learning goals of speakers of disciplines and foster full community involvement. and revitalization efforts, and that of assisting in the Therefore, libraries should not underestimate their preservation of a vanishing cultural record for future role in supporting endangered language programs. generations. As institutions that have been charged with protecting, preserving and making accessible the Fostering Collaborative Environments for cultural record, libraries should feel an intimate re- Language Revitalization lationship with communities seeking to preserve the While many archives hold Native American language knowledge embedded in their languages. As Harrison materials, many of the collections within these reposi- reminds us, “Language disappearance is an erosion or tories may not necessarily be known to the language extinction of ideas, of ways of knowing, and of ways community they serve. To provide further guidance in of talking about the world and human experience.”8 managing language materials, the Administration for While libraries are seldom mentioned as collaborative Native Americans (ANA) has developed a guide to partners in language preservation efforts, language re- assist tribal administrators. According to Native Lan- vitalization advocates have occasionally referred to the guage Preservation: a Reference Guide for Establishing role of the library. As Ida Bear, a professor and devel- Archives and Repositories, “even those who are fluent oper of instructional materials for the Cree language heritage language speakers and those who are actively states: “There are still some oral traditionalists in the engaged in language preservation efforts”11 may not communities who have the knowledge and exper- be aware that certain collections exist. To help bring tise in acimowina and acanohkana (oral history and these collections to light, the University of Washing- myths) who should be recorded, and their collections ton has held two workshops modeled on conferences should be in all major university libraries for students developed at UC Berkeley involving the collabora- to use in their studies.”9 tion of linguists, language communities, and campus If we define language preservation as the collect- libraries. Both the University of Washington and the ing of linguistic materials for posterity, it is possible to UC Berkeley “Breath of Life” workshops incorporate argue that libraries have been involved in endangered the use of library and archival collections in develop- language preservation for many years. McCarty how- ing language revitalization materials. Linguists, Le- ever makes a distinction between ‘preserving’ and ‘sav- anne Hinton of the University of California Berkeley, ing’ endangered languages.10 Just as linguists engaged and Alice Taff of the University of Washington, both in language preservation record grammars, lexicons active in revitalization efforts, coordinated the work- and typologies, archivists and librarians collect and shops at their respective institutions. Held every two provide safe storage for these materials. According to years, the UC Berkeley workshops incorporate the McCarty, saving a language involves more than the use of archival collections which include field notes, ACRL Fourteenth National Conference Academic Libraries and Endangered Language Preservation 57 journals and sound recordings.12 The workshops pro- Native communities have policies to address the col- vide an excellent collaborative model for libraries and lecting and housing of language materials, and it is archives seeking to play a supportive role in revitaliza- the responsibility of librarians and researchers to edu- tion efforts. cate themselves on such policies. With regards to the Organized by holding institution, the ANA language materials made available online as a result of Guide was developed to identify and describe sig- their research, linguists Harrison and Anderson ex- nificant Native language collections available at aca- plicitly state the following: “Community ownership demic, federal, private and international repositories. of intellectual property is a primary consideration. The guide provides descriptions of significant collec- Digital recordings remain under the auspices of the tions of Native American language materials; how- endangered language community itself, which grants ever there is currently not one single resource to iden- permission (individually and collectively) for their tify research institutions with significant collections, scholarly use and dissemination.”13 Many materials organized by language. Currently, such information found within archives and repositories may likewise does not exist on a single website, nor is there one be governed by a similar statement. Libraries should guidebook that lists archives, libraries and museums work with their local tribal governments to ensure in the Pacific Northwest with endangered language that the materials are being used appropriately, and materials,
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