International linguist and anthropologist Mark Turin will join the University of British Columbia as Chair of its First Nations Languages Program (FNLG) and Associate Professor of Anthropology. A researcher at both Cambridge and Yale, Turin has also held research appointments at Cornell and Leipzig universities. To date, most of Turin’s field research has focused on endangered languages and Indigenous cultures in the Himalayan region. From 2007 to 2008, he served as Chief of Translation and Interpretation at the United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN). He is also the founder of the Digital Himalaya Project and the World Oral Literature Project.
This year, Mark Turin will be presenting a series on endangered languages in Bhutan and Burma for BBC Radio 4. Listen to Mark Turin’s 2012 BBC Radio series, Our Language in Your Hands,here.
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Q: You’ll be starting as Chair of the First Nations Languages Program in July. What are some of your key priorities for the program?
Turin: It’s going to be a pretty steep learning curve for me! Although I have worked with speakers of Indigenous languages in Asia for over 20 years, I’m no expert on First Nations languages, so one of my early priorities will be to study one. Thanks to the creative and enduring collaboration initiated by Dr. Patricia Shaw with members of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Musqueam Indian Band, students have had the opportunity to learn First Nations languages here at UBC for over 17 years. Alongside regular classes at all levels, from introductory to advanced, that teach Musqueam Salish, generations of students have benefited from learning Cree (Plains Algonquian), Kwak’wala (Wakashan), Nle’kepmxcin (N. Interior Salish), Dakelh Dene (Carrier Athapaskan) and Dene Zāge’ (Kaska Athabaskan) through UBC’s First Nations Languages Program.
One of my other priorities will be to spend time with people committed to First Nations and Indigenous issues in British Columbia, and to listen carefully to what they have to say. I am particularly looking forward to learning from community members engaged in language revitalization programs, and to connecting with colleagues across the UBC campuses and in the wider Vancouver area. There are so many Departments, Schools, Programs and Units at UBC that engage with First Nations and Aboriginal issues, I know that it’s going to a hugely exciting time.
A key focus for our program is to develop and deepen our curriculum. Until now, the First Nations Languages Program has had only one faculty member, the founding Chair, Professor Shaw. With my appointment and an incoming assistant professor starting in January 2015, there will soon be three of us, not to mention our many longstanding partners at Musqueam and other committed Adjunct and Visiting instructors. With these new hires and the increased faculty strength that they bring, we have a clear mandate from the UBC administration to design a range of new classes focussed on capacity-building for endangered language documentation and revitalization, as well as expanding our curriculum for other B.C. First Nations languages. We’re designing courses on how digital tools can be used to protect and revitalize endangered and Indigenous languages and exploring language archiving—all with our community-based model in mind.
Q: In British Columbia, the 32 surviving First Nations languages are critically endangered, many facing the loss of their last generation of fluent speakers within the next decade. What is the impact of language death on individuals and communities?
Turin: When languages become endangered—especially languages that don’t have a long history of written traditions—cultural, environmental and medicinal knowledge is also at risk. While individuals may start using another, more dominant, language when their own speech form is forced into decline, for an Indigenous community the loss of their language has lasting negative effects. Unless there are good records—and for most of the world’s endangered languages, there are not—language loss is as much about the society, culture, history and memory of a community as it is about their speech.
For many Aboriginal communities in North America, language is intimately linked to understandings of territory. Whether through local place names or traditional livelihoods, language and memory are tied to the land through the experiences of one’s ancestors. The interconnectedness of land and language is recognized by international organizations working with Indigenous communities the world over, and can be very important in Aboriginal title claims.
Some communities prefer the term ‘sleeping’ rather than ‘dead’ languages, citing examples of seemingly moribund speech forms that were revitalized and are now, once again, spoken mother tongues. As scholars involved in such work, we must be mindful of the terminology that we use and remain sensitive to the positions taken by Indigenous communities.
In areas as linguistically and culturally diverse as the Pacific Northwest, there are examples of extraordinary resilience and hope—sometimes against all odds—alongside the more dominant and tragic narrative of language death and linguistic decline. For those of us in First Nations and Indigenous language studies, there’s a huge amount of critical and time-sensitive work to be done. Most important of all, we must work collaboratively, in true partnership with local communities.
Q: Why does it matter if languages are lost?
Turin: I am often asked why it matters if a language dies. Wouldn’t it be better off if everybody simply spoke English or Spanish or Mandarin, people wonder? The question reflects a widely held—if entirely mistaken—belief that speaking just one language is a normal way of being, when really, for most of human history and across almost all of the globe, people have been resolutely multilingual. Monolingualism is an arrogant historical deviation and a powerful embodiment of colonization. There’s simply no reason why people should have to abandon speaking their Indigenous language in order to join some imagined ‘mainstream’, and in fact, as recent research now shows, there are considerable benefits to bilingualism and multilingualism.
An enormous amount of money is spent conserving nature and protecting cultural heritage around the world. I know of international organizations that promote biodiversity and projects that document architecture and art in every country in which I have ever lived and worked. Language—one of the singular achievements of our species and a defining feature of our humanity—deserves similar attention and resources. Human linguistic diversity is a treasure trove of our cultural and creative capacity. With each vanishing voice, another unique experience of the world is lost.
Q: How are communities working to revitalize and ensure the survival of indigenous languages?
Turin: In all kinds of ingenious and innovative ways! There is no one-size-fits-all model, and different communities are adopting different techniques. Some are pushing hard to have their Indigenous mother tongues incorporated into the school curriculum, either as a subject or as the medium of instruction. A technique used in Hawai’i, and amongst the Māori community of New Zealand where the idea is said to have originated, is a ‘language nest’ through which children learn directly from their elders. In places where there is a single well-developed speech community, immersive inter-generational transmission can be extremely effective. Sadly, on account of language erosion and limited resources, it’s simply not an option for many speech communities.
In B.C., some First Nations communities are already collaborating with linguists and anthropologists to explore which revitalization techniques and digital tools might work best for their particular needs. Members of Aboriginal communities are producing and disseminating extraordinary audio-visual content, and incorporating historical archival recordings into their work. ‘Claiming Space: Voices of Urban Aboriginal Youth’, an exhibition that opened earlier this month at MOA showcases some of this creativity. Over the last two decades, the entire discipline of language documentation has been rejuvenated as community members and ethically engaged scholars have been learning from each other and working more closely together. Alongside traditional research ‘products’—such as primers, dictionaries and grammars—we’re now seeing the emergence of smartphone apps, talking dictionaries and interactive websites. It’s a decisive and exciting time to be in the field of language documentation, conservation, and revitalization: the enormous challenges before us are matched by equally great opportunities.
Mark Turin assumes his position as Chair of UBC’s First Nations Languages Program in July 2014.
