The message below appeared recently on "Linguist List" and
may be of interest to any AFLS-NEWS subscribers who work on
endangered varieties of language.
Aidan
Date: 25-May-2005
From: Signe Byrge Sřrensen <byrgefinal-cut.dk>
Subject: Call for participation: Voices of the World
Call for participation in Voices of the World
An international media project on endangered languages
Dear colleagues around the world,
Voices of the World aims to build international popular
awareness of the diversity of mankind through a world-wide
documentary film and media project. We want to portray the
peoples of the world, giving face and voice to each culture
and empowering every language community to speak. The goal
of Voices of the World is to strengthen our globalmutual
belonging.
The peoples of the world speak over 6,500 separate
languages. Each language employs a vocabulary and a grammar
that is unique to the communities that use them. Each
reflects cultures that are equally unique, rich in
folklore, history and humanity. In a time of globalization
and the telecommunications revolution that is accompanying
it, most of those languages have come under threat. A
surprisingly large number, about 50%, will probably not
survive this century. Many are already in terminal decline.
Most of these languages are spoken by indigenous peoples.
Linguists calculate that planet earth is losing one
language every two weeks - and with each one that vanishes,
a means of communication, a method of expression and a way
of looking at the world, disappears.
Voices of the World is an international non-profit
initiative of UNESCO's Goodwill Ambassador for Languages
Mrs. Vigdis Finnbogadottír, based on an original idea by
the internationally acclaimed filmmaker Janus Billeskov
Jansen, supported by the Danish Government, the UN and by
leading linguists from all over the world.
AMBITIONS AND VISIONS
Our first task is to create a media event in connection
with UN's 60th anniversary in October 2005. All the Nordic
public service TV stations are already committed to this
broadcast. We are presently working on similar arrangements
with other European and international TV-stations. Our aim
is to reach a global TV-audience.
In order to make this a truly global event we want to
invite YOU to participate in creating key elements of the
central documentary film - Voices.
Voices will tell the story of the cultural and linguistic
loss the world is suffering from the threat of language
endangerment. The film takes its point of departure in a
personal talk with UN Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan, in
his own mother tongue Fante, expressing his concerns for
cultural and linguistic diversity.
But the main elements of the film are to be based on YOUR
contributions. We seek case stories, which pinpoint the
various stages from language endangerment to language
death. We look for storytellers who can explain what it
feels like to loose one's language.
"VOICES" NEEDS YOUR HELP
We aim to include material from as many different languages
as possible in the film, but we have a limited budget. Thus
we are looking for local contributions.
You can participate in three different ways. Firstly, you
can submit new material. Secondly, you can submit material
already recorded. And thirdly, you can send us contacts to
speakers of endangered languages.
We are looking for charismatic storytellers who can tell
moving personal stories to the world in their own language.
The issues to be covered are:
1. The language generation gap - for example how does it
feel to live in a family where grand parents and grand
children find it hard to
communicate, because the language of the older generation
was not passed on?
2. The last speakers - for example how does it feel to be
among the last few speakers of a language?
3. Language suppression (economic, social, political,
cultural) - for example how do people cope with situations,
when their language is not given space in the public
sphere? What does it mean to a person or a community, if
their language is forbidden or drained of resources? 4.
Language and technology - for example how are speakers of
endangered languages affected by globalization and the new
information technology?
We are also looking for success stories such as:
5. Language revitalization - for example how did a
particular endangered language community manage to turn the
situation around and revitalize their language? 6. Other
vital language issues? - YOU might come up with something
brilliant, which we were not even able to conceptualize -
given the limitations of our language...
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
If you want to participate in "Voices", please start by
sending us an email introducing yourself, your language or
the language you are engaged with. Please also describe
your contribution and in what way you would like to
collaborate with us. We will then send you more
information about the project, more precise specifications
of what we are looking for and technical requirements. We
will do our best to support you in your filmmaking efforts
and to make use of your material in the best possible way.
Don't miss this opportunity to present YOUR language as
part of the bigger picture.
After the film is finished, all the footage collected and
shot for the Voices of the World project will be handed
over to the Vigdis Finnbogadottír Institute of Foreign
Languages at University of Iceland. The aim of Voices of
the World and the university is to create a database of all
the world's languages, accessible to everybody via the
internet.
Contact: Voices of the World
Project manager: Signe Byrge Sřrensen e-mail:
byrgefinal-cut.dk
Address: Forbindelsesvej 7; 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: +45 35 43 60 43, Fax: +45/ 35 43 60 44
Kofi Annan on Voices of the World:
'What could be a better way to pay homage to the United
Nations on the occasion of its 60th anniversary than to
stress the value of cultural and linguistic diversity of
the peoples of the world. After all, by celebrating the
diversity of human culture we only strengthen the dialogue
among civilizations, an idea rooted in the fundamental
United Nations values. I congratulate you on your excellent
initiative.' Kofi Annan, Secretary General, UN.
This call will be send to indigenous people's
organizations, linguists, NGOs and filmmakers around the
world.
Please pass the call to all individuals and organizations,
you think would be interested in participating in "Voices".
Linguistic Field(s): Anthropological Linguistics
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Aidan Coveney
University of Exeter
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