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The GLOCAL CALA 2021 (SCOPUS/ISI) Conference (September 1-4, 2021, University of The Philippines ... more The GLOCAL CALA 2021 (SCOPUS/ISI) Conference (September 1-4, 2021, University of The Philippines Diliman, The Philippines): The conference theme “Symbolism and New Society” describes the need for symbolic representation in a rapidly changing Asia. As has been the case throughout a larger global society, Asian societies have sought increasingly rapid change, seeking none less than online spaces to contextualize and to legitimize the effects of this rapid change. Here, recent events have patently mediated the shift to online interaction, a shift which has thus intensified the development, and possibly, the invention, of a range of new symbolisms and symbolic clusters that now have a limited use in offline spaces.

Throughout the past decade, and more particularly over the past one year, global changes have elicited these new symbolisms of communication, symbolisms which have quickly been exposed to contestation and (re)interpretation, owing to the nee to deploy online technologies on such a large scale, and which are now presenting themselves as highly beneficial to anthropological study. Asian language symbolisms have always exposed their potency as representational of their communities and as legitimizing of the worth of these communities in a global society, but never have they shown more significance than in the current era, where their intensified usage online, and their qualities for legitimizing Asian identities, seek investigation.

The Asian symbolism pervades the whole semiotic spectrum of that which is performatively Asian, and which is distinct from the Non-Asian, yet a symbolism which can interlink the colonized with the decolonized, through a multitude of human ideologies. This again becomes more the case now as the boundaries of Asian symbolisms have become blurred through online textual modes, Linguistically and Anthropologically, and beyond.

The GLOCAL CALA 2021 thus calls for renewed awareness and interpretations of Asian symbolisms in this new era, and asks that we seek new perspectives of these Asiancomplex symbolisms, in their global contexts. These interpretations increase in significance as the use of online virtual world texts and textual modes have now assumed an authoritative stance over the real world, possibly creating new realities and new real worlds that subvert our ideologies of those old real worlds. This shift to symbolisms required to reconceptualize new virtual and old real worlds in this current era, will surely motivate dialogue.

Geoffrey Benjamin - Part 3

Geoffrey Benjamin - Part 2

Geoffrey Benjamin - Part 1

CALA 2020 by CALA Asia

The CALA 2020 - The Conference on Asian Linguistic Anthropology in incredible Sarawak, the doorwa... more The CALA 2020 - The Conference on Asian Linguistic Anthropology in incredible Sarawak, the doorway to Borneo, hosted by the University Putra Malaysia: Seeking to redefine the way we view Asian Language and Society.

Conference dates: February 5-8, 2020 Venue: Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Sarawak, Ma... more Conference dates: February 5-8, 2020
Venue: Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, Sarawak, Malaysia
Website: http://cala2020.upm.edu.my

The Conference on Asian Linguistic Anthropology, The CALA 2020, in Bintulu, Sarawak, symbolizes a significant movement forward for Linguistic Anthropology, from the first highly successfully attended CALA, to further problematize current perspectives and praxis in the field.
Conceptualized several years prior to the upcoming conference, the CALA 2020, as with the CALA 2019, responds to concerns by those within Linguistics, Anthropology, Sociolinguistics, Sociology, Cultural studies, and Linguistic Anthropology, pertinent to Asia. The CALA 2019 has reduced the gap between focus on Asian regions and work by Asian academics, largely contributable to issues of funding and expertise. The CALA 2020 will extend on these efforts, as it will aim to further extend the global networks of Asian Linguistic Anthropology.
The CALA 2020, thus aims to increasingly opportune academics to exchange knowledge, expertise, and valuable Linguistic and Anthropological Data across the world, through the interpersonal and inter-institutional networks the CALA conferences seek to build.
To ground these efforts, the Conference, with Universiti Putra Malaysia at the centre, seeks to network a growing number of institutions globally, to support this much needed project.
The theme for the CALA is Asian Text, Global Context, a theme pertinent to the current state of many Asian regions and countries vis-a-vis their global analogues.
Universiti Putra Malaysia, hosting the CALA in 2020 in Bintulu, Sarawak, the Land of the Horbills, Malaysia, constitutes one of an interchanging series of annual hosts, and in this way, the CALA global network increases to involve institutions worldwide.
We thus welcome you to the CALA 2020, the Second Annual Conference on Asian Linguistic Anthropology, and to the CALA in general.
Keynote Speaker:
Li Wei - University College London
Plenary Speakers:
Asmah Haji Omar - University of Malaya
Hans Henrich Hock - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Susan Needham - California State University Dominguez Hills
Nathan Hill - SOAS University of London
Organizer:
Universiti Putra Malaysia
cala2020@upm.edu.my
Conference Website: http://cala2020.upm.edu.my

Location:
Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus
97000 Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

CALA 2019 by CALA Asia

The CALA 2019 Abstract Series - The abstract 'Translanguaging in the City' by Adrian Blackledge a... more The CALA 2019 Abstract Series - The abstract 'Translanguaging in the City' by Adrian Blackledge and Angela Creese from the University of Stirling

New mobilities, new textual modes, and new technologies have pervaded Asian regions, affecting co... more New mobilities, new textual modes, and new technologies have pervaded Asian regions, affecting communication, structuring the lifeworlds (lived environments), and re-authoring altering identities. As such, language has seen mediation to develop new yet evolving forms. While these changes have become significant, reflexive efforts to cultural origins have also become central to global flows. These efforts have been labeled revivalist, both in widespread languages, and in minority languages. Furthermore, central to work on these languages, are frameworks of Anthropology, without which, our understandings of the political, cultural and linguistic elements would scarcely present themselves epistemically.

Conference Presentations by CALA Asia

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Students who participate in a study abroad (SA) program are naturally exposed to new ‘ways of bei... more Students who participate in a study abroad (SA) program are naturally exposed to new ‘ways of being’ (e.g., unfamiliar linguistic and cultural practices) and as they adjust to the host environment, they may experience acculturative stress and identity confusion (Jackson 2018, 2020). To better understand the challenges facing second language (L2) SA participants, applied linguists in various parts of the world are conducting introspective studies that seek to identify and make sense of factors that can influence L2 socialization and sojourn outcomes (e.g., language proficiency gains, intercultural competence development) (Iwasaki 2019; Jackson 2019). Their work is providing much-needed direction for pedagogical interventions in SA programs (e.g., pre-departure orientations, language and intercultural transition courses) (Jackson and Oguro 2018; Vande Berg, Paige and Lou 2012). This, in turn, is helping institutions of higher education to realize some of their internationalization goals (e.g., the enhancement of language and intercultural development). After explaining contemporary notions of L2 socialization/ acculturation and poststructuralist perspectives on identity, this colloquium presented the key findings of three mixed-method, largely qualitative, longitudinal studies that investigated the L2 socialization and identity reconstruction of participants in various short-term SA programs.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Language is planned, and plans themselves arer assessed in a multitude of countries in Europe and... more Language is planned, and plans themselves arer assessed in a multitude of countries in Europe and America, and to a lesser extent in Africa and Asia. In the presentation, the overview of the process of language planning is provided, based on the experience of language planning in various countries.

The very first steps include a general assessment of the current linguistic and sociolinguistic situation, sustainability of the language(-s) concerned, trends, security aspects and various threats (social, regional, virtual), vision or desirable outcome with the description of main goals and sub-goals (with measurable quantitative data), activities and sub-activities with specific indicators measuring outcome, result or activity itself.

The main motor of the whole process is status planning with legal, managerial, and PR-level (language marketing). For this planning to succeed, timely input from other language planning dimensions is necessary, first of all, from the corpus planning (general orthographic and grammatical standardization, geographical, business and personal name policies, terminology development and development of the domain of translation and interpreting, subtitling and dubbing). These standards are implemented in the educational system, providing education through various monolingual or multilingual educational programmes / models. Language technology as a support dimension must be developed in the level of a minimal survival kit, securing competitiveness in this way.

Finally some typical misunderstandings and mistakes, drawbacks and failures are discussed that might help future language planners and thus, foster better results.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Broadcasting and television are two popular types of media, with more audience than other types o... more Broadcasting and television are two popular types of media, with more audience than other types of media in Viet Nam today. Tay-Nung is a common language of two ethnic groups with the largest population of ethnic minorities in Viet Nam. Research on broadcasting and television in the Tay-Nung language is importance research, involving both journalism and the science of language. On the basis of surveys on the state of broadcasting in Tay-Nung language and the attitude, needs and aspirations of the Tay and Nung ethnicity on this activity, this article aims to describe and evaluate the current status of broadcasting in the Tay-Nung language, thereby proposing ways and means to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of broadcasting in Tay- Nung language. The main methods used in this study are a scientific observation method, a sociological survey method (interviews, discussions, investigation by questionnaires), method of description (analytical, statistical, classification, systematization) and a comparison method. Research data is collected from relevant documents and from the use of sociological survey methods. The subject of the article is the broadcast in Tay-Nung language activities in Viet Nam at present. This subject is considered in the following aspects; the places, the levels of broadcasting and television; the choice and use of language / dialect; attitude, needs and aspirations of the recipients, and some ways and solutions to be implemented. Research results of the project will help the Ministry of Information and Communication, in radio and television, to develop specific suggestions on the choice of type and level of communication. At the same time, the Viet Nam has also suggested the development of policies related to communication in ethnic minority languages.

Raising the effectiveness of broadcasting in the Tay-Nung language will contribute to the preservation of language and culture; will improve quality of life for the Tay and Nung ethnicity and will contribute to sustainable development of nations in the renewal period. The work will inform work by the State, the Ministry of Information and Communication, should the State and the Ministry of Information and Communications pay attention to this timely guidance. Results will contribute to studies on communication in ethnic minority languages in Viet Nam or on communication in Tày Nùng in Southeast Asia.

Keywords: Broadcasting, Tay- Nung language, Viet Nam

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

The authenticity and promotion of cultural immersion developed in cultural places has been seen t... more The authenticity and promotion of cultural immersion developed in cultural places has been seen to provide meaningful experiences and, at the same time, present unique aspects of cultural identity to student visitors. Conducting research in the Cultural Museum of Cenderawasih University and Abar village in Papua, Indonesia, this paper highlights how native Papuan students make meaning within a cultural context and identify their own identities based on an educational school trip. Moreover, the paper underlines students’ responses on cultural issues and threats resulted from their reflective experience.

Keywords: School trips, Papuan, cultural identity, Indonesian

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Frescoes representing melodic percussion orchestras have recently appeared in the central sanctua... more Frescoes representing melodic percussion orchestras have recently appeared in the central sanctuary of the Angkor Wat temple. They prefigure two orchestras existing today in Cambodia: the pin peat and the kantoam ming. These two ensembles are respectively related to Theravada Buddhism ceremonies and funerary rituals in the Siem Reap area. They represent a revolution in the field of music because of their acoustic richness and their sound power, supplanting the old Angkorian string orchestras.

This project analyzes in detail the composition of the fresco sets and establishes a link with the structure of Khmer melodic percussion orchestras. The analysis of some graphic details, related to other frescoes and bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, also makes it possible to propose a dating.

The study embodies one of an anthropological ethnomusicology, while also incorporating a discourse analysis, so to frame the uncovering of new historiographers of music and instrumentation, so to re describe musical discourses, more so to shed new light on melodic percussion of Angkorian music.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

We are living in the age of adaptation. In contemporary art, the power of adaptation is evidenced... more We are living in the age of adaptation. In contemporary art, the power of adaptation is evidenced by the fact that a textual semiotic system is continuously passing through the different genres and means to establish new texts. Adaptation is also an intercultural translation as each work adapted experiences a cultural shift so as to adapt to the target culture. Although The Tale of Kieu (Nguyen Du) made use of the plot of Kim Van Kieu, written as the pseudonym Qingxin Cairen (青心才人, Pure Heart Talented Man), in the Vietnamese artistic context, the tale can be considered as the “original text” that provides superabundant materials for other adaptations. The Tale of Kieu is one of the Nom poetries that has been most adapted to other art forms, particularly “cải lương” (reformed theatre). In this study, we analyze the case of video-cải lương Kim Van Kieu (directed by Nguyen Bach Tuyet), to determine modes of semiotic transposition from the narrative (narrative poem) to the performance/showing (video cải lương). This intersemiotic translation process requires that the author adapts, selects, renounces, transforms as well as encodes/decodes, as semiotics, genre, and materials belonging to the verbal semiotic system to the nonverbal semiotic system, or vice versa. To concretize this, we analyze factors that were involved or omited during the adaptation of The Tale of Kieu to Kim Van Kieu.

Keywords: The Tale of Kieu, Kim Van Kieu, inter-semiotic, adaptation, Cải lương

The wide variety of the components of signs stems from verbal communication to visual gestures, c... more The wide variety of the components of signs stems from verbal communication to visual gestures, ciphers, images, music, and Morse code. Barthes’ Semiotic Theory restructured the theory of analyzing signs and allowed for a new understanding and interpretation of signs through seeing diverse cultures and societies. Saussure’s definition of the sign as a combination of signifier and signified led Barthes to further elucidate sign as connotative (cultural) and denotative (literal) processes. Semiotics can be applied to all aspects of life, as meaning is produced not in isolation but in totality, establishing multiple connotations and denotations.

In the article “The World of Wrestling” published in Mythologies (1957), Barthes focused on images portrayed by the wrestler resulting in understanding of the wrestler’s image and the image of spectator. In Morse code, gestures can make any sport a spectacle of suffering, defeat and justice, representation of morality, symbols, anger, smile, passion etc., from which derive denotative and connotative meanings. Similarly, Thomas Sebeok identifies sign as one of six factors in communication, and which makes up the rich domain of semiotic research. These are message, source, destination, channel, code, and context. The present paper will focus on a dialogic relation between semiotics and sports, thus making it a text that reproduces meaning and represents certain groups. It focuses on various aspects of semiotics and their relation to sports. The paper also contemplates the versions and meanings of signs in sports that establish sport as an act of representation.

Keywords: Signs, Semiotics, Meaning, Representation, Sports, Asia

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Language policy and planning in Indonesia have been geared toward strengthening the national lang... more Language policy and planning in Indonesia have been geared toward strengthening the national language Bahasa Indonesia and the preserving of hundreds of ethnic languages to strengthen its citizens’ linguistic identity in the mid of the pervasive English influences especially to the young generations. The study examines perceptions regarding the competitive nature of Bahasa Indonesia, ethnic languages, and English in contemporary multilingual Indonesia. Utilizing text analysis from two social media Facebook and Whatsapp users who were highly experienced and qualified language teachers and lecturers, the study revealed that the posts demonstrated discussions over language policy issues regarding Bahasa Indonesia and the preservation of ethnic language as well as the concerns over the need for greater access and exposure of English that had been limited due to recent government policies. The users seemed highly cognizant of the importance of strengthening and preserving the national and ethnic languages, but were disappointed by the lack of consistency in the implementation of these. The users were also captivated by the purchasing power English has to offer for their students. The users perceived that the government’s decision to reduce English instructional hours in the curriculum were highly politically charged and counterproductive to the nation’s advancement.

Keywords: Bahasa Indonesia, English, Ethnic languages, language ideology, language policy and planning

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Islamic diaspora throughout the world has its own characteristics depending on cultural context i... more Islamic diaspora throughout the world has its own characteristics depending on cultural context in each region. Observing the characteristics of the entry process and the rise of Islam in Java in the past, Indonesia can be viewed significantly through a linguistic perspective. By focusing on the narratives of how Islam was constructed in Java by kiai, we will be able to understand that the pattern of the entry process and the rise of Islam in Java emerged through“language diplomacy.” There are various symbols which later became the symbol system in Islamic languages that were contextualized to Javanese language and knowledge systems. In other words, I see that language in this context is a symbol system. These symbols are a strategy of how Islam was “planted” and developed in Java. I will compare the symbol system of the language in the Quran as the Great Tradition of Islam with a symbol system on the narratives that a kiai expressed in Javanese society as the Little Tradition. By taking some narratives that the kiai gave to the Javanese Moslems in East Java region, this paper argues that the linguistic aspect in some narratives and Quran recitation which has the symbolic system of the language have an important role in planting and developing Islam in Java. This paper is based on ethnographic research-participant observation among Nahdlatul Ulama Muslim society in East Java, Indonesia and reviews Islamic narratives in society as an important unit of analysis.

Keywords: context, Great Tradition and Little Tradition, Javanese Islam, language as symbol system, narratives

Geoffrey Benjamin - Part 3

Geoffrey Benjamin - Part 2

Geoffrey Benjamin - Part 1

Location:
Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus
97000 Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Finally some typical misunderstandings and mistakes, drawbacks and failures are discussed that might help future language planners and thus, foster better results.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Keywords: Broadcasting, Tay- Nung language, Viet Nam

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Keywords: School trips, Papuan, cultural identity, Indonesian

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Keywords: The Tale of Kieu, Kim Van Kieu, inter-semiotic, adaptation, Cải lương

Keywords: Signs, Semiotics, Meaning, Representation, Sports, Asia

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Keywords: Bahasa Indonesia, English, Ethnic languages, language ideology, language policy and planning

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Keywords: context, Great Tradition and Little Tradition, Javanese Islam, language as symbol system, narratives

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

This study aimed to reveal the linguistic variety incorporated into local commercial discourse in... more This study aimed to reveal the linguistic variety incorporated into local commercial discourse in Malaysia. The focus of this study is to determined how the linguistic variety is used in local fashion articles as a marketing strategy to attract the target consumers. This was a qualitative descriptive study. A total of 60 titles of the commercial articles published in 3 famous local fashion magazines namely Remaja (Youth), Keluarga (Family) and Nona (Woman) were gathered to examine the use of the linguistic variety. The findings show a high usage of English in Malay advertisements, the use of syllabic shortening or ‘clipping,’ and the existence of semantic innovation or new word influences from other languages.

Keywords: Advertisement, youth language, code mixing, linguistic strategies

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

The Japanese criminal justice system has gone through transformations in its modern history, adop... more The Japanese criminal justice system has gone through transformations in its modern history, adopting the models of European Continental Law systems in the 19th century as part of Japan’s modernisation process, and then the Anglo-American Common Law orientation after WWII. More recently, citizen judges have been introduced to the criminal justice process, a further move towards an adversarial orientation with increased focus on orality and courtroom discourse strategies. Yet, the actual legal process does not necessarily represent the adversarial orientation found in Common Law jurisdictions. While previous research from cultural and socio-historical perspectives has offered valuable insights into the Japanese criminal court procedures, there is hardly any research examining how adversarial (or non-adversarial) orientation is realised through language in Japanese trials.

Drawing on an ethnographic study of communication in Japanese trials, this paper discusses a ‘hybrid’ orientation to the legal process realised through courtroom discourse. Based on courtroom observation notes, interaction data, lawyer interviews and other relevant materials collected in Japan, trial participants’ discourse strategies contributing to both adversarial and inquisitorial orientations are identified. In particular, the paper highlights how accusation, defence and morality are performed and interwoven in the trial as a genre. The overall genre structure scaffolds competing narratives, with prosecution and defence counsel utilising a range of discourse strategies for highlighting culpability and mitigating factors. However, the communicative practice at the micro genre level shows an orientation to finding the ‘truth,’ rehabilitation of offenders and maintaining social order.

The analysis of courtroom communication, contextualised in the socio-historical development of the Japanese justice system and in the ideologies about courtroom communicative practice, suggests a gap between the practice and official/public discourses of the justice process in Japan. At the same time, the findings raise some questions regarding the powerful role that language plays in different ways in varying approaches to delivery of justice.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Cak (ISO 639-3 ckh) represents a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Ban... more Cak (ISO 639-3 ckh) represents a Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. The language is known as Sak in Rakhaing State, Burma. The total number of native speakers of the language is estimated at approximately 3,000 in Bangladesh and 1,000 in Burma (Simons and Fennig eds. 2017). Although Cak and Sak are mutually understandable where native words are concerned, comprehensibility becomes arduous with Bangla loan words in Cak, and with Arakanese/Burmese loan words in Sak.

Until recently, Cak/Sak did not have a script of its own. However, by the beginning of the 21st century, the Cak script was developed and finally published as Ong Khyaing Cak (2013), in which its fundamental system is described.

Although well designed overall, the current Cak writing system found in Ong Khyaing Cak (2013) has several shortcomings. Huziwara (2015) discusses the following five instances: (a) No independent letter for /v/, (b) unnecessary letters for the non-phonemic elements such as the voiced aspirated stops and the retroflexes, (c) the arbitrary use of short and long vowel signs, (d) a frequent omission of high tone marks in checked syllables, and (e) multiple ways to denote coda consonants.

In this paper, Huziwara (2015) will first be reviewed. Then, the basic phonetic correspondences between Cak in Bangladesh and Sak in Burma will be examined. Finally, based on these two discussions, an orthography to be employed in the forthcoming Cak-English-Bangla-Burmese dictionary, a revised version of Huziwara (2016), will be demonstrated.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Subtitling Malay movies into English in Malaysia presents particular constrictions and defies sub... more Subtitling Malay movies into English in Malaysia presents particular constrictions and defies subtitlers, as the two languages have little in common and have a number of untranslatability elements. Upin and Ipin is a Malaysian television series produced by Les’ Copaque Production, which features the life of the twin brothers in a fictional Malaysian village. The series was first introduced in 2007 and can be considered as one of the most successful animated television series in Malaysia. However, the series represents significantly unique language, leading to a significant concern in subtitling. Hence, this article aims to investigate the errors utilized in the movie Upin and Ipin Pengembaraan Bermula. The research used Koponen’s (2010) error categories to classify the translation errors, by comparing the subtitles in the source and target texts. The study supports the findings of Rull et al. (2016) on omission and mistranslation as the common errors. It is hoped that this study could serve as a reference for other translation research on subtitling to and from other languages in Malaysia.

Keywords: Translation, English subtitle, error analysis, translation strategies, Malay films

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

This article highlights language practices by Puor and Lamalera people, in South Lembata, East Nu... more This article highlights language practices by Puor and Lamalera people, in South Lembata, East Nusa Tenggara, in Indonesia, in a ‘barter market’ context. While interacting in the barter market, Puor and Lamalera people prefer to use their own local languages, rather than Bahasa Indonesia, the language regarded as the lingua franca in a linguistically diverse Indonesia. Unavoidably, the use of these local languages in Indonesia is invoked through specific cultural assessments. In this barter market, speakers combine verbal acts and pointing gestures to supplement their linguistic repertoires and to convey message amplifiers that embody cultural meanings in their respective frames of reference and communicative events. The use of pointing gestures and verbal acts that build the linguistic repertoires becomes the main rule of interacting in the barter market, the social phenomena of which renders this market different from other ‘money’ markets.

The paper employs an ethnography of communication approach, through which to elicit and frame significant patterns and functions in these language practices. This article attempts to offer a unique perspective in the use of local languages in Indonesia, by presenting language as practice rather than as a linguistic system of sounds. As such, the categorization of language becomes blurred in that Puor and Lamalera linguistic repertoires shift as they are predicated on practice.

Keywords: Diglossia, ethnography communication, language practices, linguistic anthropology, pointing gesture, verbal act

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

Today the Malay language is known to have communities of speakers outside the Malay archipelago, ... more Today the Malay language is known to have communities of speakers outside the Malay archipelago, such as in Australia inclusive of the Christmas Islands and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean (Asmah, 2008), the Holy Land of Mecca and Medina (Asmah et al. 2015), England, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. The Malay language is also known to have its presence on the Asian mainland, i.e. Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. As Malays in these three countries belong to a minority, in fact among the smallest of the minorities, questions that arise are those that pertain to: (i) their history of settlement in the localities where they are now; (ii) the position of Malay in the context of the language policy of their country; and (iii) maintenance and shift of the ancestral and adopted languages.

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

The Cham language has been written since at least the 4th Century. As such it is the oldest attes... more The Cham language has been written since at least the 4th Century. As such it is the oldest attested language of all of the Austronesian languages. This literary heritage was transmitted using locally modified forms of Indian scripts which were also used to write Sanskrit. With the loss of Cham territories to the Vietnamese, many Cham became displaced and the literary culture was disrupted. In addition, the adoption of Islam by the majority of Cham led many of those who continued to write to do so in variations of the Arabic script. However, the literary potential of the language in Cambodia has not been fully realized in either script – with village scholars using it almost exclusively for religious tracts and for very limited local audiences.

In 2011, the United States Embassy initiated a program to encourage the protection of Cham culture and heritage. This Cham Heritage Expansion Program ran from 2011 to 2017 and resulted in the operation of 13 schools in which over 2,500 students of different ages were taught the traditional Cham script. This effort was accompanied by the development of a now significant number of local Cham intellectuals throughout the country who are dedicating themselves to the expansion of the use of Cham as a written language in all aspects of daily life.

This presentation documents the way in which interest in this long-neglected writing system was rekindled, and the new avenues for personal and communitarian expression that are being opened by the propagation of Cham literacy. It also presents current developments in the formalization of Cham language education in the country, including the possibilities of bringing the language into the school system.

Keywords: Cham language, Vietnam, culture and heritage

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

The present paper is a salvage Linguistic Anthropology, in which attempt has been made to documen... more The present paper is a salvage Linguistic Anthropology, in which attempt has been made to document a nearly-extinct language known as māṅgtā bhāsā, and to suggest appropriate measures for saving it from complete extinction. The word māṅgtā is said to have been derived from māṅā, which means ‘to ask for’ or ‘to beg’. The language is spoken by a few groups of the Bedia, which is a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in India with a population of 88,772 as per Census of India, 2011(Risley [1891]1981; Bandyopadhyay 2012, 2016, 2017). Bedia is a generic name for a number of vagrant gypsy like groups which Risley has divided into seven types. They live by a number of professions such as snake-charming, selling of medicinal herbs, showing chameleon art or multi-forming. Almost all of them have become speakers of more than one language for interacting with speakers of different languages in the neighbourhood for the sake of their survival. Even the present generation has almost forgotten their native speech, and their unawareness of the language becoming extinct is of concern to us. Elders still remember it and use it sometimes in conversations with the fellow members of their community.

The ability to speak this language is construed with regard to the origin of this particular group of Bedia. In fact, the language had given them the identity of a separate tribal community while they demanded the status of ST in the recent past. Thus, socio-historically, the māṅgtā language has a special significance. In spite of being a distinct speech, there has been almost no study conducted on this language. This is one of the major motives for taking up the present endeavour. This project conducts morphological, phonological, syntactical and semantic studies on the māṅgtā language. Sociolinguistic aspects of this language have also been considered. The language has its roots in the Indo-European language family with affinity to the Austro- Asiatic family. The paper interrogates whether māṅgtā can be called language or speech. The study required ethnographic field work, audio-visual archiving, and revitalization, along with sustainable livelihood protection of speakers of the language.

Keywords: Bedia, chameleon art, māṅgtā language, extinction, revitalization

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

This presentation aims at describing and analyzing the main problems faced in the course of makin... more This presentation aims at describing and analyzing the main problems faced in the course of making a dictionary of Ket, a unique and highly endangered language spoken in Northern Asia. Among the primary issues discussed are the following:

1. Target audience. There are three variants: (1) language community; (2) academic community; (3) both communities. The survey of existing Ket dictionaries and the present sociolinguistic situation in the Ket community has shown that scholars are by and large the main TA for the dictionary. This was also the determinant factor in dealing with various practical dictionary-related questions.

2. Basic vocabulary. The initial wordlist can be based on: (1) translation of the list of the most frequent words from a European language; (2) extraction of the wordlist from a corpus of texts; (3) thematic elicitation from native speakers. The main peculiarity in compiling a wordlist for the Ket dictionary is connected with the fact that it was initially created on the basis of a handwritten card file dictionary (compiled from a collection of field notes).

3. Dictionary entry. It includes two important components – a lemma and a commentary.

3.1. Lemma. Since the dictionary is primarily targeted at scholars, it uses notation based on IPA. Due to diverse orthographic notations used in the field notes as well as in other sources, dictionary representations of the Ket data required unification. As a result, Ket lemmata are provided in strict phonological transcription, while illustrative contexts are represented in a unified phonetic transcription reflecting dialectal differences.

3.2 Commentary. An obligatory and very important component of the commentary is a certain hierarchic arrangement of word meanings reflected in the corresponding meta-language translations. Linguists compiling dictionaries usually rely on the totality of contexts in which the given word can be found, and, if they are native speakers, upon their own intuition. Those who compile dictionaries of unwritten languages are generally not native speakers, and therefore contexts are of an utmost importance. In this case, each single meaning should be confirmed by an appropriate context. The corpus of illustrative examples for the dictionary is based both on published and unpublished sources. In many cases, the commentaries include encyclopedic information, as it helps to understand certain ethnospecific concepts.

Keywords: Ket, documentation, endangered languages, Lexicography

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

The counting system(s) and the use of classifiers in the languages of Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Ba... more The counting system(s) and the use of classifiers in the languages of Pulau Simeulue and Pulau Banyak are complex. Indeed, there is more than one means of enumeration depending on the nature of the entity being counted in those languages. This study reveals strong similarities between the counting systems and classifiers used across this set of languages that differ markedly from Bahasa Indonesia and other languages of Indonesia more closely related to Malay. It provides additional evidence of the connection between the languages spoken in Simeulue and those spoken in Pulau Banyak and with Nias to the south.

Keywords: Austronesian languages, enumeration, classifiers, Simeulue, Pulau Banyak, Devayan, Sigulai, Leukon, Haloban, Nias

The CALA 2019 Proceedings, 2019

The Tay people represent an ethnic minority in the mountainous north of Vietnam. As do Shaman rit... more The Tay people represent an ethnic minority in the mountainous north of Vietnam. As do Shaman rituals in all regions, the Shaman of the Tay people in Vietnam exhibit uniqueness in their languages and accommodation of their society’s world view through their ‘Then’ rituals. The Then rituals require an integration of many artistically positioned and framed elements, including language (poetry, vows, chanting, the dialogue in the ritual), music (singing, accompaniment), and dance.

This paper investigates The Art of Speaking of the Tay Shaman, through their Then rituals, which include use of language to describe the imaginary journey of the Shaman into the threetiered world (Muong fa - Heaven region (Thien phu); Muong Din - Mountain region (Nhac phu); Muong Nam - Water region (combination of Thuy phu and Dia phu) to describe dealings with deities and demons, and to describe the phenomenon of possession.

The methodic framework of the paper thus includes discussions of in the comparison between the concept of the three-storey world in the Then ritual of the Tay people with the concept of Tam Tu phu in the Len dong ceremony of the Kinh in Vietnam. Thereby, it clearly shows the concept of Tay people of the universe, the world of gods, demons, the existence of the soul and the body, and the existence of human soul after death.

The study contributes to Linguistics and Anthropology in that it observes and describes the world views of a Northern Vietnamese ethnicity, and their negotiation with spirituality, through languages of both a spiritualistic medium and society.