Introduction: The need for a Pacific languages archive
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Open Access
Type
Conference paperAuthor/s
Pawley, AndrewAbstract
Why do we need an archive of sound recordings of the languages (and music, oral literature, etc.) of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands? The short answer is simple: To preserve for posterity as rich as possible a record of the languages and cultures which existed in this ...
See moreWhy do we need an archive of sound recordings of the languages (and music, oral literature, etc.) of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands? The short answer is simple: To preserve for posterity as rich as possible a record of the languages and cultures which existed in this region at the times such recordings were first made, in the mid-20th century and which, to a large extent still exist. The Pacific Islands contain some 1300 languages, almost a quarter of the worlds total, and perhaps as many different societies with their own distinctive oral and musical traditions. The forces of modernisation are inexorably transforming traditional ways of life and many languages, oral literatures and other kinds of traditional knowledge are being lost or diminished. The paper will consider a number of more specific questions, such as: Who are the intended users of the archive? What sorts and quantities of materials already exist, needing to be archived? And how is the existence of such an archive likely to shape or influence the research agenda and methods of fieldworkers in the future?
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See moreWhy do we need an archive of sound recordings of the languages (and music, oral literature, etc.) of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands? The short answer is simple: To preserve for posterity as rich as possible a record of the languages and cultures which existed in this region at the times such recordings were first made, in the mid-20th century and which, to a large extent still exist. The Pacific Islands contain some 1300 languages, almost a quarter of the worlds total, and perhaps as many different societies with their own distinctive oral and musical traditions. The forces of modernisation are inexorably transforming traditional ways of life and many languages, oral literatures and other kinds of traditional knowledge are being lost or diminished. The paper will consider a number of more specific questions, such as: Who are the intended users of the archive? What sorts and quantities of materials already exist, needing to be archived? And how is the existence of such an archive likely to shape or influence the research agenda and methods of fieldworkers in the future?
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Date
2004-01-01Publisher
Open Conference Systems, University of Sydney, Faculty of ArtsLicence
This material is copyright. Other than for the purposes of and subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act, no part of it may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be altered, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior written permission from the University of Sydney Library and/or the appropriate author.Citation
Pawley, Andrew. “The need for a Pacific languages archive”. Researchers, Communities, Institutions, Sound Recordings, eds. Linda Barwick, Allan Marett, Jane Simpson and Amanda Harris. Sydney: University of Sydney, 2003.Share