Indigenous Peoples, Ethics, and Linguistic Data

Abstract

ethics, and linguistic data. While the causes of language endangerment are many and complex, social and cultural dislocation due to unequal power relations between minority communities and majority populations have played major roles in facilitating language shift (Grenoble 2011). Traditional models of linguistic research often mirror these unequal power relationships (Leonard 2018), with the result that linguists researching Indigenous languages may be seen as agents of social and cultural dislocation as well. Moreover, Indigenous communities may view linguistic research as out of step with the impending threat of language loss. In particular, communities experiencing rapid language shift and consequent language endangerment may take a more holistic view of language research as being embedded within a process of language reclamation (cf. Leonard 2017) and psychological healing (cf. Meek 2010; Jacob 2013) against a backdrop of numerous ethical violations that underlie language shift. Hence, any discussion of ethics in linguistic data requires a discussion of Indigenous data and must adhere to protocols for working with Indigenous data, as well as to the broader sociopolitical contexts in which language work takes place. However, where formal, legal frameworks do exist governing Indigenous and minority language data, these frameworks tend to be modeled on those developed for large languages rather than the cultural values or political concerns of Indigenous populations. We thus focus in this chapter on ethical issues in relation to Indigenous languages and the communities they come from, for it is in this context that the intersection of people, ethics, and data has been least formalized, despite its significant implications.

Topics & Concepts