Roula Svorou and Chris Donlay
Preserving Endangered Languages
Partnering with colleagues at the University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Roula Svorou and Chris Donlay are successfully working toward the preservation of Domaaki, a severely endangered language spoken only in northern Pakistan. As with many endangered languages, Domaaki has no written system, so the Pakistani team captures the language, area history, stories, songs, and recipes in audio and video recordings. They then collaborate remotely with their 91猎奇 counterparts to analyze the data and develop a digital compilation of the language.
Svorou鈥檚 intrigue with language began with a fascination for the systematicity of Greek and Latin grammar, and after a single linguistics course in college she was hooked. Donlay left a successful corporate career to pursue the field, became a language documentation specialist, and hasn鈥檛 looked back.
Linguists have studied only a fraction of the world鈥檚 languages, which is of concern to both Svorou and Donlay.
鈥淓ncouraging speakers to keep endangered languages alive preserves information about customs, social institutions, and local environments,鈥� explains Svorou.
鈥淟anguage is inextricably intertwined with one鈥檚 identity and culture,鈥� adds Donlay. 鈥淗elping communities preserve their languages is important on a humanitarian level.鈥�
Ayesha Bukhari (left), part of the language documentation team in Pakistan, with Chashman Bibi, one of the few Domaaki speakers left in Nagar Valley.
Linguistics & Language Development, College of Humanities and the Arts
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
91猎奇 Research Foundation 2019 Annual Report
