SIL International Media Release
Austronesian linguistics papers at 11•ICAL
(June 2009) The Eleventh International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics (ICAL) is being held 22–26 June in Aussois, France. SIL personnel are presenting seven papers and chairing two sessions. One of the presenters, J. Stephen Quakenbush, SIL International Academic Services Director, also serves on the ICAL Steering Committee, which supervises ICAL conferences in general.
The Ethnologue catalogs nearly 1,250 Austronesian languages, belonging to the world's most widespread language family, ranging from Taiwan to New Zealand, and from Madagascar to Easter Island. SIL linguists have conducted field research in hundreds of Austronesian languages.
Sessions chaired by SIL personnel
- J. Stephen Quakenbush, Ph.D.: Philippine syntax
- René van den Berg, Ph.D.: Language documentation
Papers presented by SIL personnel
- Josephine Daguman, Ph.D.: "Serial verb constructions in Northern Subanen"
- Paul Kroeger, Ph.D.: "The forms and functions of instrumental voice in Northeast Borneo languages" (SIL and Graduate Institute of Linguistics, Dallas, Texas, USA)
- Mark Miller, Ph.D.: "West Coast Bajau as a symmetrical voice language"
- Hugh Paterson and Kenneth Olson, Ph.D.: "An unlikely retention (Philippines, Kagayanen language)"
- J. Stephen Quakenbush, Ph.D.: "Tracking Agutaynen language vitality (1984-2009)"
- René van den Berg, Ph.D.: "Dictionary making on the field: Experiences of SIL in Papua New Guinea"
- René van den Berg, Ph.D.: "Did Proto Oceanic have a passive? A look at Bola ni- and its implications for Proto Oceanic"
Papers for 11•ICAL were solicited on any topic related to Austronesian languages, including but not limited to:
- phonetics and phonology, including prosody
- morphosyntax
- pragmatics and discourse
- semantics and lexicography
- linguistic typology
- historical and comparative matters, including the interfaces between linguistics and archaeology, linguistics and genetics, etc.
- language preservation and language policies
- sociolinguistics and language endangerment
- language contact studies
- language documentation and archiving resources
- anthropological linguistics
- oral literature
SIL focuses on less-documented languages. People who speak these languages often live in challenging geographic, social and economic conditions. Researching these languages often leads to practical help for local people and contributes to the broader knowledge of linguistics, anthropology and ethnomusicology. SIL publishes its research and widely distributes it to libraries, universities, governments and international agencies.
As a leader in the research of the world's endangered languages through language survey, SIL facilitates language development to prevent the extinction of language and culture.
SIL's premier publication, the Ethnologue: Languages of the World, is a comprehensive catalog of the world’s more than 6,900 living languages.
Related links of interest
- Official conference Web site
- SIL authors presented 21 papers at 10-ICAL, which they co-hosted in 2006
- SIL presentations at SEALS conference (May 2009 media release)
- African linguistics conference with SIL participation (April 2009 media release)
- SIL at LSA conference (January 2009 media release)