Collaborative Issues in Language Variation Documentaries

Abstract

Documentaries about language variation create a unique opportunity for linguists to collaborate with communities and producers in the representation of community language. At the same time, they present a series of challenges that extend from the selection of speakers who represent the community to the final editing decisions that ultimately reflect the producer’s interpretation of the subject matter. Productive collaboration involves input from the community in the conceptualization, the collection of footage, and the editing process. At the same time, producers, linguists, and community members may bring to the project different perspectives on language, different goals for the documentary, and different areas of knowledge and expertise that need to be accommodated. Linguists, producers, and the community can enable the collaborative base through adopting a set of strategies that include the selection of different community voices, restricted narration, limited use of outside experts, transparency in representing the recording process, and positive cultural framing of the community.

Using Media to Teach About Language

“…When a community is allowed to tell its story independent of narrative commentary, it can be difficult – though not impossible – to construct a film with a coherent storyline. A final challenge relates to the fact that community lore is not always linguistically or historically accurate (see, Montgomery 2005 and Wolfram 2010 for additional perspectives). However, the benefits to this approach typically outweigh the negatives.…”

Using Archives to Conduct Collaborative Research on Language and Region

“…Not only does this enrich the museums' displays and enhance the visitor experience, it also puts these resources back into the communities whence they came, upholding Wolfram's (1993) principle of linguistic gratuity. (See also Wolfram et al 2008;Wolfram 2010;Wolfram 2012). To date, use of the LAVC has been largely restricted to the academic community.…”