Between family visits, summer schools, work, conferences, courses and summer school again, via Sweden, Paris, Leiden, Paris, Leiden again and Rotterdam too, and London via Paris to Porquerolles I come home full of inspiration for language documentation and grammar writing. Sometimes you actually believe you can do it, writing a grammar. When you start working on a language you know so little about the task seems more than a mountain of impossible. But then you start collecting words, phrases, more words, longer phrases and maybe even a story or two. You go back to your first words, check them, realise you didn't hear that consonant the first time you listened, and you do it over and over and over again.
As much as it is challenging it is also very rewarding. Not only do you get the joy of learning a language that you and only a few thousands of speakers have in common. But you also get to write history when documenting a language that there is no written record of. Voices have died and stories are forgotten but some are actually still alive, in people's memory. They can still tell of times before things were like they are now, before the white man had been seen on their land. And would the memories of the people in the past be fading there are surely new stories to write.
As we advocate for equality and human rights the world remains very unequal and not every child get to learn to read and write in a language they speak with their parents. Imagine being rather discouraged to speak your mother tongue. In school they promote important languages. Maybe English and French, or maybe Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo. All very beautiful languages. In the best of worlds we would all get the chance to study and get our degree in whatever language we wished to. Still, maybe that's the problem some speakers may not even want to continue using their parents language. Why using a language without future?
Now the grammar description linguist freak gets involved. Promoting each language's unique part and role of the world's patchwork of diversity. Maybe we could do some real fun things with this language that is really unique among the worlds' languages. And whether unique or not it will be so awesome for your grandchildren to listen to that song your grandma sang for you as a child. You may not remember it but your mom does. Let's record it! Let's get our video camera out and see what other things you want us to document about your language.
Despite all the challenges, the tears and sweats of not hearing the sounds correctly (transcription I'm not giving up on you!) the joy of helping a group or a community to document their language in a way that future generations can listen to their history and their stories, I believe it is all going to be worth it. Today was such a hopeful grammar day.
