Cornell Conference on Language and Poverty

康奈尔语言与贫困会议

• 批准号: 0514174
• 负责人: Wayne Harbert
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-07-01 至 2007-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0514174&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Cornell; Conference; Language; Poverty

Access to economic resources affects the languages people speak and vice versa. When people abandon a minority language in favor of a dominant language, it is usually because they perceive economic advantages or because economic changes lead to destabilization of the communities in which the minority language is spoken. Language maintenance efforts, too, depend on financial resources for such things as teacher training and employment, materials development, and technological support. On the other hand, the languages and dialects people speak help determine their access to jobs and education, as well as their ability to participate fully in society. The Cornell Conference on Language and Poverty will bring together specialists representing a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and a diversity of language areas for two days exploring the complex interactions of languages, speakers and societies in their economic context, and the implications of these interactions for the individuals and societal institutions which must take them into account. Day one will highlight the complex interconnections of language and poverty for a general audience. Day two will promote theoretical and practical exchange among linguists and people active in community-based language programs. NSF support includes travel award stipends for 20 students and other people from communities facing language-endangerment issues. A better understanding of the interactions between language and poverty is important to the larger society as well as those directly connected to minority and endangered languages. Government and other funding agencies, even when favorably disposed toward endangered languages, often face difficult questions of priority. How are efforts to maintain indigenous languages to be valued relative to other societal needs? Is it feasible to promote minority languages by directing resources toward other economic needs? Where language survival seems unlikely, can resources be mobilized for documentation? What attention should be paid to the cultural impoverishment that results when a language dies? Governments, legal and educational systems must also contend with difficult questions having to do with accomodation of minority languages in education, public services (e.g.,licensing examinations), dissemination of information, official languages, and subsidizing efforts by minority language speakers to acquire the dominant language. Issues of language and poverty are not confined to the developing world but are encountered daily by US citizens and policy-makers.

获得经济资源的机会影响人们所讲的语言，反之亦然。当人们放弃一种少数民族语言而选择一种占主导地位的语言时，通常是因为他们看到了经济优势，或者是因为经济变化导致使用少数民族语言的社区不稳定。语言维护工作也依赖财政资源，如教师培训和就业、材料开发和技术支持。另一方面，人们说的语言和方言有助于决定他们获得工作和教育的机会，以及他们充分参与社会的能力。康奈尔大学语言与贫困会议将汇集代表广泛学科观点和语言领域多样性的专家，为期两天，探讨语言，说话者和社会在经济背景下的复杂互动，以及这些互动对个人和社会机构的影响，必须考虑到它们。第一天将向广大观众突出语言与贫困之间复杂的相互关系。第二天将促进语言学家和活跃在社区语言项目中的人之间的理论和实践交流。NSF的支持包括为20名学生和来自面临语言濒危问题的社区的其他人提供旅行津贴。更好地理解语言与贫困之间的相互作用，对于广大社会以及与少数民族语言和濒危语言直接相关的社会都很重要。政府和其他资助机构，即使对濒危语言有好感，也经常面临优先考虑的困难问题。相对于其他社会需求，如何评价维护土著语言的努力？通过将资源用于其他经济需求来促进少数民族语言是否可行？在语文似乎不可能继续存在的地方，能否为文件编制调动资源？对于一种语言消亡后所导致的文化贫困，应该给予怎样的关注？ 各国政府、法律的和教育制度还必须处理在教育、公共服务（例如，许可证考试）、信息传播、官方语言以及资助讲少数民族语言的人学习主要语言的努力。语言和贫困问题并不局限于发展中国家，美国公民和政策制定者每天都会遇到。