Linguistic diversity, biodiversity and poverty: Global patterns and priorities

语言多样性、生物多样性和贫困：全球模式和优先事项

• 批准号: AH/I022074/1
• 负责人: Suzanne Romaine
• 金额: $ 7.02万
• 依托单位: University of Oxford
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FI022074%2F1
• 关键词: Linguistic; diversity; biodiversity; poverty; Global

Many of the world's poorest people live in areas of high linguistic/cultural diversity and high biodiversity. A parallel extinction crises in species and languages means that as the world is becoming less biologically diverse, it is simultaneously becoming culturally and linguistically less diverse as well. The speakers of most of the languages at greatest risk of disappearing over the next few decades are very often the poorest of the poor at the bottom of the economic ladder. Africa, for instance, is home to around 2,092 (30.3%) of the world's languages, about 1/3 of the world's poor, and high levels of biodiversity. The fate of most of the world's linguistic diversity, and by implication its cultural diversity, lies in the hands of a small number of people most vulnerable to pressures of globalization. Although such facts about the global distribution of linguistic diversity, biodiversity, and poverty are well known in the respective disciplines of linguistics, ecology and development economics, their interconnections have not been explored, much less understood. Understanding the complex linkages requires an interdisciplinary approach. Research addressing the interconnections between global biodiversity conservation and poverty has increasingly moved from treating poverty and conservation as separate policy domains to recognizing the need for integrating socioeconomic data into conservation priorities. Meanwhile, various studies have examined at various scales the geographic overlap between regions of high biological and linguistic/cultural diversity. To date, however, no research has examined the interface between datasets linking biological and cultural/linguistic diversity and poverty indicators. This research will fill that gap by using GIS (global information system) mapping to bring together datasets concerning the geographic distribution of languages, species and poverty indicators into a new interdisciplinary framework to identify global 'hotspots', where threatened languages and species overlap to the greatest extent with high levels of poverty. Because much typically needs to be done quickly with too few resources, setting realistic priorities is urgent. Documenting and analyzing these hotspots where endangered languages and species overlap to the greatest extent with high levels of poverty will identify the most critical areas for concerted action by linguists, environmentalists and development agencies. The analysis will focus in particular on Conservation International's 34 hotspots and 5 high biodiversity wilderness areas as strategic sites of high concern to linguists, as well as to the development community and conservation experts. Hotspot identification relies on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. These regions display exceptionally high occurrences of endemic species (i.e. those found nowhere else) and loss of at least 70% of natural habitat. They are also home to about 1/3 of the world's total population, and 70% of the world's languages, with up to 72% of them endemic. As many as 60% of all languages in the hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas are at risk of extinction due to small numbers of speakers. A total of 2769 languages are spoken by fewer than 10,000 speakers;740 are spoken by fewer than 1,000. Small languages can disappear much faster than larger ones as the resources on which their speakers depend for their livelihoods and transmission of their cultures and languages are damaged by forces such as resource extraction, the spread of mechanized agriculture and unsustainable development projects. The importance of the relationship between such groups and the natural environments they inhabit cannot be overstated for preservation of linguistic and biological diversity. Ultimately the success of conservation initiatives will depend on the engagement of these local communities.

世界上许多最贫穷的人生活在语言/文化多样性和生物多样性丰富的地区。物种和语言的并行灭绝危机意味着，随着世界的生物多样性日益减少，文化和语言的多样性也同时减少。大多数语言的使用者在未来几十年内消失的风险最大，往往是处于经济阶梯最底层的穷人中的最穷者。例如，非洲拥有世界上约 2,092 种语言（30.3%）、世界上约 1/3 的贫困人口以及高度的生物多样性。世界上大部分语言多样性以及文化多样性的命运掌握在最容易受到全球化压力影响的少数人手中。尽管语言多样性、生物多样性和贫困的全球分布等事实在语言学、生态学和发展经济学的各个学科中众所周知，但它们之间的相互关系尚未被探索，更不用说被理解了。理解复杂的联系需要跨学科的方法。针对全球生物多样性保护与贫困之间相互联系的研究已逐渐从将贫困和保护视为单独的政策领域转向认识到将社会经济数据纳入保护优先事项的必要性。与此同时，各种研究在不同尺度上考察了生物和语言/文化高度多样性地区之间的地理重叠。然而，迄今为止，还没有研究探讨将生物和文化/语言多样性与贫困指标联系起来的数据集之间的接口。这项研究将通过使用GIS（全球信息系统）制图将有关语言、物种和贫困指标地理分布的数据集整合到一个新的跨学科框架中来填补这一空白，以确定全球“热点”，即受威胁的语言和物种与高贫困程度最大程度重叠的地区。由于通常需要用很少的资源快速完成许多工作，因此迫切需要设定切合实际的优先事项。记录和分析这些濒危语言和物种在最大程度上与贫困程度重叠的热点地区，将确定语言学家、环保主义者和发展机构采取协调行动的最关键领域。该分析将特别关注保护国际组织的 34 个热点地区和 5 个生物多样性丰富的荒野地区，这些地区是语言学家、发展界和保护专家高度关注的战略地点。热点识别依赖于 IUCN（国际自然保护联盟）受威胁物种红色名录。这些地区特有物种（即在其他地方找不到的物种）的出现率异常高，并且至少 70% 的自然栖息地丧失。它们还拥有世界上约 1/3 的人口和世界上 70% 的语言，其中高达 72% 是当地语言。由于使用人数较少，热点地区和生物多样性丰富的荒野地区多达 60% 的语言面临灭绝的风险。共有 2769 种语言的使用者人数不足 10,000 人；其中 740 种语言的使用者人数不足 1,000 人。小语种消失的速度比大语种快得多，因为这些语言的使用者赖以生存的资源以及其文化和语言的传播都受到资源开采、机械化农业的推广和不可持续发展项目等力量的破坏。这些群体与其所居住的自然环境之间的关系对于保护语言和生物多样性的重要性怎么强调也不为过。最终，保护举措的成功将取决于这些当地社区的参与。

项目成果

Language ethics as a field of inquiry

语言伦理作为一个探究领域

• 作者: Romaine, S

Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation and the European Union

俄罗斯联邦和欧盟的文化和语言少数民族

• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-10455-3_2
• 发表时间: 2015
• 作者: Romaine S

Keeping the promise of the Millennium Development Goals: Why language matters

信守千年发展目标的承诺：为什么语言很重要

• DOI: 10.1515/applirev-2013-5001
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: Applied Linguistics Review
• 影响因子: 2.6
• 作者: Romaine S

The Language Phenomenon - Human Communication from Milliseconds to Millennia

语言现象——从毫秒到千年的人类交流

• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-36086-2_6
• 发表时间: 2013
• 作者: Kirby S

Language, Education and the Millennium Development Goals

语言、教育和千年发展目标

• 作者: Romaine, S