Page 31 - ELG2210 Oct Issue 482

REVIEWS

LINGUIST ON THE LOOSE:
ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES IN
FIELDWORK
Lyle Campbell
Edinburgh University Press, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4744-9415-1 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-4744-9416-8 (webready PDF)

n his foreword to this thought-provoking
title, anthropologist Wade Davis, a close
friend of the author’s, lists a few facts.
IOver 3,500 of the world’s approximately
7,000 languages currently spoken are kept
alive by just a fifth of 1% of the global
population, while 50% of the languages
are not being taught to children. As these
languages disappear on a regular basis,
so too, of course, do instalments of what
Davis terms, “the totality of humankind’s
collective experience”. “To lose a language,”
he continues, “is like dropping a bomb on
the Louvre.” I shall leave you to sit back and
reflect on that comment for a moment.
And if, dear reader, you feel climate change,
for example, is something to get out on the
street to shout about, then bear in mind that
it is increasingly likely that in some parts of
the world there may one day be no one with
the words to do this. Yet, as Davis points out,
more money is spent on searching for the PHOTO SHUTTERSTOCK
endangered spotted white owl than keeping
endangered languages alive. Thank goodness,
then, for heroes such as Lyle Campbell and
his work in the past 50 years on documenting
this dismal global linguistic plight.

Of the 400 On losing languages

independent language
families known in the The world’s diversity of languages is rapidly shrinking
world, 23% are gone but, as Wayne Trotman reports, one writer has done
forever
his best to catalogue those that remain

Throughout this title, Campbell comes
across as an extremely humble and almost
reluctant writer, one who perhaps finally landing on runways that barely exist. His language spoken by those addressed, and the
realised he had an interesting tale to tell. experiences with being accused of being other participants in the conversation each
And what a tale it is. His work is based on a shamanic witch and likely people-eater speak their own particular language in return.
the simple (if we can use such a word to led him rapidly to believe it was helpful to People communicate regularly with speakers
describe his ordeals) tracking down and remain in good favour with those helping of different languages, but commonly not
interviewing of a single native speaker, him generate data. in the same language as the one addressed
preferably in their native context and Although personally I had no such extreme to them. This is known as dual-lingualism
definitely not an air-conditioned hotel suite. encounters with my own research groups, and imagine the chaos arising in the ELT
As if Campbell had not bothered to read his my supervisor said more or less the same classroom should it ever arrive.
friend’s foreword, he further shocks us early thing: like Campbell, a chocolate bar often Linguist on the Loose is one of the
on by pointing out perhaps an even more seemed to do the trick. It’s of interest to most fascinating titles I’ve ever had the
alarming fact that, of the 400 independent note, however, that just like the mendacious pleasure to review.
language families known in the world, 23% research interviewee one tends to come
are gone forever; and more rapidly so in just across from time to time, Campbell was
the last 60 years. But this book is not all almost hoodwinked by some who – in it for
doom and gloom. the money – claimed they spoke a previously Wayne Trotman is
As most of his research has been carried unknown dialect, but in fact did not. a teacher educator
out in South America, Campbell proves One actual discovery made by Campbell at Izmir Katip
most entertaining in his first few chapters I found remarkable. In Misión La Paz, Peru, Çelebi University,
when he outlines his early forays into the most conversations are multilingual. Each Izmir, Turkey.
Amazon jungle on bush planes that sound participant in a conversation typically speaks
like they might fall apart at any moment, his or her own language, regardless of the
editorial@elgazette.com 31