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Language descriptions forteachers ofminority languages

Maria PupyninaInstitute for linguistic studies, St. Petersburg

Descriptive grammars and typology,Helsinki,27th-29th March 2019

- Other linguists(aim: to facilitate the comparison between

the described language and other languagesusing the most widely-accepted terminology)

- Community members(aim: to describe the language in the most

easily-understandable and non-boring form)

Who do we writegrammars for?

Community members

Our best consultants(perfectly fluent speakerswith minimumeducation)

Nationalintelligentsia

— From the early times of the Soviet power,special efforts were made to form ‘nationalintelligentsia’ (educated strata in eachofficially recognized ethnic group). Themission of these strata was to transfercommunist and socialist values to theircommunity. These people were the first tolearn how to write and read in their language.

National intelligentsia

Tegrynkeu, Chukchi: director of Komitetfor the new alphabet

— People who were considered appropriate forthis mission were encouraged by the localauthorities to study in colleges (in the regionalcenters) and universities with specialdepartments for minority peoples where theycould develop skills in their minority languages(in Magadan, Khabarovsk, St. Petersburg andother cities).

National intelligentsia

Teki Odulok, Kolyma Yukaghirethnographer and writer

Anton Pyrerka, Tundra Nenetslinguist and writer

Antonina Kymytwal, Chukchi poet

Lubov Verigirgina, Chukchi teacherin the primary school

— National intelligentsia formed to some extent(there appeared writers, poets and teacherswho taught their languages in theircommunities)

— At present, it is still considered ‘prestigious’ togo to the high school

— However, a lot of departments, where minoritylanguage teachers were trained in the Soviettimes , were closed in the 1990s.

Present time

Students of Institute of the peoples ofthe North, St. Petersburg, 2017

A course book by P. Skorik— based on his grammar book, but

the majority of sententialexamples are excluded

— traditional old-fashionedterminology typical for Russian-dominant linguistic paradigm

— based mainly on elicitationmaterial

— too overcomplicated for futureteachers

Teaching materials for futureChukchi teachers

Doctoral dissertationof M. Dunn- In English

(impossible to readfor the majority ofstudents)

- Abounds in modernlinguistic jargon

What else is available

— Students’ zero competence in language— Variation aspect— Students’ unfamiliarness with linguistic jargon

What issues should be considered whendesigning Teacher’s grammar course inthe minority language?

— As students cannot speak the language,grammar must go hand in hand (or be just asupplement for) practical language teachingmaterials (conversational course books )

Students’ zero competence in language

— Variation must be discussed in the preface butexcluded from the main text

— Another option: to design a separate grammarfor each dialectal variant

Variation

— Basic concepts can be introduced through thecomparison with the dominant language(Russian)

Unfamiliarness withlinguistic jargon

Russian— (Я) хоч-у спать two words

Want-1sg.pres sleep

Chukchi— (Ɣəm) tə-n-jəɬqen-ŋə-rkən one word

1sg-desid-спать-desid-ipfv

‘I want to sleep’

Desiderative

Thank you!