Papers by Kristine Hildebrandt
Collaborative Anthropologies, 2018
This essay describes Narrating Disaster, a collaborative research project that the authors design... more This essay describes Narrating Disaster, a collaborative research project that the authors designed in response to Nepal's 2015 earthquakes in order to document survivors' nuanced and diverse experiences of living through a natural disaster. The time-sensitive research conducted in four highland valleys of Nepal (Mustang, Manang, Nubri, and Tsum) in a chaotic, post-catastrophe environment required the development of multi-layered participatory elements: community researchers influenced the project design, had flexibility with regard to sampling procedures, determined how to present the research in the beleaguered communities, and made final decisions on interviewing styles and the most appropriate questions to ask. The authors reflect on the epistemological nature of a rapid academic response to human tragedy that could not have been accomplished without deep and meaningful research collaborations with people from the affected areas.
Language Documentation & Conservation, 2019
We describe two institutionally related archives and an online exhibit representing a set of Tibe... more We describe two institutionally related archives and an online exhibit representing a set of Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal. These archives and exhibit were built to house materials resulting from documentation of twelve Tibeto-Burman languages in the aftermath of the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. This account includes a detailed discussion of the different materials recorded, and how they were prepared for the collections. This account also provides a comparison of the two different types of archives, the different but complementary functions they serve, and a discussion of the role that online exhibits can play in the context of language documentation archives.
Studies in Language, 2020
This paper is an analysis of the use of reported speech in six Tibeto-Burman languages from two c... more This paper is an analysis of the use of reported speech in six Tibeto-Burman languages from two closely-related sub-branches (Tamangic and Tibetic). The data come from a set of interview narratives about people's experiences of the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal. The analysis begins with an examination of the relationship between reported speech, overt subjects and ergativity. We also look at reported speech and evidentiality, including grammatical reported speech evidentials. Structural features discussed also include hybrid reported speech and multiple clause relationality. Interactional features discussed include the use of deictic shift, prominent subordination, and the multiple functions of reported speech forms, as well as zero-marked reported speech events. This analysis highlights the benefits of studying linguistic features such as reported speech in narrative context. We conclude with the implications of this usage-based analysis in the coverage of reported speech in descriptive grammars.
This paper, a case study in one group of communities of Nepal, considers the topic of minority la... more This paper, a case study in one group of communities of Nepal, considers the topic of minority language education in the face of increasing encroachment of the dominant and national language Nepali. Our over-arching research question asks, in the context of local education, what we can observe about the perceived value, use of, and competition between two local languages (Gurung, Gyalsumdo) and also between these languages and Nepali (the national language of Nepal) in the Manang District. We find persistent divisions amongst residents and educators the role of local languages currently, as well as what they should be.
This paper has two aims. One aim is to consider non-structural (language attitude and use) variab... more This paper has two aims. One aim is to consider non-structural (language attitude and use) variables as valid in the field of dialect and linguistic geography in an inner Himalayan valley of Nepal, where four languages have traditionally co-existed asymmetrically and which demonstrate different degrees of vitality vs. endangerment. The other aim is an application of modified spatiality as it aligns with speaker attitudes and practices amidst recent and ongoing socio-economic and population changes. We demonstrate that variation in self-reported attitudes and practices across languages in this region can be explained as much with adjusted spatial factors (labeled ‘social space’) as with traditional social factors (e.g. gender, age, formal education, occupation, etc.). As such, our study contributes to a discourse on the role and potential of spatiality in sociolinguistic analyses of smaller language communities.
This is a pre-publication (proofs) version
Academia would not let me add the name of a deceased co-author, so I'm adding it here: Michael No... more Academia would not let me add the name of a deceased co-author, so I'm adding it here: Michael Noonan
This was a paper presented at the first University of Oregon Linguistics Workshop on Innovation i... more This was a paper presented at the first University of Oregon Linguistics Workshop on Innovation in Linguistic Fieldwork, June 12-13, 2015.
Despite long-standing connections between humanities and geography, until more recently, these linkages were fleeing or casual in collaborations and methods, reflecting more the tendency of geographers to be the discipline boundary crossers, and with goals of application and tool development rather than long-term engagement in more substantive theoretical discourses. Things are changing now, and some examples of recent initiatives aiming for interactive spatial representation of current documentation themes include the Nepal Languages Interactive Atlas (http://www.siue.edu/~shu/nepal9.html), the Romani Project at the University of Manchester (http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/), and mapping of travel narratives in Ahtna (Na-Dené, Alaska;) using Google Maps (Berez 2011).
This talk briefly surveys the history of “geo-humanities,” with a focus on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as it has been applied to investigations both outside of linguistics (e.g. geo-histories, literary landscapes) and within (e.g. typology, sociolinguistics, and language documentation). The potential for mutual benefit in the GIS-language documentation context in particular is huge. More obviously, GIS visualization of documentation benefits grammatical description in itself as an output, as grammars vary widely in their lexico-grammatical coding and conceptualization strategies (Slobin 1996, Bickel 1997, Harrison 2007). Beyond this, language documentation (particularly of threatened languages) also benefits on an awareness and understanding of the spatial-temporal interplay of language practices, variation, and contact dynamics (particularly in multilingual and shifting areas). This all helps to form a more comprehensive profile of variables that contribute to survival/threat scenarios and the ways in which languages may change in slow death scenarios.
This report contains preliminary descriptive and comparative information on Gyalsumdo, a variety ... more This report contains preliminary descriptive and comparative information on Gyalsumdo, a variety of Tibetan that is spoken in the lower Manang District of Nepal. Based on select lexico-phonetic data recorded from one speaker in 2009 and 2010, and on data available from other languages of Manang and nearby Gorkhā District, we hypothesize its location within Tibetic (Central Tibetan). Gyalsumdo shares more features with Nubri, but we also note additional similarities to Kyirong Tibetan, and to Tamangic languages with which Gyalsumdo has had regular contact over several generations. k e y wor d s
With over one hundred languages from four major families (and at least one isolate), and a simila... more With over one hundred languages from four major families (and at least one isolate), and a similarly high number of caste-clan and ethnic groupings, Nepal is a country of undisputed ethno-linguistic diversity. It is also a country of increasingly rapid social, cultural, political and economic change with ensuing geographic movement and language displacement (Angdembe 2013; Rai 2013; Tumbahang 2012). The purpose of this study is to examine the intersection of traditional language practices and cultural diversity with these modern changes as they are relevant for a group of four languages spoken inside of the political boundaries of Manang, Nepal.
4th Workshop on Language Documentation & Linguistic Theory, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Nov 8, 2013
46th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages & Linguistics, Aug 2013
45th International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages & Linguistics, Oct 2012
Polymath 3.3, Aug 2013
This paper explores the ways in which two distinct areas of inquiry-multimedia mapping, a subdisc... more This paper explores the ways in which two distinct areas of inquiry-multimedia mapping, a subdiscipline of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) geography, and linguistics-can mutually inform and benefit from each other. This mutual enhancement is located within the context of opportunities and challenges encountered in a smaller, Master's Intensive university context, where interdisciplinary collaboration is particularly important for discipline survival and innovation, but where resources and appropriate training, education and skills-application environments may be difficult to come by. We illustrate the potentials (and challenges) of this cross-disciplinarity through a case study of ongoing documentation and geo-visualization of endangered indigenous languages in lower Manang, Nepal.
Responses to Language Endangerment: In Honor of Mickey Noonan, Nov 1, 2013
Page 1. The Role of Sub-phonemic Detail in Explaining Phonological Change Kristine A. Hildebrandt... more Page 1. The Role of Sub-phonemic Detail in Explaining Phonological Change Kristine A. Hildebrandt The University of Manchester 1 I.
The Tamangic languages, of which Manange is a member, are most closely related to the Tibetan lan... more The Tamangic languages, of which Manange is a member, are most closely related to the Tibetan languages/dialects. Manange is spoken by members of a single ethnic group of between 3,000 and 5,000 people, located in the Manang district of northern Nepal. Geographically, Manang is known as the Inner Himalayan Valley, as it is surrounded to the south, east and west by the Annapurna mountain range. Map 1 illustrates the main villages where Manange is spoken.
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Papers by Kristine Hildebrandt
Despite long-standing connections between humanities and geography, until more recently, these linkages were fleeing or casual in collaborations and methods, reflecting more the tendency of geographers to be the discipline boundary crossers, and with goals of application and tool development rather than long-term engagement in more substantive theoretical discourses. Things are changing now, and some examples of recent initiatives aiming for interactive spatial representation of current documentation themes include the Nepal Languages Interactive Atlas (http://www.siue.edu/~shu/nepal9.html), the Romani Project at the University of Manchester (http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/), and mapping of travel narratives in Ahtna (Na-Dené, Alaska;) using Google Maps (Berez 2011).
This talk briefly surveys the history of “geo-humanities,” with a focus on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as it has been applied to investigations both outside of linguistics (e.g. geo-histories, literary landscapes) and within (e.g. typology, sociolinguistics, and language documentation). The potential for mutual benefit in the GIS-language documentation context in particular is huge. More obviously, GIS visualization of documentation benefits grammatical description in itself as an output, as grammars vary widely in their lexico-grammatical coding and conceptualization strategies (Slobin 1996, Bickel 1997, Harrison 2007). Beyond this, language documentation (particularly of threatened languages) also benefits on an awareness and understanding of the spatial-temporal interplay of language practices, variation, and contact dynamics (particularly in multilingual and shifting areas). This all helps to form a more comprehensive profile of variables that contribute to survival/threat scenarios and the ways in which languages may change in slow death scenarios.
Despite long-standing connections between humanities and geography, until more recently, these linkages were fleeing or casual in collaborations and methods, reflecting more the tendency of geographers to be the discipline boundary crossers, and with goals of application and tool development rather than long-term engagement in more substantive theoretical discourses. Things are changing now, and some examples of recent initiatives aiming for interactive spatial representation of current documentation themes include the Nepal Languages Interactive Atlas (http://www.siue.edu/~shu/nepal9.html), the Romani Project at the University of Manchester (http://romani.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/), and mapping of travel narratives in Ahtna (Na-Dené, Alaska;) using Google Maps (Berez 2011).
This talk briefly surveys the history of “geo-humanities,” with a focus on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as it has been applied to investigations both outside of linguistics (e.g. geo-histories, literary landscapes) and within (e.g. typology, sociolinguistics, and language documentation). The potential for mutual benefit in the GIS-language documentation context in particular is huge. More obviously, GIS visualization of documentation benefits grammatical description in itself as an output, as grammars vary widely in their lexico-grammatical coding and conceptualization strategies (Slobin 1996, Bickel 1997, Harrison 2007). Beyond this, language documentation (particularly of threatened languages) also benefits on an awareness and understanding of the spatial-temporal interplay of language practices, variation, and contact dynamics (particularly in multilingual and shifting areas). This all helps to form a more comprehensive profile of variables that contribute to survival/threat scenarios and the ways in which languages may change in slow death scenarios.
It is also a community-based dictionary in the sense that we hope it is a tool that can play a role in the maintenance and survival of the Gyalsumdo language. Many of the descriptions and analyses of languages are made for the benefit of scholars, and therefore are of little use or value to the speech communities themselves. A community dictionary, on the other hand, is constructed to be useful to semi- or passive users of a language such that they may increase their knowledge of the vocabulary.