Documenting Under-resourced Languages of Sarawak, Borneo
Norazuna Norahim and Hardyman Badawi
Abstract
Within the last five decades, documentary linguistics has progressed as a field in its own right, and less as ancillary to descriptive linguistics, or as exclusively in reference to endangered languages (Himmelmann 1998; Austin 2015). This paper discusses the documentation of under-resourced languages. Of approximately 51 indigenous languages of Sarawak, only several have been extensively described, although work on linguistic grouping in the territory has been attempted for much longer (e.g. Hudson1978; Kroeger 1998). To date, the collection of primary data is intended for analyses in descriptive linguistics. Oral literature, which is a source of cultural heritage, has yet to be systematically documented.
It is thus vital to embark on language resource development for Sarawak languages and to provide a platform for systematic documentation. The paper presents the groundwork for a situated model, with respect to languages and communities in Sarawak. To be at least relevant to a community, the model should ultimately strive for a multidimensional approach that aims to provide a comprehensive everlasting records of linguistics practices of communities. The documentation on Sarawak languages attempts to provide the groundwork to contribute to the geo- and historical linguistics of the region (c.f. Asmah and Norazuna 2020).
Keywords: Language resource, oral literature, cultural preservation, Borneo, linguistic practices