Linguasphere Observatory
Encyclopedia
The Linguasphere Observatory (or "Observatoire", corresponding to its original French and legal title: Observatoire Linguistique) is a transnational linguistic research network. It was created in Quebec
in 1983 and was subsequently established and registered in Normandy
as a non-profit association, under the honorary presidency of the late Léopold Sédar Senghor
, French-language poet and first president of Senegal. Its founding director is David Dalby, former director of the International African Institute
and emeritus reader in the University of London, and its first research secretary was Philippe Blanchet, Provençal-language poet and presently Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Rennes. Since 2010, the deputy director and webmaster of the Observatoire is Pierrick le Feuvre, and the chairman of its research council is Roland Breton, emeritus professor at the University of Paris VIII. The Observatoire's research hub is currently based in the European Union, in Carmarthenshire
, Wales (UK) and in Paris
. Its title in Welsh
is Wylfa Ieithoedd, literally the "Observatory (of) languages", and its publishing associate (also in Wales) is the Gwasg y Byd Iaith, i.e. "Linguasphere Press" or literally "Press (of) the world (of) language".
The Observatoire has developed an innovative scheme of philological
classification, coding all living and recorded languages within a global referential framework or "linguascale". This Linguascale Framework uses a decimal structure (see below) to record both genetic and geographic categories of relationship (termed phylozones and geozones, respectively).
In 1999/2000, the Observatoire published David Dalby’s 2-volume Linguasphere Register of the World's Languages and Speech Communities. Reviews were published by Edward J.Vajda in Language and by Anthony P.Grant in Journal of the Royal Anthropological Society".
The Observatoire has now prepared a revised edition of the Linguasphere Register from 2010, the first of a projected series of regular updates at 10-year intervals. The current edition (LS-2010), comprising substantial materials from the foundation edition of 2000, is published online from 2011 as a freely available public resource and an online data-base, compiled and co-ordinated by David Dalby and Pierrick le Feuvre. Provision is made for the online gathering of additional and improved data, and for the open discussion of proposals and criticisms.
From 2001 until December 2005, the Linguasphere Observatory was actively involved in collaboration with the British Standards Institution BSI Group
and with ISO/TC 37
in the design and development of a four-letter (alpha-4) code covering - potentially - every recorded language variety in the world. The Observatoire was not, however, associated with or responsible for the final ISO 639-6
standard which was a partial result of this collaboration, and which was approved and published by ISO in 2009. It is the policy of the Observatoire that its on-going independent work on language coding should be complementary to and supportive of the ISO 639 international standards.
Note that this article is still in progress, and that the corresponding article :fr:Observatoire Linguistique is currently more advanced and more fully documented.
The first part of this linguascale is the decimal
classification referred to above, consisting of a linguasphere key of two numerals denoting the relevant phylozone or geozone: from 00. to 99. This provides a systematic numerical key for the initial classification of any of the world's languages, following the principles set out in the introduction to the Linguasphere Register. The first numeral of the key represents one of the ten referential sectors into which the world's languages are initially divided. The sector can either be a phylosector, in which the constituent languages are considered to be in a diachronic relationship one with another, or a geosector, in which languages are grouped geographically rather than historically.
The second numeral is used to represent the ten zones into which each geosector is divided for referential purposes. The component zones, like the sectors, are described as either phylozones or geozones, based on the nature of the relationship among their constituent languages: either historical or geographical.
The second part of the linguascale consists of three capital letters (majuscules): from -AAA- to -ZZZ-. Each zone is divided into one or more sets, with each set being represented by the first majuscule of this three-letter (alpha-3) component. Each set is divided into one or more chains (represented by the second majuscule) and each chain is into one or more nets (represented by the third majuscule). The division of the languages of a zone into sets, chains and nets is based on relative degrees of linguistic proximity, as measured in principle by approximate proportions of shared basic vocabulary. Geozones are on average divided into more sets than phylozones because relationships among languages within the latter are by definition more obvious and much closer.
The third and final part of the linguascale consists of up to three lowercase letters (minuscules), used to identify a language or dialect with precision: from aaa to zzz. The first letter of this sequence represents an outer unit (preferred from 2010 to the original term of "outer language", to avoid the shifting and often emotive applications of the terms "language" and "dialect"). The inner units and language varieties
that may comprise any outer language are coded using a second, and wherever necessary a third minuscule letter.
.
For example,
The exhibition was sponsored by the government of a bilingual nation, Canada, by the international francophone Agence (ACCT)
& by the region of Haute-Normandie. It was inaugurated in Paris at the Centre Georges Pompidou
on 6 June 1989, & presented there throughout the summer of 1989 as the official Canadian contribution to the bicentenary celebrations of the French Revolution.
At the subsequent presentation of this bilingual exhibition at the Hôtel de Région in Rouen (Haute-Normandie), from 23 September to 21 October 1989, the Observatoire linguistique organised the first public display of the only surviving contemporary copy of the vernacular (& arguably pre-Latin) text of England’s Magna Carta
, written in 13th century French.
Thanks to continued support from Canada, the exhibition was subsequently presented by the Observatoire in Belgium & England, at the Palais des Congrès in Liége
& at the Commonwealth Institute
in London in 1990, and finally in Australia, at Old Parliament House, Canberra
in May 1991.
In the context of the need to design a plurilingual framework of ethics for a future planetary society, the Observatoire has announced its intention to return to the transnational theme of the Magna Carta in 2015, on the occasion of the 8th centenary of the signing of its formal Latin version at Runnymede
in 1215.
These words were adopted as the Observatoire’s guiding philosophy on the occasion of the first series of debates organised by the Observatoire linguistique in 1990-1991, at Fleury-sur-Andelle
in Haute-Normandie, at Maillane
in Provence & at Huy
in Wallonie, sponsored by each of the relevant regions, on the subject of “Nos langues et l’unité de l’Europe” (en. “Our languages & the unity of Europe”). The guest of honour at the first of these debates was André Martinet
(1908-1999), doyen of trans-Atlantic linguistics.
The Observatoire’s motto was also adopted & adapted from the year 2000 by UNESCO
, in the form: “In the galaxy of languages, each word is a star”.
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
in 1983 and was subsequently established and registered in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
as a non-profit association, under the honorary presidency of the late Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor
Léopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal . Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese...
, French-language poet and first president of Senegal. Its founding director is David Dalby, former director of the International African Institute
International African Institute
The International African Institute was founded in 1926 in London for the study of African languages...
and emeritus reader in the University of London, and its first research secretary was Philippe Blanchet, Provençal-language poet and presently Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Rennes. Since 2010, the deputy director and webmaster of the Observatoire is Pierrick le Feuvre, and the chairman of its research council is Roland Breton, emeritus professor at the University of Paris VIII. The Observatoire's research hub is currently based in the European Union, in Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, Wales (UK) and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Its title in Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
is Wylfa Ieithoedd, literally the "Observatory (of) languages", and its publishing associate (also in Wales) is the Gwasg y Byd Iaith, i.e. "Linguasphere Press" or literally "Press (of) the world (of) language".
The Observatoire has developed an innovative scheme of philological
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
classification, coding all living and recorded languages within a global referential framework or "linguascale". This Linguascale Framework uses a decimal structure (see below) to record both genetic and geographic categories of relationship (termed phylozones and geozones, respectively).
In 1999/2000, the Observatoire published David Dalby’s 2-volume Linguasphere Register of the World's Languages and Speech Communities. Reviews were published by Edward J.Vajda in Language and by Anthony P.Grant in Journal of the Royal Anthropological Society".
The Observatoire has now prepared a revised edition of the Linguasphere Register from 2010, the first of a projected series of regular updates at 10-year intervals. The current edition (LS-2010), comprising substantial materials from the foundation edition of 2000, is published online from 2011 as a freely available public resource and an online data-base, compiled and co-ordinated by David Dalby and Pierrick le Feuvre. Provision is made for the online gathering of additional and improved data, and for the open discussion of proposals and criticisms.
From 2001 until December 2005, the Linguasphere Observatory was actively involved in collaboration with the British Standards Institution BSI Group
BSI Group
BSI Group, also known in its home market as the British Standards Institution , is a multinational business services provider whose principal activity is the production of standards and the supply of standards-related services.- History :...
and with ISO/TC 37
ISO/TC 37
ISO/TC 37 is a technical committee within the International Organization for Standardization that prepares standards and other documents concerning methodology and principles for terminology and language resources....
in the design and development of a four-letter (alpha-4) code covering - potentially - every recorded language variety in the world. The Observatoire was not, however, associated with or responsible for the final ISO 639-6
ISO 639-6
ISO 639-6, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 6: Alpha-4 code for comprehensive coverage of language variants, is an international standard in the ISO 639 series, developed by...
standard which was a partial result of this collaboration, and which was approved and published by ISO in 2009. It is the policy of the Observatoire that its on-going independent work on language coding should be complementary to and supportive of the ISO 639 international standards.
Note that this article is still in progress, and that the corresponding article :fr:Observatoire Linguistique is currently more advanced and more fully documented.
The Linguasphere Register and Linguascale referential framework
The Linguascale framework is a referential system covering all languages, as published in the Linguasphere Register in 2000 and subsequently refined in 2010. It comprises a flexible coding formula or which seeks to situate each language and dialect within the totality of the world's living and recorded languages, having regard to ongoing linguistic research.The first part of this linguascale is the decimal
Decimal
The decimal numeral system has ten as its base. It is the numerical base most widely used by modern civilizations....
classification referred to above, consisting of a linguasphere key of two numerals denoting the relevant phylozone or geozone: from 00. to 99. This provides a systematic numerical key for the initial classification of any of the world's languages, following the principles set out in the introduction to the Linguasphere Register. The first numeral of the key represents one of the ten referential sectors into which the world's languages are initially divided. The sector can either be a phylosector, in which the constituent languages are considered to be in a diachronic relationship one with another, or a geosector, in which languages are grouped geographically rather than historically.
The second numeral is used to represent the ten zones into which each geosector is divided for referential purposes. The component zones, like the sectors, are described as either phylozones or geozones, based on the nature of the relationship among their constituent languages: either historical or geographical.
The second part of the linguascale consists of three capital letters (majuscules): from -AAA- to -ZZZ-. Each zone is divided into one or more sets, with each set being represented by the first majuscule of this three-letter (alpha-3) component. Each set is divided into one or more chains (represented by the second majuscule) and each chain is into one or more nets (represented by the third majuscule). The division of the languages of a zone into sets, chains and nets is based on relative degrees of linguistic proximity, as measured in principle by approximate proportions of shared basic vocabulary. Geozones are on average divided into more sets than phylozones because relationships among languages within the latter are by definition more obvious and much closer.
The third and final part of the linguascale consists of up to three lowercase letters (minuscules), used to identify a language or dialect with precision: from aaa to zzz. The first letter of this sequence represents an outer unit (preferred from 2010 to the original term of "outer language", to avoid the shifting and often emotive applications of the terms "language" and "dialect"). The inner units and language varieties
Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
that may comprise any outer language are coded using a second, and wherever necessary a third minuscule letter.
Examples
The application of the linguascale may be illustrated with the concrete examples below, chosen from within the English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
For example,
- The code covering all forms of English is 52-ABA, where 5= represents the Indo-European phylosectorIndo-European languagesThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
, 52= represents the Germanic phylozoneGermanic languagesThe Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
, 52-A represents the Norsk+ Frysk set (a compound-name chosen to cover the contents of the Germanic phylozone), 52-AB represents the English+ Anglo-Creole chain, and 52-ABA is the English net. Within this net, the outer units are:- 52-ABA-a — ScotsScotsScots may refer to:*The Scottish people, the inhabitants of Scotland*Scots language *Scotch-Irish*Scottish English*Scots pine, a Scottish tree*Short for Pound Scots...
+ Northumbrian. - 52-ABA-b — "Anglo-English" (the traditional localised varieties of southern Great Britain & also Ireland).
- 52-ABA-c — Global English (varieties of modern English as spoken and written around the world).
- 52-ABA-a — Scots
- Some more specific examples of English varieties are:
- 52-ABA-abb is the GeordieGeordieGeordie is a regional nickname for a person from the Tyneside region of the north east of England, or the name of the English-language dialect spoken by its inhabitants...
traditional variety: belonging to 52-ABA-a Scots+ Northumbrian outer language, and 52-ABA-ab Northumbrian. - 52-ABA-bco is the NorfolkNorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
traditional variety: belonging to 52-ABA-b "Anglo-English" outer unit, and specifically to 52-ABA-bc Southern (British) traditional English. - 52-ABA-cof covers the range of (non-creolised) Nigerian English : belonging to 52-ABA-c Global English outer unit, and 52-ABA-co West-African English. Nigerian English is thus distinguished from the often overlapping 52-ABB-bf Enpi (or "NP", from the abbreviation of so-called "Nigerian Pijin") : belonging to 52-ABB Anglo-Creole net, and 52-ABB-b Wes-kos (West Coast Anglo-Creole).
- 52-ABA-abb is the Geordie
Languages of London
A practical application of the Linguasphere Register and its linguascale in the study of a complex urban linguistic environment has been as the referential framework for successive surveys of over 200 languages other than English spoken by plurilingual children at state schools in London (representing just under 40% of the total number of children attending), as edited in 2000 by Baker & Eversley & in 2010 by Eversley et al.See also
- Language codeLanguage codeA language code is a code that assigns letters and/or numbers as identifiers or classifiers for languages. These codes may be used to organize library collections or presentations of data, to choose the correct localizations and translations in computing, and as a shorthand designation for longer...
with tabulated example of coding systems (for English and Spanish), including ISO 639 and Linguasphere.
"Langues de la Liberté/Languages of Liberty"
In Paris, from 1987, the Observatoire linguistique created a bilingual exhibition Langues de la Liberté / Languages of Liberty, tracing the transnational development of certain basic concepts of personal freedom through the interaction of two widely used languages (French & English), rather than by the action of any one nation. At the outset of a series of 34 illustrated tryptychs, attention was drawn to the historical role of other transnational languages in the development of such concepts, including Greek and GermanThe exhibition was sponsored by the government of a bilingual nation, Canada, by the international francophone Agence (ACCT)
Agence de Coopération Culturelle et Technique
The Agence de coopération culturelle et technique was founded in 1970 and was the precursor to what is now the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie....
& by the region of Haute-Normandie. It was inaugurated in Paris at the Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou
Centre Georges Pompidou is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil and the Marais...
on 6 June 1989, & presented there throughout the summer of 1989 as the official Canadian contribution to the bicentenary celebrations of the French Revolution.
At the subsequent presentation of this bilingual exhibition at the Hôtel de Région in Rouen (Haute-Normandie), from 23 September to 21 October 1989, the Observatoire linguistique organised the first public display of the only surviving contemporary copy of the vernacular (& arguably pre-Latin) text of England’s Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
, written in 13th century French.
Thanks to continued support from Canada, the exhibition was subsequently presented by the Observatoire in Belgium & England, at the Palais des Congrès in Liége
Liege
Liège is a municipality and a city of Belgium. The term Liège or Liege may also refer to:* Liege, a party to the oath of allegiance in feudalism .* Liège Island, in the Antarctic...
& at the Commonwealth Institute
Commonwealth Institute
The Commonwealth Institute was an educational charity connected with the Commonwealth of Nations, and the name of a building in West London formerly owned by the Institute...
in London in 1990, and finally in Australia, at Old Parliament House, Canberra
Old Parliament House, Canberra
Old Parliament House, known formerly as the Provisional Parliament House, was the house of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 as a temporary base for the Commonwealth Parliament after its relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra,...
in May 1991.
In the context of the need to design a plurilingual framework of ethics for a future planetary society, the Observatoire has announced its intention to return to the transnational theme of the Magna Carta in 2015, on the occasion of the 8th centenary of the signing of its formal Latin version at Runnymede
Runnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials...
in 1215.
"In the galaxy of languages, each person’s voice is a star"
The motto of the Observatoire linguistique was created in 1990, in French : “Dans la galaxie des langues, la voix de chaque personne est une étoile” (translated into English as above).These words were adopted as the Observatoire’s guiding philosophy on the occasion of the first series of debates organised by the Observatoire linguistique in 1990-1991, at Fleury-sur-Andelle
Fleury-sur-Andelle
Fleury-sur-Andelle is a commune in the Eure department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
in Haute-Normandie, at Maillane
Maillane
Maillane is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France in the former province of Provence.-Geography:...
in Provence & at Huy
Huy
Huy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia, home to about two-thirds of the Walloon population...
in Wallonie, sponsored by each of the relevant regions, on the subject of “Nos langues et l’unité de l’Europe” (en. “Our languages & the unity of Europe”). The guest of honour at the first of these debates was André Martinet
André Martinet
André Martinet was a French linguist, influential by his work on structural linguistics....
(1908-1999), doyen of trans-Atlantic linguistics.
The Observatoire’s motto was also adopted & adapted from the year 2000 by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
, in the form: “In the galaxy of languages, each word is a star”.
External links
- From May 2011, http://www.linguasphere.info provides free online access to the current research & reference materials of the Observatoire linguistique /Linguasphere Observatory, including the complete Linguascale coding of the world’s languages (LS-2010, totalling over 32,800 coded entries & over 70,900 linguistic names) and the contents of the original Linguasphere Register of the World’s Languages & Speech Communities (LS-2000).