DAJU DAR DAJU
WHY STUDY LANGUAGE?
Understanding the human brain
Language is an essential part of animal survival. In humans, it is specially developed in our brains to help us survive in the world. Linguistics is the scientific approach to studying the language that speakers or signers of a language produce (in this project, we will refer to speakers, as we are looking mostly at a spoken language). Linguists look for patterns in the language that speakers produce, and these patterns shed light on what is happening inside speakers brains. There are many theories on how linguistic blueprints are organized in human brains, but linguists agree that each language has a specific and nuanced way of producing sounds, words, and larger phrases that is not random, and becomes more developed as speakers move through stages of childhood. Importantly, language is not static, and can allow a glimpse into an aspect of human brain evolution in recent years, especially with the advent of video recording and the Internet.
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Read more about the study of linguistics in this book with library access, or here from the Linguistic Society of America.
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Psychological studies have shown the power of language on the human mind in linguistic framing studies. Becoming more conscious of the power of language can help us become better global citizens as we navigate daily linguistic interactions.
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Furthermore, a greater understanding of language has huge implications for technology and artificial intelligence, which could be a way to bridge communication gaps between speakers of different languages or those who may not otherwise have access to linguistic communication.
WHY STUDY DAJU DAR DAJU?
Towards a complete understanding of human language
As with any body of knowledge on a topic, there is no such thing as too much knowledge. If we learn as much as we can about human languages, both past and present, we can begin to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge of how human language works. The languages of the world have been described as pieces to a puzzle, or compared to chemicals that make up the periodic table of the elements before it was complete. Once we can see the full picture, we will achieve a greater understanding of what it means to be human.
RESEARCHING ORAL
LANGUAGES
“The languages most studied have been standard[ized] languages, and…when nonstandard varieties have been studied they too have often been studied as though they had invariant canonical forms.”
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“Much of nineteenth and twentieth-century linguistics has depended on the study of major languages that have been regarded as existing in standard, ‘classical’ or canonical forms. Languages such as Latin, Greek and Sanskrit, and subsequently English, Spanish, French and others, have been widely studied and often admired for their alleged elegance, expressiveness, richness or sophistication.”
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In the quote above, Milroy refers to an unfortunate truth that, in the European scholarly tradition, much value has been placed on writing and recording a language. An attitude of superiority of "that which is written" emerged, meaning that oral languages such as Daju and other, often indigenous, languages, were not the ones being studied or recorded because they had not already been studied or recorded (or at least, the records had not survived). Many of the first attempts to study indigenous languages were made by early missionaries, and that practice continues to this day, with religious or religious-affiliated organizations funding an enormous amount of fieldwork and analysis. But now, with Internet widely available in many parts of the world, and many languages being recorded because of the nature of typed language, this may be changing.
It is important to note that the idea of a language being "more sophisticated" or "less primitive" than another is antiquated. Through the study of linguistics, we now know this to be false. All languages are equally sophisticated in their sound, structure, and ability to be used as a means of communication. It is imperative that we recognize the validity of each language and language variety, so that everyone has a seat at the global table.
PROCESS OF INQUIRY
Navigating a complicated subject: A statement from the author. CONTENT WARNING discussion of colonization and mistreatment of African people
It is not a stretch to say that this project was deeply personal for me. Before going ahead, I'd like to explain my positionality on this subject.
In researching an African language, I try to constantly keep in mind the devaluation and exoticization of African culture by those of European descent, and the amazing resilience of indigenous people. To justify colonialism and slavery, Europeans decided that African people were less than human, and thus viewed their cultures as invalid or primitive, or went the opposite direction, creating overly exotic or fetishistic stereotypes of African people. This mindset formed the basis of many of our scientific studies, including anthropology, which gave rise to linguistics. Because this racist, colonialist mindset was and is so pervasive, claims became accepted as fact, and it is thoroughly embedded in many academic and non academic sources. It is my goal to try and recognize it and, whenever possible, seek truth from people of the culture and share how they have adapted and preserved their culture despite pressures to assimilate.
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My parents were linguists, but they also traveled to Chad as evangelists. They did lots of community work, and subjects were compensated for their time, and during their linguistic work they also discussed Biblical teachings.
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This is not my goal. In approaching this project, I am acutely aware of how this data was gathered. Not only was there ideology on the table during data gathering, but there is also the issue of how a researcher's identity can affect the interactions between a research subject and researcher.
As a White, English-speaking, cis-presenting American, I have privilege in this work. I do my best to empathize with how it would feel to have my language and culture devalued by society, but I do not have that lived experience. I do my best to communicate in other languages when I can. I want to center Daju people in this body of work, and follow their leadership in any language preservation efforts going forward.