Presented at the workshop on
Web-Based Language Documentation
and Description
12-15 December 2000, Philadelphia, USA.
Abstract: This session will briefly present a series of issues (topics 15) that should inform the elaboration of ethical guidelines for institutions involved in the el ectronic archiving and publication of linguistic data. The purpose of this panel and workshop, however, is not simply to debate these issues. Rather, it will lay the groundwork f or establishing more formal mechanisms within the institutional infrastructure of the electronic database, be they uniform formal licensing agreements or a set of guidelines for an ethics board that will play a role in policy decisions involving the sharing and publishing of archival material.
Topic 1. Discourse genres and intellectual property rights: the relationship of the texts of a native language speaker to the community
One of the key issues in determining the ethics of dissemination of linguistic material is the relationship of the language consultant who worked with the linguist or anth ropologist to a wider community, which might feel its moral (and, increasingly, legal) rights were affected by the relationship between the native language consultant and the fie ldworker. In these cases, even a meticulous and formally documented agreement between native speaker and academic for the publication and dissemination of the linguistic material might cause immense tension and conflict between the publisher (text or electronic) and the ethnic group, community, or subgroup within the community. Thus it is important that all parties on the receiving end of cultural and linguistic data be aware of the ways in which different discourse genres (from elicitation of words and sentences, through life h istories and testimonials, to songs and chants, to sacred knowledge) reflect the tension between individual speech acts and the cultural and linguistic patrimony of a community. Given the complexity and variability of indigenous property rights to cultural knowledge, it is extremely difficult for an archive/publisher to develop ethical and legal guidelin es that take into account local variation in such cultural systems. This present section will discuss the way in which varying types of texts fit into the complex relationship be tween community, native language consultant, and fieldworker, and how an archiving and publishing institution should deal with these issues.
Topic 2. Prior informed consent, breach of confidence, invasion of privacy, and copyright
An issue that is related to the previous topic concerns the nature of various legal and ethical arrangements that govern the collection and dissemination of linguistic mat erial: prior informed consent; the expectations of confidence that exist among the parties involved (community, language consultant, linguist/anthropologist, and text/electronic publisher); the legal issues of invasion of privacy that might ensue from dissemination of linguistic texts; and the question of copyright (as a moral, not economic, right). Thus whereas the previous topic for discussion explored how linguistic fieldwork and publication affects the community, this second topic focuses on the relationship of linguistic fi eldwork, archiving, and publishing to ethical issues in Western jurisprudence and institutional policy. For example, one question for the publisher is the degree to which dissemi nation of linguistic data might contribute to a breach of confidence between the other three parties (community, consultant, fieldworker). Another question is what "informed consent" might mean in an age of electronic publishing, in which it is so easy to reproduce audio material in a form identical to that of the original, at a low cost and without the permission, or even knowledge, of the original parties. Simple texts and life histories may invade the privacy of those talked about. Or, in a point related to t hat covered by the previous topic, certain texts might be understood within the community as a collective resource. Finally, although copyright is often assigned on the basis of individual creativity, community resources such as folklore, myths, songs, and other similar genres are increasingly coming under the rubric of copyright law and similar legal te rms of art. This section will discuss the issues of dissemination of primary linguistic data as they relate to the terms mentioned at the head of this section.
Topic 3. Language ideology and the politics of identity
Increasingly, language (particularly endangered or even extinct languages, for which the only documentation might be in archival materials) is situated at the intersection of questions of identity and questions of power/politics. An institution dedicated to the archiving and publishing of primary linguistic data in electronic form should be cogniz ant of the ways in which its activity is immersed in the context of politics and identity and, as a result, often clearly affects processes relating to balances of power and the construction of ethnic identity. In a world in which descriptive linguistics and the documentation of linguistic culture (texts) is increasingly a political and moral act, the el ectronic archivist and publisher is at a distinct disadvantage, for it is often spatially and temporally removed from the sites at which linguistic data is gathered, understandin gs and arrangements between the involved parties determined, and debates and struggles resolved or exacerbated. Communities may be divided or individuals (potential language cons ultants) may have distanced themselves from the community. Ethnic federations, indigenous groups for political activism, and nation-states all have vested interests in linguistic research and its results. Thus the archiving and publishing institution should aim to develop a policy that will safeguard it, as best as possible, from problems that emerge fro m the role of language in modern politics of identity.
Topic 4. The language consultant and the human subject in the context of IRBs.
To a greater and greater extent the definition of "human subject" is being expanded within U.S. universities. Often derived from models based on biological or ps ychological research, efforts are being made to include oral history, anthropology, and linguistics within the purview of IRB control. Within anthropology and linguistics there h as been increasing redefinition of the relationship between academic and native community. In fact, many of the models for research now propose joint projects between native comm unities and academics (e.g., the case of the PEMASKY among the Kuna and the Awa Federations work with the New York Botanical Garden). In these cases it would seem that the " ;human subject" guidelines do not apply, since the relationship is a formalized joint partnership of with a collaborator, not "subject." However, in most cases su ch formalized arrangements have not been made, and even in such cases as they were, the host institution for the archive or publication of linguistic data is seldom party to an o riginal accord. This topic for discussion reviews the impact of controls placed on "human subject" research, including compliance with IRB guidelines, for the group pla nning to archive and publish/disseminate linguistic material.
Topic 5. Archiving and dissemination: inducing linguists to archive primary data and determining the basis for controlling access to and initiating publication (text or ele ctronic) of archived materials
Clearly the institution that stores primary linguistic data is situated between different groups that each have their own priorities in regard to the archiving and dissemi nation of linguistic data. Some of the factors that may lead to disputes and disagreements have already been mentioned. Here the discussion will be on the formal mechanisms for a ccess that an archiving institution should develop: it would seem that until such issues are firmly resolved, the institution might find it difficult to gain the confidence of th ose individuals and groups that might have initial control over the primary linguistic data. Moreover, while some material might have been specifically and initially developed fo r public and open access, the great majority of archived material will not have such an origin, and an "error" in access or dissemination might prove fatal to the archi ve. Various groups have already developed policies in this regard (e.g., the World Foundation for the Safeguard of Indigenous Cultures) and it is suggested that it might be usefu l to review these policies and discuss with various already functioning institutions the problems that they have encountered in order to develop a general statement on the issue of access and publication.