LINGUISTIC DESIGN?

An argument for the creation of a new field of study.
Tentative thesis (TFG) for the Bachelor of Design, Prof. Clara Zarza. Tentative timeline June/2024-June/2025.

PLANNED THESIS

WHILE YOU’RE HERE...

Documentary linguists (who mostly come from a background in academia) often find themselves in a conflicted position about the scope of their work; on one hand, their work originally concerns documenting languages that may be threatened with dwindling numbers of speakers, to ensure that they are preserved and enshrined as heritage in case of extinction. On the other hand, indigenous communities require more than preservation of their languages; they require language revitalization, to help teach it to the younger generations and not only transmit their heritage, but help grow it too. Linguists find themselves put in the role of designers of a solution to a problem, as they have more capacity to identify the best methods of tackling the issue as well as the skills to implement properly, as opposed to the community having to rely on solutions that might not work effectively, but they can benefit greatly from the collaborative experiences of designers to create such resources that will aid greatly in the preservation of global heritage. Therefore, this will serve as my proposal for the creation of a framework of linguistic design, a consolidation of the skillsets of both fields.

Check out “Linguistics Meets Design”, about the relation between the two fields through the use of research techniques, which is essentially the research base for this thesis.

Why indigenous languages matter - when languages die

Stats in Madrid? Pre-existing solutions?