Abstract
The contributors to this volume promote collaboration between agents of economic development and linguists and/or locals who can bridge competently the languages of the stakeholders with those of the outsider experts who bring the projects. I underscore the relevance of adequate translations (especially of the technical terminology), of respect for indigenous economic and other cultural practices, and of the need to sometimes adapt the projects accordingly, in order to engage the Natives more in the latter. Linguists must also learn from economists and political scientists when they propose language policy reforms in which they recommend using indigenous languages as media of education or languages of the economy. Their proposals must show realistically what is (not) feasible, given the current economic conditions of the relevant polities.
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I’m grateful to Cécile B. Vigouroux for feedback on the draft of this commentary. I’m solely responsible for all its shortcomings.
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Mufwene, S.S. (2022). The Linguist, Language, and Economic Development: A Commentary on Languages, Linguistics and Development Practices. In: Hill, D., Ameka, F.K. (eds) Languages, Linguistics and Development Practices. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93522-1_11
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