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ABSTRACT Multilingualism refers to a phenomenon where individuals routinely use three or more languages. Spatial processes, such as mobility, may shape the outcome of multilingual linguistic behaviors but are considerably under‐explored. We evaluate the effect of mobility on language use in the framework of dual spatialization in a small‐scale multilingual society. We use a footpath network to characterize mobility in absolute space, and a language network to characterize language use in relational space; we then assess the correspondence between the two networks. Redundancy analysis and thek‐means method are used to support the research goal. We found a high correspondence between mobility and language use. The results identify the absence of regional “centers of gravity” as a distinctive feature in language use, as mobility has fostered local clusters of language use. Conceptually, this study showcases the power of dual spatialization in understanding the mechanisms underlying the space–language connection. 

Abstract Commonly recommended methods for documenting endangered languages are built around the assumption that a given documentary project will focus on a single language rather than a multilingual ecology. This hinders the potential usability of documentary materials for the study of language contact. Research in domains such as ethnography and sociolinguistics has developed conceptual and analytical tools for understanding patterns of multilingual usage, but the insights of such work have yet to be translated into concrete recommendations for enhancements to documentary practice. This paper considers how standard documentary approaches can be adapted to multilingual contexts with respect to activities such as the collection of metadata, the use of ethnographic methods, and the recording and annotation of naturalistic multilingual discourse. A particular focus of the discussion are ways in which documentary projects can create better records of multilingual practices even if these are not the focus of the work. 

This paper provides new information on patterns of consonant mutation and vowel ablaut found in the numeral systems of four language varieties of the Lower Fungom region of Cameroon. This phenomenon is of interest in the context of the comparative investigation of noun class marking in Niger-Congo languages, and a particularly noteworthy pattern found in some of the varieties are apparent cases of mutated numeral roots being analogically extended to contexts where they would not be predicted to be found on the basis of regular patterns of sound change. 

Drawing language maps is not normally considered an important part of linguists’ work. Nonetheless, language maps influence their users’ perceptions and understandings of the characteristics of the languages that they represent. Therefore, given their communicative power, wide accessibility, and generalized use for educational purposes, attention must be paid as to what messages language maps convey about the languages that they visualize since different cartographic styles can be suited to representing some language ecologies better than others. However, decisions at this level are not normally made explicit by cartographers, and the ways in which certain ideologies surface in language maps can escape the attention of both linguists and cartographers alike. This article clarifies why these issues are especially relevant in a domain such as that of the study of Bantoid languages and proposes some novel cartographic models that have been used for representing the languages of Lower Fungom in western Cameroon. These include some cartographic strategies for the representation of the language ideologies of speaker communities and of individual multilingualism. The latter is both a key and under-researched feature in Bantoid sociolinguistics and the article suggests how scholars who are not sociolinguists may nevertheless contribute to its exploration. 

We explore data management for longitudinal study survey instruments: (i) Survey instrument evolution presents a unique data integration challenge; and (ii) Longitudinal study data frequently requires repeated, task-specific integration efforts. We present DDM (Drag, Drop, Merge), a user interface for documenting relationships among attributes of source schemas into a form that can streamline subsequent efforts to generate task-specific datasets. DDM employs a "human-in-the-loop" approach, allowing users to validate and refine semantic mappings. Through a simulation of user interactions with DDM, we demonstrate its viability as a way to reduce cognitive overhead for longitudinal study data curators. 

With more than seventy named languages, and many more locally distinctive varieties, the Cameroonian Grassfields are known for their impressive linguistic diversity. At the same time, the languages of the Grassfields also show a considerable degree of structural homogeneity and lexical similarity which is suggestive of both genealogical relatedness and prolonged processes of contact-induced convergence. However, fine-grained comparative analyses reveal puzzling situations of similarities and differences among neighboring languages and varieties. Often left unaddressed or viewed as “irregularities”, these cases might in fact provide insights into low-level language dynamics that have contributed significantly to the development of the regional linguistic configuration. In this paper, we focus on two such cases involving noun classes and tense-aspect marking and propose a model of language change based on a notion that we term the social semiosis layer, which is viewed as a specific part of a linguistic feature pool. When paired with the existing notion of neighbor opposition, it can account for situations where there is evidence that specific forms have been deliberately manipulated to create salient distinctions among varieties in a given local sociolinguistic context. 

Abstract Linguists are seldom, if ever, engaged in work aimed at communicating risk to the general public. The COVID-19 global pandemic and its associated infodemic may change this state of affairs, at least for documentary linguists. Documenting languages may bring researchers in direct contact with communities speaking minority or marginalized languages and gain key insights into their communicative ecologies. By being both immersed in local networks and more or less knowledgeable about the community’s communicative habits, documentary linguists appear to be placed in a unique position to contribute to communicating risk in ways that are better tailored to the community and, therefore, potentially quite effective locally. Furthermore, adding work in risk communication to their agenda may also stimulate documentary linguists to find new models for “giving back” to the communities they work with. In order to provide a concrete example of how all this may play out in concrete terms, we illustrate the virALLanguages project.