International Workshop
Current Issues In Research On Languages In Borneo And Malay Language,
7 September, UMS

REVIEW OF ETHNOLOGUE DESCRIPTIONS OFLANGUAGES IN SABAH—PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
Dr. Mark Miller, SIL Malaysia
Dr. Jeannet Stephen, PPIB, UMS
Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan,
Kadazandusun Chair, UMS

What is the Ethnologue?
• Ethnologue: Languages of the World is a catalogue ofthe all the world’s known living languages (currentlythe count is 7,102)• Widely regarded as the most comprehensive source ofinformation of its kind, including: region(s) of use within countries; Alternate names and dialect names; population of speakers and/or ethnic population;
 genetic classification;
 language use and viability; writing script(s) used; available literature and other products of language
development.

History of the Ethnologue• Began in 1951 by SIL linguist Richard S. Pittman (10 mimeographedpages, containing info on 46 languages or groups of languages).
• Dr. Pittman continued to expand his research through the seventhedition (1959), which listed 4,493 languages• Under Barbara F. Grimes as research editor from 1967 to 2000, thelanguage count expanded from 4,493 to 6,809 in size, and info
about each language expanded too.
• With the 17th edition, the Ethnologue shifted to a web-centricparadigm, enabling annual updates. Over 12,000 updates have been
made to the Ethnologue database since the 17th edition of theEthnologue was released one yr ago.
• Much of the focus has been (and continues to be) on the lesscommonly known languages.

Some features of the Ethnologue• Over 200 color language maps (for Malaysia,
there are maps for Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah,and Sarawak - Brunei)• Extensive bibliography of references cited• Each language is identified by a unique 3-lettercode from ISO 693-3, to ease the identification of
the same language called by different names
across country borders, e.g., [tau] for Tausug –Suluk, AND to distinguish languages called by thesame name (e.g. ‘East Coast Bajau’)ISO 639-3 language identifiers• In 1998, the International Organisation forStandardization (ISO) adopted a standard for threeletter language identifiers: ISO 639-2. But ISO 639-2
had identifiers for less than 400 languages.
• The standard named ISO 639-3 was approved in 2006
and published in 2007. It provides unique 3-letter
codes for over 7,500 languages (which includes ancientand constructed languages)• SIL International was named as the registration
authority for ISO 639-3 and administers the annual
cycle for changes and updates as a function separate
from the Ethnologue.

Criteria for deciding ‘language’ vs.
‘dialect’Not all scholars agree on this. The ISO 693-3 standard
applies the following basic criteria to deciding between‘language’ and ‘dialect’:o Is there “inherent understanding” of the other variety?
o Where spoken intelligibility between varieties ismarginal, is there nevertheless a common literature orcommon ethnolinguistic identity with a central variety
that both can understand?
o Where there is enough spoken intelligibility between
varieties to enable communication, the identificationof well-established distinct ethnolinguistic identities
can still be a strong indicator of ‘separate’.

Previous Ethnologue Reviews• There is a continued need for updating the information
found in the Ethnologue. How do we best accomplish
that? An Ethnologue review or “audit” entails a focusedtime frame for bringing scholars together to review
existing entries and make needed changes.
• In recent years, SIL has conducted Ethnologue audits in
Brazil (mostly an internal audit, involving SIL scholars)
and the Philippines. The most comprehensive effort todate has been in Nepal (audit conducted in 2010-11,
resulting in a publication in 2012 published by SIL
International Nepal in cooperation with the Central
Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

History of Survey of Sabah Languages••••

An initial survey in 1978-81 by SIL members of the languages and dialects spoken
in Sabah resulted in a “tentative classification” of the languages and dialects ofSabah, published in Languages of Sabah: A Survey Report (King & King, eds., 1984)[based upon a lexicostatistical analysis of hundreds of word lists taken throughout
the state, as well as Recorded Text Testing at selective locations]
A survey of the coastal languages of Sabah was conducted by SIL Malaysia branchmembers in 1998-99, which focused only on Suluk, Iranun, Tidung, the Malayic
language grouping, and the Sama-Bajau language grouping.
Much of the information contained in the Ethnologue for languages of Sabahdraws from the findings contained in these surveys, although some changes inclassification (as well as plain errors) have been introduced over the years. Muchof the data is simply outdated, and there has not been much reported on language
use and viability.
Most of the current info in the Ethnologue has been reported on the findings of SIL
field linguists. There is a need for more input from local scholars and members ofthe language communities themselves. In summary, there is the great need formore collaboration between SIL, local academic and gov’t bodies, and thelanguage communtities to update and improve the existing Ethnologue entries.

Ethnologue audit for Sabah languages• Originally SIL Malaysia intended to conduct the first
audit with UNIMAS for languages of Sarawak. But SIL
lost its director for language programs in Sarawak
during that time. The decision was made to engage
UMS as primary partner to conduct the first Malaysia
review (SIL and UMS signed an MoU in 2012).
• John Eppele, who is the SIL language assessment
coordinator for Asia Area, made visits to UMS in 2014
(in Sept 2014, Feb & April 2015) to meet with key
people at PPIB, including the Dean of PPIB (Datuk Dr.
Vincent Pang) also Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Pugh-Kitingan as
Holder of the Kadazandusun Chair. UMS showed strong
interest. Plans began to come together in spring 2015.