Ethnolinguistic Groups Research Articles

Another Look at Tewa Origins: The Biological Evidence

The following is a critical re-evaluation of the results and data pertaining to the analysis of biological relationships presented in a 2012 monograph on Tewa origins titled Winds from the North: Tewa Origins and Historical Anthropology by Scott G. Ortman. The present critique focuses on the biological evidence that ancestral Tewa populations of the Northern Rio Grande region (NRG) are the direct lineal descendants of Mesa Verde region residents from southwestern Colorado who migrated to the NRG around AD 1275, and that these Mesa Verde migrants formed the vast majority of the post-AD 1275 Tewa population in the NRG. The results of the re-evaluation presented here do not support these assertions. Instead, the results suggests that the pre-AD 1275 populations from the Mesa Verde region probably contributed to the genetic ancestry of multiple post-AD 1275 populations from different presumed ancestral ethnolinguistic groups throughout the Southwest.

Population data and genetic structure analysis based on 29 Y-STR loci among the ethnolinguistic groups in Burkina Faso.

Burkina Faso (BF) is a landlocked Sahelian country located in the middle of West Africa. Sixty-three local languages are spoken in BF. Despite this high diversity, the BF population remains poorly investigated, and updated forensic parameters with a large number of Y chromosome short tandem repeats (Y-STRs) are still missing. Herein, 447 DNA samples were typed for a cocktail of 29 Y-STR loci. None of these 447 individuals in total shared a common haplotype. The overall Y-STR haplotypes were successfully uploaded online on the Y-STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) with the accession numbers YA004690 and YA004691. The main haplotype diversity was 0.9999999965, which is much higher than that obtained with 12 Y-STRs in a previous study. Haploid Match Probability for the whole dataset was 0.002237. The phylogenetic analysis of 24 ethnic groups of BF shows that the ethnic group named BISSA is closer to Gur speakers than Mande speakers, where they belong. In addition, genetic structure analysis of 49 African subpopulations sheds light on the fact that geographic proximity turns out to be one of the best predictors of genetic affinity between populations.

Features of the clinical course of a new coronavirus infection in students who were under observation in the observatory

The emerging epidemic of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), received the status of an emergency of international importance and attracted the attention of not only health professionals, but also the population around the world. Although the risk of severe health consequences from COVID-19 for young people without comorbidities is relatively low, an increase in the incidence of infection in this age group may lead to an increase in the proportion of people with severe disease, as well as the spread of infection among older age groups who are in close contact with them and are at high risk of mortality from COVID-19.
 The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical features of the new coronavirus infection among students of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov, placed in the observatory.
 Materials and methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the observatory of the North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov. All persons transferred to the observatory in the period from 21.04.2020 to 31.08.2020, epidemiological and clinical-anamnestic data were recorded. In a prospective study, all participants were asked to complete a Health Questionnaire (EQ-5D) over the phone 3 months after their stay at the observatory.
 Results. 113 people participated in the study: 45.1% of men (n = 51) and 54.9% of women (n = 62). The average age of the respondents was 22.4 2.5 years. When conducting a multivariate analysis, it was found that gender, age, belonging to an ethno-linguistic group, and chronic diseases are not reliable factors associated with the development of COVID-19 participants. According to the results of a prospective study, a statistically significant difference between the responses of respondents who had and did not have COVID-19 was obtained with a positive answer to the question about the presence of pain and discomfort (p 0.05).

Borders as Crossroads: The Diverging Routes of Herbal Knowledge of Romanians Living on the Romanian and Ukrainian Sides of Bukovina.

Cross-border and cross-cultural ethnomedicine are novel ways to address the evolution of local ecological knowledge. As is widely acknowledged, ethnomedicinal knowledge is not static, but evolves according to several factors, including changes in ecological availability and socioeconomic conditions, and yet the effect of the political context on medicinal knowledge remains largely underexplored. Bukovina, a small region of Eastern Europe that has been divided by a border since the 1940s and is currently part of both Romania and Ukraine, represents a unique case study in which to address the impact of political contexts on ethnomedicinal knowledge. The aim of this study was to compare plant-based medicinal uses among Romanians living on the two sides of the Romanian–Ukrainian border. In addition, we performed cross-cultural and cross-border analysis with published data on the ethnomedicine of the neighboring ethnolinguistic group of Hutsuls. We conducted 59 semistructured interviews with conveniently selected Romanians living in both Romanian and Ukrainian Bukovina. We elicited preparations for treating different ailments and disorders by naming each part of the body. We also asked about the sources of this medicinal knowledge. We documented the medicinal use of 108 plant taxa belonging to 45 families. Fifty-four taxa were common to both Romanian communities; 20 were only found among Romanians living in Romania and 34 only among Romanians living in Ukraine. However, the number of recorded uses was higher among Romanians living in Romania, revealing that they make consistent use of local medicinal plants, and Romanians living in Ukrainian Bukovina use more taxa but less consistently. Comparison with the data published in our study on neighboring Hutsuls shows that medicinal knowledge is more homogeneous among Hutsuls and Romanians living in Ukraine, yet many similar uses were found among Romanian communities across the border. We argue that the 50 years during which Ukrainian Bukovina was part of the USSR resulted in the integration of standard pan-Soviet elements as evidenced by several plant uses common among the groups living in Ukraine yet not among Hutsuls and Romanians living in Romania.

Structure and ancestry patterns of Ethiopians in genome-wide autosomal DNA.

We review some of the current insights derived from the analyses of new large-scale, genome-wide autosomal variation data studies incorporating Ethiopians. Consistent with their substantial degree of cultural and linguistic diversity, genetic diversity among Ethiopians is higher than that seen across much larger geographic regions worldwide. This genetic variation is associated in part with ethnic identity, geography and linguistic classification. Numerous and varied admixture events have been inferred in Ethiopian groups, for example, involving sources related to present-day groups in West Eurasia and North Africa, with inferred dates spanning a few hundred to more than 4500 years ago. These disparate inferred ancestry patterns are correlated in part with groups’ broad linguistic classifications, though with some notable exceptions. While deciphering these complex genetic signals remains challenging with available data, these studies and other projects focused on resolving competing hypotheses on the origins of specific ethnolinguistic groups demonstrate how genetic analyses can complement findings from anthropological and linguistic studies on Ethiopians.

The suitability of dual language education for diverse students

Abstract Extensive research has evaluated the effectiveness of dual language (DL) programs in Canada and the U.S. The majority of that research has focused on typically-developing students who represent the majority ethnolinguistic group in the broader community. This article reviews research on the suitability of DL forms of education for students with diverse backgrounds and, in particular, students with personal, familial, or ethnolinguistic characteristics that are often associated with underachievement in school. The review begins by examining research evidence that speaks to young leaners’ capacity for learning more than one language during early stages of development. It then presents evidence from research that has examined the effectiveness of DL forms of education for diverse learners. Extant evidence indicates that young learners have the capacity to learn more than one language without jeopardizing their development and that DL education is suitable and effective for students with diverse characteristics.

Language use and preference in the multilingual context of Davao City, Philippines

This paper is a pioneering study on the language use and preference of the Davaoeños from generations X (born in the years 1965 to 1979) and Z (born in the years 1995 to 2015) towards the Cebuano, Filipino, and English languages. Being a linguistically diverse area, Davao is home to the emerging contact language Davao Filipino which is currently spoken by the various ethnolinguistic groups currently inhabiting the city. This study utilized mixed methods research, particularly a survey questionnaire and focus group discussions, to explore the perspectives of the respondents on the said languages. Two generations were investigated in this study, particularly those belonging to Generations X and Z. Data presented show that both generations consider themselves fluent in the languages of interest in this study. They primarily use Cebuano for everyday communication and both generations primarily use English in formal communication. However, a language shift was seen from the common use of Cebuano by the older generation to the use of Filipino by the younger generation. This shift was also reflected in the language preferences of the respondents on everyday communication. Lastly, both generations would like to maintain Filipino as the Philippine national language as it is the language that they usually use when talking to Filipinos from other provinces who also speak different Philippine languages.

Culture still matters: conservation implications of hunting by ethnolinguistic groups in Southwestern Amazonia after centuries of contact

The influence of sociocultural traits on hunting profiles has received little attention, though it is critical to an understanding of how human societies use wildlife for consumption. Here, we assess whether ethnolinguistic groups, ecoregion, country, and watershed affect hunting profiles among Pano and Arawak indigenous groups, and non-indigenous immigrants inhabiting a large area of Southwestern Amazonia. Using a secondary dataset, we recorded 39,049 individuals hunted from 72 taxa across 47 sites from 1983 to 2016. Hunted community composition was summarized by two principal coordinate analysis axes using difference dissimilarity index. Generalized least square models controlling for temporal trends in wildlife availability to hunters found that ethnolinguistic group identity significantly affected the taxa comprising the hunted assemblages, while the other predictors had no influence. While indigenous people showed a preference for large species, non-indigenous living in the same environments targeted medium-sized rodents. Among indigenous people, prey profiles differed between ethnolinguistic groups, as the Pano typically hunted peccaries, and the Arawak preferentially consumed large primates and birds. Overall, our results indicate that hunting nuances of traditional and non-indigenous Amazon cultures should be considered in management policies and hunting conservation planning.

‘No one remains living in the past’: the dynamics of pottery technological styles in southwestern Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This article examines the pottery technological styles of the Oromo, the Yem and the Dawro ethnolinguistic groups in southwestern Ethiopia. It provides a comparative examination of the technological choices each group makes at different stages of pottery production, which, in turn, produce and reproduce their group identities. In southwestern Ethiopia, pottery-making lies within the domain of women, with social restrictions prohibiting male involvement. Potters are marginalised and transmit pottery-making knowledge and skills through learning networks, mainly between immediate family members. Each pottery-making community practises distinct technological traditions and styles, but all communities are now acquiring new technological skills in response to developing socio-economic dynamics. Examination of the incorporation of new elements into pottery-making due to both socio-economic changes at the local level and global phenomena may provide clues about the changing dynamics of the craft in the recent and more distant past.

Ethnobotany, Systematic Review and Field Mapping on Folkloric Medicinal Plants in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao, Philippines

With the recent resurgence towards phytotherapy, ethnobotany played a crucial role. This study documents the ethnobotanical practices of the different ethnolinguistic groups in the Zamboanga Peninsula (ZamPen), Mindanao, Philippines, with a thorough systematic review and a defined field mapping. ZamPen is regarded as a center of floral diversity and, at the same time, rich in ethnic diversity. Eight (8) ethnolinguistic groups were purposively chosen as representatives from the five cities and three provinces of ZamPen. These are the Chavacano, Visayan, Tausug, Bajau, Sama, Yakan, Subanen, and Subanon. A total of 330 respondents are interviewed through a snowball sampling method, with at least 30 key informants per tribe. For the systematic review on ethnobotanical studies conducted in the Zamboanga Peninsula, four published articles were recorded. Results revealed two hundred eight (208) medicinal plant species belonging to 74 families utilized by the ethnolinguistic groups where Family Fabaceae is the most represented with 18 species. Among the different ethnolinguistic groups based on ethnobotanical studies and systematic reviews, the Visayans of Ipil and Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay, and the Subanens of Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur obtained the highest number of medicinal plant utilized (50 species in 32 families and 89 species in 41 families respectively). Among the 10 DOH-approved medicinal plants, Blumea balsamifera (sambong) of the Family Asteraceae is the most frequently utilized herbal plant among all ethnic tribes being studied. Leaves are the topmost utilized plant parts through the process of decoction. Physical relapse (bughat) is the commonly cited illness among locally-termed diseases. Field samplings attested the availability of medicinal plants as the second topmost health-seeking behavior of the key informants to ethnobotanical practices after having experienced its effectiveness. Literature reviews of the plants’ bioactivities and bioisolates validate its medicinal use, however, there are some which needs futher studies supporting its claim. Documentation of this traditional knowledge and practices provides a framework for future drug discovery, promotes culture preservation, and offers opportunities for community biodiversity management.

Changes in Aromanian language use and the Aromanian ethnolinguistic group’s reaction to decline

Aromanians, an ethnolinguistic group scattered across the Balkans, feature a unique language and culture that are known for their irreplaceable contributions to the globe’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Unfortunately, the group’s language and culture are rapidly trending towards extinction. Therefore, we quantified the relationship between age and Aromanian language usage, as well as attitudes regarding a program to preserve Aromanian identity. Based on survey data from 100 self-identifying Aromanians in Romanian Dobrogea, we constructed scores reflecting respondents’ use of the Aromanian language (usage score) and priority assigned to conserving a given aspect of ethnolinguistic identity (priority score). We hypothesized that Aromanian usage would decrease as age decreases and that Aromanians would overwhelmingly favor a preservation program prioritizing language conservation. The data supports both hypotheses. Use of Aromanian is lower for younger respondents; simultaneously, respondents overwhelmingly supported Aromanian-led interventions to preserve the Aromanian language, with traditions, religious customs, and social networks less of a priority. This study provides valuable direction for those seeking to preserve Aromanian identity, as the data indicates Aromanian language use in Romanian Dobrogea is rapidly declining, suggesting preservation programs should be launched now, while groups who consistently use the Aromanian language still exist. Further research is needed on education’s role in conditioning Aromanian language loss.

Child Birth Rites of Kankanaey in Northen Luzon

The study dealt with the child birth rites of the Kankanaeys in Northern Luzon. The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Philippines and the newly born Episcopal Diocese of Davao were established because of their presence since the Kankanaeys migrated to the Southern Philippines. Kankanaey, as one of the ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines, embraced, blessed, possessed, practiced rites, rituals, traditions from their ancestors mostly in an oral form. It was the purpose of this study to enumerate, elaborate, and document Kankanaey Child Birth Rites. Descriptive narrative type of research was used in this study, along with photo-documentation, interview, personal observation, and paper recording. Findings reveal that different rites on child birth were performed, rites on this side was not so expensive compared to other ethno-linguistic groups who performed the same. It is therefore recommended that this practices become tools in transmitting such indigenous knowledge to others and further research on this topic is openly welcomed.

Herding, Warfare, and a Culture of Honor: Global Evidence

According to the widely known 'culture of honor' hypothesis from social psychology, traditional herding practices are believed to have generated a value system that is conducive to revenge-taking and violence. We test this idea at a global scale using a combination of ethnographic records, historical folklore information, global data on contemporary conflict events, and large-scale surveys. The data show systematic links between traditional herding practices and a culture of honor. First, the culture of pre-industrial societies that relied on animal herding emphasizes violence, punishment, and revenge-taking. Second, contemporary ethnolinguistic groups that historically subsisted more strongly on herding have more frequent and severe conflict today. Third, the contemporary descendants of herders report being more willing to take revenge and punish unfair behavior in the globally representative Global Preferences Survey. In all, the evidence supports the idea that this form of economic subsistence generated a functional psychology that has persisted until today and plays a role in shaping conflict across the globe.

Local Knowledge and Use of Pangolins by Culturally Diverse Communities in the Forest-Savannah Transition Area of Cameroon

Information about the presence and population status of pangolins, and the threats they face, remains limited in many parts of Cameroon, a country that is home to three species of pangolin and considered to be a global hub of pangolin trafficking. Local communities living in rural areas can provide valuable information on species presence, local uses of wildlife, and possible threats, that is useful for prioritising conservation actions. Using interview surveys in 20 villages surrounding Mbam and Djerem National Park, we investigated local peoples’ knowledge of pangolin presence, perceptions of population trends, cultural importance, consumptive and non-consumptive uses, and hunting of pangolins. Our results showed that most people recognised the white-bellied and giant pangolins, but only 10% recognised the black-bellied pangolin. Ethnolinguistic group significantly affected the likelihood of respondents recognising and having seen a pangolin before. Giant pangolin populations were perceived to be declining, particularly by older respondents. We found evidence of local use of pangolins for meat, but few respondents reported uses of scales. Cultural significance was reported by few respondents, but when it was reported it mostly referred to giant pangolin. White-bellied pangolins are reportedly hunted using bare hands for local consumption most frequently, whilst giant pangolins were mainly hunted for local consumption and income generation using wire snares. Overall, our study shows the possible value of local knowledge for planning and prioritising conservation actions for pangolins. We highlight the urgent need to monitor pangolin populations, and assess the possible impacts to pangolins from threats such as hunting.

Herding, Warfare, and a Culture of Honor: Global Evidence

According to the widely known ‘culture of honor’ hypothesis from social psychology, traditional herding practices are believed to have generated a value system that is conducive to revenge-taking and violence. We test this idea at a global scale using a combination of ethnographic records, historical folklore information, global data on contemporary conflict events, and large-scale surveys. The data show systematic links between traditional herding practices and a culture of honor. First, the culture of pre-industrial societies that relied on animal herding emphasizes violence, punishment, and revenge-taking. Second, contemporary ethnolinguistic groups that historically subsisted more strongly on herding have more frequent and severe conflict today. Third, the contemporary descendants of herders report being more willing to take revenge and punish unfair behavior in the globally representative Global Preferences Survey. In all, the evidence supports the idea that this form of economic subsistence generated a functional psychology that has persisted until today and plays a role in shaping conflict across the globe.

Tourism, Ethnicity, and Territory Appropriation in Post-Dictatorial Myanmar: The Case of Inle Lake Region

Tourism, Ethnicity, and Territory Appropriation in Post-Dictatorial Myanmar: The Case of Inle Lake Region Martin Michalon (bio) Introduction This paper focuses on Inle Lake region, located on the very western edge of the Shan plateau, a stone’s throw from the Irrawaddy valley. It has a peculiar situation: it is neither part of the center nor a remote periphery; neither part of the Bamar heartland nor a core Shan territory. It is a transitional zone, a “liminal space” (Douglas 2013:192) between Bamar and Tai worlds. The liminality is not only spatial: it reaches much deeper; it opens spaces of uncertainty and potential and it “points to in-between situations and conditions where established structures are dislocated, hierarchies reversed, and traditional settings of authority possibly endangered” (Mälksoo 2012). This “in-between” region is therefore a prime vantage point to observe the complexity of the transformations of Myanmar. What we call “Inle Lake region” comprises (1) the Nyaungshwe valley and the three lakes that lie at its bottom, along a north–south axis: Inle, Samkar, and Mobye, all connected by the Balu River; (2) the first rows of hills that line the valley (figure 1). This entity features a double coherence. From a topographical point of view, it encompasses highland and lowlands, upstream and downstream, complementary ecosystems. From a social point of view, it brings together [End Page 89] different ethnic groups which networks and solidarities have truly structured the region (Robinne 2000). Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Inle Lake region: A lake chain between Bamar and Tai worlds. Map by the author. The Shan are reportedly the earliest to establish polities in the region. Mainly present in the lowlands north and south of Inle, they grow paddy and corn. The Pa-O belong to the [End Page 90] Karen ethnolinguistic group and reportedly settled there in the eleventh century. Most of them live in the hills east and southwest of the lake, farming sebesten tree (Cordia dichotoma), as well as corn, turmeric, ginger, or onion. Intha, whose ethnonym means “the sons of the lake,” reportedly migrated from Tanintharyi in the thirteenth century. According to linguistic analysis by D. Bernot, they speak an “old Burmese” dialect and are culturally quite close to the Bamar (Bernot and Bruneau 1972:74). They live in stilt villages on the lake itself and engage in an original form of floating agriculture. They also catch fish, rowing their teak canoes in a unique fashion—with their legs. Some live in the lowlands surrounding the waterbody, farming paddy, sugarcane, and corn. This complex social fabric is complemented by Danu, Taungyo, and Danaw groups. In his seminal work about Inle Lake, F. Robinne (2000, 2011) delved into the complexity of the local “social landscape”: not only did he highlight how social relationships and economic complementarities between ethnic groups gave coherence, and even identity to the region, but he also emphasized the long history of rivalries between Intha, Shan, and Pa-O, all jostling for regional hegemony. Inle Lake has been one of the tourism highlights of Myanmar since the mid-twentieth century. However, the activity remained quite confidential until the 1996 Visit Myanmar Year, a promotional event initiated by Than Shwe regime to attract hard currencies, restore its reputation on the international stage, and contribute to the “Myanmafication” of the country (Houtman 1999). This Visit Myanmar Year laid the foundation of modern mass tourism with a network of hotels, tour guides, and so on. Inle Lake received 3,200 foreign visitors in 1994, and 22,400 in 1997 (Aye Myint 2007:27). Due to the calls to boycott, and domestic and international incidents, tourism in Inle stagnated between 20,000 and 30,000 people a year until the 2011 political transition, which initiated its real boom: 29,900 visitors in 2011, and 225,000 in 2017, according to Ministry of Hotels and Tourism statistics. Local tourism focuses on Intha people’s way of life: virtually every visitor cruises on [End Page 91] the lake, observing fishermen, floating gardens, stilt villages, pagodas built on islands, handicraft workshops, and others. The link between tourism and identities is now familiar to the researcher. The clich...

Bantu-speaker migration and admixture in southern Africa.

The presence of Early and Middle Stone Age human remains and associated archeological artifacts from various sites scattered across southern Africa, suggests this geographic region to be one of the first abodes of anatomically modern humans. Although the presence of hunter-gatherer cultures in this region dates back to deep times, the peopling of southern Africa has largely been reshaped by three major sets of migrations over the last 2000 years. These migrations have led to a confluence of four distinct ancestries (San hunter-gatherer, East-African pastoralist, Bantu-speaker farmer and Eurasian) in populations from this region. In this review, we have summarized the recent insights into the refinement of timelines and routes of the migration of Bantu-speaking populations to southern Africa and their admixture with resident southern African Khoe-San populations. We highlight two recent studies providing evidence for the emergence of fine-scale population structure within some South-Eastern Bantu-speaker groups. We also accentuate whole genome sequencing studies (current and ancient) that have both enhanced our understanding of the peopling of southern Africa and demonstrated a huge potential for novel variant discovery in populations from this region. Finally, we identify some of the major gaps and inconsistencies in our understanding and emphasize the importance of more systematic studies of southern African populations from diverse ethnolinguistic groups and geographic locations.

Information-Seeking Question Intonation in Basque Spanish and Its Correlation with Degree of Contact and Language Attitudes

The present study analyzes the prosodic characteristics of the variety of Spanish in contact with Basque (in the Basque Country, Spain). We focus on information-seeking yes/no questions, which present different intonation contours in Spanish and Basque. In Castilian Spanish, these sentences end in a rising contour, whereas in Basque, they end in a falling or rising–falling circumflex contour. In our previous work, this topic was investigated among the urban populations of Bilbao and San Sebastian. The results were that 79% of information-seeking yes/no questions had final falling intonational configurations. All the speakers presented a substantial presence of final falls regardless of their linguistic profile, but there were differences among speakers in the degree of presence of such features. A correlation was observed between the dependent variable of ‘frequency of occurrence of final falls in absolute interrogatives’ and social factors, such as ‘degree of contact with Basque’ and ‘attitudes towards Basque and the Basque ethnolinguistic group’. The correlation was that the higher the degree of contact with Basque and the more positive the attitudes towards Basque and the Basque ethnolinguistic group, the greater the frequency of occurrence of final falling intonational contours in information-seeking absolute interrogatives. The interpretation of this correlation was that the adoption of the characteristic Basque prosody allows speakers to be recognized as members of the Basque community. In the present study, we focused on rural areas. Falling intonational contours at the end of information-seeking absolute interrogatives were even more common than in urban areas (93.4%), and no correlation was found with degree of contact with Basque and with attitudes towards Basque. Our interpretation is that in rural areas the presence of Basque in daily life is stronger, and that there is a consolidated variety of Spanish used by all speakers regardless of their attitudes. Thus, the adoption of intonating features of this language is not the only indicator belonging to the Basque ethnolinguistic group. Our study reveals the great relevance of subjective social factors, such as language attitudes, in the degree of convergence between two languages.

The Kiriri of Bahia’ “Sertons”

Até meados do século XVIII, a América portuguesa caracterizava-se por um multilinguismo generalizado (MATTOS E SILVA, 2004), sendo o português uma das diversas línguas faladas e por uma minoria da população. A política linguística implementada pelo governo de D. José I (1750-1777), por meio do Diretório dos índios, determinou o uso da língua portuguesa como obrigatória entre as populações indígenas e proibiu o uso das línguas nativas dos diversos grupos etnolinguísticos e da(s) língua(s) geral(is), o que desempenhou um papel crucial para o glotocídio testemunhado a partir da segunda metade dos Setecentos. Nos “sertões” da Bahia, o povo Kiriri, através de um processo de substituição linguística, deixou de falar sua língua, o Kipeá, e, progressivamente, adotou o português como língua materna. A partir da demanda dos Kiriri por assessoria linguística, foi criada a Ação Curricular em Comunidade e Sociedade (ACCS) – Educação Diferenciada e Revitalização de Línguas Indígenas, na Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), com o objetivo de discutir os processos de enfraquecimento e substituição das línguas indígenas pelas línguas nacionais dominantes, dando ênfase às implicações sociopolíticas globais e linguísticas que estão envolvidas nesse processo. Assim, no presente trabalho, apresentamos um relato das experiências da referida ACCS na formação dos sujeitos envolvidos na elaboração e definição das políticas linguísticas para os Kiriri do sertão baiano, caracterizadas pela premente necessidade de realização de um projeto de documentação linguística que sirva de base para revitalização da língua indígena desejada e demandada pela comunidade.

The Inextricable Link Between Food and Linguistic Diversity: Wild Food Plants among Diverse Minorities in Northeast Georgia, Caucasus

The Inextricable Link Between Food and Linguistic Diversity: Wild Food Plants Among Diverse Minorities in Northeast Georgia, Caucasus. Divergences in the categorization and use of wild food plants among ethnic and linguistic groups living within the same environment are prototypical for the dual nature of biocultural diversity, which is generally richer on ecological and cultural edges. We interviewed 136 people from seven ethnolinguistic groups living in Georgia documenting the use of wild food plants. The results show the inextricable link between food and linguistic diversity; moreover, we observed a greater number of commonly used plants among Christian communities, as Muslim communities shared just one taxon widely used in all regions. Comparison with other Georgian regions and selected ethnic groups living in Azerbaijan showed lower use of wild food plants. Future investigations in the region should widen the ethnolinguistic research to include other aspects of ethnobiology and to dedicate more in-depth studies to understanding the underlying reasons for homogenization and plant-use erosion.