Many more languages in Asia urgently need to be recorded, especially in the linguistic diversity hotspot of southern Yunnan, China. Despite the tremendous output of linguistic data in China during recent years, many gaps remain, especially for Tibeto-Burman languages. Below are some languages for which we have little to no data of, and need to be documented.
High priority (likely to be highly endangered or almost extinct)
Various "Bai" villages in Bijie, Guizhou Province, China that may still have a few remembers of the enigmatic Longjia language. Probably already extinct, but there is a chance there there may still be remembers over the age of 80.
Jiamao dialects of southern Hainan. There are no publications on dialectal variation with Jiamao.
Aciga of Lancang County, Yunnan. Mentioned in Yunnan (1979). No linguistic data.
Muda, a conservative language probably belonging to the Akha cluster. Scant data in Xu (1992).
U varieties: Austroasiatic, Palaungic branch. Spoken in Simao, Yunnan Province, China, and could constitute a previously unknown branch or branches of Angkuic. Word list with rough, inadequate transcription in Simao (1991).
Quang Lam: Austroasiatic, Palaungic branch (?). Spoken in Quang Lam, Lai Chau Province, Vietnam. May be the only language belonging to the Bit-Khang subgroup that preserves non-borrowed numerals above 5. About 50 words transcribed in Vietnamese orthography during the Vietnam War by Nguyen (1975).
Various "Yi" subgroups in southern Yunnan that could speak unknown Loloish languages: Alu, Awu, Luowu, Tulao, etc. No linguistic data.
Various "Yi" subgroups in Funing County, southern Yunnan that certainly speak more unknown Mondzish languages. No linguistic data.
Various "Yi" subgroups in Huaning County, central Yunnan that could speak unknown Loloish languages: Long, Ati, Xiqi, Adu, etc. 7 words transcribed using Chinese characters in Huaning (1992).
Ayizi (Ge) of Shilin County, Yunnan. Likely to be nearly extinct according to Bradley (2007). No linguistic data.
Various "Hani" subgroups in southern Yunnan that could speak unknown Loloish languages: Duoni, Asuo, Amu, etc. No linguistic data.
Medium priority
Ache and Chesu of central Yunnan. Unknown classification within Loloish. No linguistic data.
Kalang: Divergent Tai lect according to Yunnan (1955). Spoken in Xinping County, Yunnan. No linguistic data.
Agta of Mariveles, Bataan Province, Philippines. No linguistic data.
Lower priority (probably fair number of older speakers still living)
Various "Yao" subgroups in Yangchun, Guangdong Province, China. Mienic languages. No linguistic data.
Sanqiao: Mixed Dong-Miao language according to an ethnographic sketch by Yu (2017). Spoken in Liping County, Guizhou Province, China. No actual linguistic data.
Giangan (Clata, Bagobo) of Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. Short undated handwritten word list from David Zorc.
Ann of eastern Shan State, Myanmar. Uncertain if Waic or Angkuic. No linguistic data, unless related to Angku of Scott (1900).
Inati of Panay, Philippines. My Inati informants, who are schoolteachers, would like to meet again to write Inati primers and materials.
Why do "language discovery" field trips?
The need for linguistics research is more dire than ever before. Hundreds of languages around the world are moribund, meaning that they will die out soon. Inevitably, any of these languages will be extinct within the next 5 to 10 years. When these last speakers pass away, their languages, which are the unique products of thousands of years of evolution, will go to the grave forever. While we cannot save every language out there or even write dictionaries and grammars for all of them, it is our duty to document at least the very basic facts about their languages, such as basic vocabulary words, the names those languages are called, and where they were spoken.
As we enter the 21st century, we are seeing an unprecedented loss of not only linguistic diversity, but also cultural diversity and biodiversity. But at the same time, 21st century globalization and technology have made it easier than ever to document endangered languages in remote corners of the world. It is now increasingly convenient to travel to many parts of the world that would have been mostly inaccessible to foreigners only a few decades ago. The Internet and portable digital technology have allowed for linguistic data to be easily collected and disseminated. Language expeditions can be easily accomplished on a backpacker's budget. Hence, some of the factors that are pushing languages to extinction are also the very same ones that allow for these languages to be more easily documented.
Although linguistic field research can be one of the cheapest types of research, it is also one of the most poorly funded research. Archaeology and genetics are more expensive, but are also much better supported by grants than linguistics is. Grants supporting linguistic diversity surveys are virtually non-existent, and tend to focus on documentation of languages for which we have reliable demographics on. Put in other words, "language documentation" grants exist, but "language discovery" grants rarely are. As a result, my linguistic survey trips have had to be entirely self-funded, with the exception of a generously crowdfunded 2015 trip to Yunnan that had resulted in the discovery of 3 Tibeto-Burman languages new to science.
My current situation
I am currently working outside of academia in order to cover basic living costs in Thailand. The relatively low cost of living in Thailand allows me to save for future field trips to neighboring Asian countries, and the recent proliferation of budget airlines in Asia has allowed for affordable travel. However, from the income that I am currently making, it is difficult to save up money for future research trips. These trips are all the more urgent as many of these languages will be forever gone from the face of the earth in only a matter of years.
Since 2012, I have traveled the world to perform linguistic fieldwork, attend conferences, and continue my research in linguistics. In 2013, I left my comfortable life in the United States to pursue an uncertain life of linguistics abroad. Making these immense personal sacrifices has not always been easy for me, but at the same time it has also been highly rewarding.
Due to the urgency of the current linguistic situation in Asia, I am now choosing to use my finances for independent language documentation rather than a graduate education. At the moment, it is more prudent for me to use $1,000 to document a few nearly extinct languages for the first in history, rather than for a semester at a university.
This is not about what I want to do with my life. This is more about what needs to be done.
Ever since I saw the face of the last remaining 88-year-old speaker of Houzitian Red Gelao in Guizhou, China, I have had this thought in my mind for years: "If I don't do this now, then who else will do it?"
This about leaving a legacy for future generations. My buying a house or even attaining a degree may not make much of an impact for future generations, but making records of highly endangered languages will. Scientific discovery is priceless. The last endangered languages are priceless.
Typical travel costs
Unlike institutional grants where overhead costs eat up much of the money, every single cent will be used for basic travel costs. On my field trips, I travel lightly and cheaply. My solo expeditions are very minimalistic. Below are some travel costs for a typical research trip to Yunnan, China.
Flights: $250 from Thailand to China (round-trip).
Hotels: $10 per night.
Food: $2 per meal, or about $8 per day.
Transportation: $5-$10 per inter-county bus ride.
Taxis to villages: $30-$50 for a local to drive me to the village field sites.
Informant tips: $3-$5 for a half-hour to one-hour elicitation session.
A $50 donation will usually cover all travel costs for 1 day.
A $500 donation will support a research trip for just over 1 week.
A $1,000 donation will support a research trip for 2 to 3 weeks.
Additionally, I can also be "hired" to collect language word lists for you.
All results from my field trips will be posted on this website and on my Academia.edu page. All research results funded by the people also belong to the people. This is research of the people, by the people, and for the people. Linguistic data should not be hoarded and hidden from others!
Every little bit counts. You are more than welcome to be a partner in our race against time to document the world's fast-disappearing language diversity. If you are interested in making a donation, please more than welcome to contact me at msealangs@gmail.com .
Thank you for your support!