Report of Language Endangerment Workshop: Babati - July 2018 / Ripoti ya Kongamano la Lugha: Babati - Julai 2018

On July 16th and 17th, 2018, representatives from four different central Tanzanian ethnic groups met in Babati to discuss the changes currently experienced by their communities and the effects on their languages and cultures, as well as potential ways to combat any negative changes. The groups represented were the Gorwaa, the Asimjeeg Datooga, the Hadzabe, and the Isanzu. The Gorwaa and Isanzu had been invited by Andrew Harvey, a researcher who had been previously working towards documenting these languages. The Asimjeeg Datooga and Hadzabe were invited by Richard Griscom, a linguist working in Northern Tanzania with these two groups, primarily spending time documenting Asimjeeg Datooga. Both the Gorwaa and Asimjeeg Datooga groups have experience conducting research themselves, and the Isanzu and Hadzabe are preparing for similar projects themselves whereby they will start to conduct research themselves. The primary aims of the conference were to share experiences of cultural change, to build a network between different communities engaging in linguistic research, to exchange knowledge and lessons from different projects, and to discuss different options for potential revitalization or preservation.