HéLiCéO project

Understanding the diversity of languages and how they are transmitted in a multilingual context.

Impact

Language is an essential faculty for humanity, and its study requires to analyse languages in their full diversity. The Pacific region is home to 1300 languages – many of which are threatened with extinction: together, they make up 20% of the world's linguistic diversity. One of the aims of the HéLiCéO project (an acronym for “Héritages Linguistiques, Cultures orales et Éducation en Océanie”) is to understand how this linguistic mosaic developed historically, through migrations and encounters between populations, to finally produce the multilingual landscape we can observe today.
Researchers studying Oceanic languages need to situate them among universal language trends, but also fully understand what makes them unique. These languages developed in societies with an oral tradition, in which young speakers are raised in a multilingual environment from their early childhood.
Nowadays, economic pressures and the challenge of globalisation result in these languages being now endangered. HéLiCéO will help define their place in a French-speaking world that would respect cultural diversity. Junior local researchers will be involved in the project, so as to train a new generation of Pacific specialists. One of the project’s objectives is to help consolidate cultural identities, with the hope to promote social harmony – a crucial matter in the Indo-Pacific region.

Limitations to overcome

The study of minority cultures entails an inherent dilemma – that of reconciling the free dissemination of knowledge with the necessary respect for indigenous authorship. Links between the HéLiCéO team and local communities have already been developed, and will help the team strike the right balance.
The vast number (several hundreds) of languages involved represents another challenge, which the project leaders will address by drawing on their experience in the field. Innovative methodological protocols will enable the team to sample the most representative languages.

Risks

The exodus of younger generations to the cities means certain languages have fewer and fewer native speakers, who become more difficult to identify. Collaborating with local partners, particularly the universities of the Pacific region, will enable us to identify key stakeholders possessing the most valuable linguistic and cultural knowledge in each region.

Innovation potential

HéLiCéO will develop several innovations, including new protocols for linguistic and psycholinguistic research. Digital resources like grammars, dictionaries and corpora of oral literature will be created to study and promote Oceanic languages. Comparative databases will be developed to situate these languages in a universal context, or to reconstruct their historical development. Finally, briefing documents that integrate educational, cognitive and anthropological approaches will be tailored, to inspire new teaching practices and renew linguistic and educational policies in France's overseas territories.

Project website