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In:The Documentarist Turn: From observable linguistic behaviour to typological generalizations
Edited by Sonja Riesberg, Uta Reinöhl and Birgit Hellwig
[Studies in Language Companion Series 240] 2026
► pp. 45–74

Chapter 3
Collaborative research

Language documentation and the documentarist turn in Western New Guinea

ORCiD logo with link | CELD, Universitas Papua
 | CELD, Universitas Papua
 | CELD, Universitas Papua
 | CELD, Universitas Papua
 | CELD, Universitas Papua
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
With its nearly 300 languages — around 219 non-Austronesian and 57 Austronesian — Western New Guinea is home to about 38 percent of all languages in Indonesia (Lewis et al. 2014). Against the background of this immense linguistic diversity, this chapter investigates how the documentarist turn has entered the Indonesian research landscape, especially in Western New Guinea (WNG). This article first provides an overview of the linguistic and sociolinguistic landscapes in WNG, highlighting the importance of language documentation in the region. Second, it discusses different efforts on the part of various institutions to document languages in WNG using classical or traditional methods. Third, it discusses the era when modern language documentation was introduced to the Indonesian and Western New Guinea research landscape, which then contributed to the establishment of the Center for Endangered Languages Documentation (CELD), the country’s first centre for the documentation of indigenous languages in Indonesia.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Overview of the linguistic and sociolinguistic landscapes in WNG
  • 3.A brief history of linguistic research and language documentation in WNG
  • 4.Modern language documentation in West New Guinea — a new perspective
  • 5.Center for Endangered Languages Documentation (CELD): A strategy to establish a sustainable language documentation infrastructure in Western New Guinea
    • 5.1CELD: Its history, vision & mission, and purposes
    • 5.2CELD programmes and activities
      • 5.2.1Language documentation projects
      • 5.2.2Trainings, workshops, and academic courses
      • 5.2.3Library services
      • 5.2.4Center for national and international collaboration
  • 6.Several challenges faced by CELD
    • 6.1Human resources
    • 6.2Long-term and short-term funding
    • 6.3Training efforts
    • 6.4National and international collaboration
  • 7.Final remarks
  • Notes
  • References
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