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ALS policies and related documents
This page contains various policies and statements which the Australian Linguistic Society has developed or endorsed:
Linguistic rights
At the 1984 Annual General Meeting of the Australian Linguistic Society a number of motions
relating to the linguistic rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities were
passed. Two of these motions were:
- That the ALS recognizes the linguistic rights of Aboriginal and Islander communities as set
out in the statement made by the Aboriginal Languages Association, August 1984 (see copy of
statement below). (The motion was passed unanimously)
- That members of the ALS are obliged to respect these rights in their dealings with
Aboriginal and Islander people. (The motion was carried)
Linguistic rights of Aboriginal and Islander communities
(As published in The Australian Linguistic Society Newsletter no. 84/4, October 1984)
In any dealings between a community and linguists, the community has the following rights:
- To finalize clear and firm negotiations to the community's satisfaction before the linguistic
fieldwork is undertaken
- To know and understand what their work involves, their obligations to the community and the
restrictions they must observe using a paid local interpreter at all times if the community so
requests
- To request a trial period before giving full permission for the research to continue
- To control research if the community wishes and also to request the linguist to consult with
relevant community organizations where appropriate
- To ask for their help in language matters, training and other ways
- To receive regular summaries and results of the linguist's work written and presented in a way
that the community can understand
- To privacy and secrecy with respect to person's names, confidential information, secret/sacred
material and publication
- To approve the content of material before publication
- To see its members adequately paid in cash or otherwise for their services, and properly
acknowledged in publications
- To negotiate for a share of royalties from any publications
- To be advised and receive a copy of any subsequent publications related to the research
Ethics
At the 1989 Annual General Meeting of the Australian Linguistic Society a statement of ethics
was adopted.
Statement of ethics
(As published in The Australian Linguistic Society Newsletter no. 90/4, November 1990)
The Australian Linguistic Society, as the principal professional body concerned with the
discipline of linguistics in Australia, declares that the following ethical principles apply to
its members, and also to persons directly employed by members, in the conduct of linguistic
research:
- Researchers in the field of linguistics have multiple and cross-cutting obligations to their
discipline, to their colleagues, to bodies and individuals providing funds and facilities for
research, to human communities and individuals who participate in any way in the research, and
to themselves. These obligations are to be met by the researcher in accordance with the highest
professional standards and consideration of the highest prevailing standards of human ethics, in
broad conformity with the ethical provisions made by comparable professional bodies, associations
of social sciences and humanities, and committees on medical research and experimentation on human
subjects.
- In particular, the rights of lay persons and communities involved in the research require
especial consideration, since such persons and communities may not have the same understandings
about the nature and conduct of the research as the researcher. These rights include protection
of privacy, the right to withhold cooperation in the research, appropriate remuneration, and
access to data collected by the researcher, and to the results of the research. These rights
are especially important in small and threatened communities. It is recognised that particular
communities may have strong views on the researcher's access to data and dissemination of
information; such views should be respected, to the extent that they do not clash with other
obligations of the researcher.
- Nothing in this statement of ethics shall override the conditions for research imposed by
particular communities, official bodies, or governments; in agreeing to such conditions before
undertaking research, the researcher is deemed to have entered into a contractual obligation.
- Persons deemed to be conducting research not in accordance with the spirit of this ethical
statement may be subject to disciplinary action by the Australian Linguistic Society, according
to principles that may from time to time be determined by the Society.
Guidelines for the use of language analysis in relation to questions of national origin in refugee cases
Australia is one of a number of countries who use 'language analysis'
in the determination of the national origin of asylum seekers.
Concerns by linguists about the assumptions and methods involved led to the formulation of the 'Guidelines for the use of language analysis in relation to questions of national origin in refugee cases' by an international group of linguists called the Language and National Origin Group (June 2004). At its AGM in September 2005, ALS unanimously voted to endorse these Guidelines.
The Guidelines are available as a 16 kB PDF file by clicking here.
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