ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the very idea of creating archives for languages, and in doing so interrogate the field of language documentation. It looks at what linguists do when they document and archive languages, and argues that these practices reflect a number of old colonial epistemes. The chapter also argues that the metacultural study of language archives – their creation, management and distribution – therefore provides ample material for an ethnography of academia. Language archives are prime examples of moving language into materiality. Once a language is archived and inscribed on a list, it appears no longer as 'living heritage', but as 'documentary heritage'. Inscription on the Memory of the World Register or the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage provides global recognition and visibility on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization webpage, thereby turning local heritage into global heritage.
