Indexing nature: Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) and his fact-gathering strategies

Early modern naturalists were faced with what has been termed the ‘first bio-information crisis’. A key figure in resolving this crisis was the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1788). This paper will focus on Linnaeus’s day-to-day working routines on the basis of manuscript material held at the Linnean Society(London). What this material shows is that Linnaeus had to manage a conflict between the need to bring factual information into a fixed order for purposes of retrieval, and the need to integrate new information into that order. A way out of this dilemma was to keep information on particular subjects on separate sheets, which could be reshuffled and complemented by additional sheets. It is only very late in his life, however, that Linnaeus realized the full potential of this technique, by inventing what look like index cards. What we thus hope to show in this paper is that one of the main cognitive advantages commonly assigned to writing – the possibility to abstract words and statements from their context and rearrange them freely in lists,tables and filing systems – had to prevail over considerable practical and psychological obstacles. What seems an obvious thing to do in hindsight, e.g. to work with something like index cards, had to be learned through an incessant, painstaking process of experimentation, fact-gathering, and reorganization

Toponymies of lesser-used languages in the North: Issues of socio-linguistic conditions among Inuit and Sámi

Both Inuit and Sámi have experienced the expansion of colonial state systems and immigrant populations from the south into their territories in Arctic Canada and northernmost Europe respectively. These historical processes have resulted, among other socio-economic conditions, in the superposition and often displacement of their aboriginal toponymy by external interests introducing other languages and place names. In the introduction this paper discusses the socio-linguistic conditions of aboriginal languages in Canada and in Europe. Both situations differ with regard to the legal protection of lesser-used, minority or aboriginal languages. In Europe the linguistic rights of minorities or aboriginal peoples are protected under conventions and by laws on the international and national level. In fact, the framework of the European Union has enhanced the position of languages in general. In the Canadian confederation, with English and French as official languages, specific legal provisions for aboriginal languages exist at the provincial and territorial levels. Still, the levels of protection are considerably weaker for these languages. As case studies the socio-linguistic conditions among the Inuit and Sámi are analyzed by focusing on the maintenance and development of their aboriginal toponymy as cultural and linguistic heritage and expression of human environmental relations. The paper explains recent practical efforts by both Inuit and Sámi to counteract the process of linguistic displacement by developing programs to enhance the development of their integral place name systems. Both Inuit and Sámi institutions have established programs to record and document their oral and historical toponymy, using modern technologies to produce maps and gazetteers. These programs are presented and discussed in the light of cultural self-determination and human and linguistic rights. In conclusion, the question is discussed if communities of lesser-used languages are able to maintain the functional space needed for the security of their languages within a multicultural and multilingual context.Les Inuit comme les Sámi ont été affectés par l’expansion de systèmes étatiques coloniaux et de populations immigrantes, du sud vers leurs territoires dans l’Arctique canadien et le Grand Nord européen respectivement. Entre autres conditions socio-économiques, ces processus historiques ont eu pour résultat la superposition et souvent le remplacement de leurs toponymies aborigènes par des intérêts extérieurs imposant d’autres langues et noms de lieux. L’introduction discute des conditions sociolinguistiques des langues aborigènes au Canada et en Europe. Les situations y diffèrent en ce qui concerne la protection légale des langues minoritaires et aborigènes. En Europe, les droits linguistiques des minorités et des peuples indigènes sont protégés par des conventions et des lois, tant au niveau national qu’international. En fait, la situation des langues a dans l’ensemble été améliorée dans l’Union européenne. Dans la confédération canadienne, dont les langues officielles sont l’anglais et le français, il existe au niveau provincial et territorial des dispositions légales spécifiques pour les langues indigènes. Malgré cela, le niveau de protection de ces langues est très faible. L’analyse du maintien et du développement de leurs toponymies aborigènes, en tant que patrimoine culturel et linguistique, et qu’expression des relations entre humains et environnement, sert ici de cas illustrant les conditions sociolinguistiques chez les Inuit et les Sámi. Comme on l'explique ensuite, tant les Inuit que les Sámi se sont récemment appliqués à renverser le processus de remplacement linguistique, en développant des programmes favorisant le développement de leurs systèmes toponymiques intégraux. Des institutions tant inuit que sámi ont établi des programmes pour enregistrer et documenter leur toponymie orale et historique, en recourant à des technologies modernes pour produire des cartes et des répertoires. Ces programmes sont présentés et discutés dans l’optique de l’auto-détermination culturelle et des droits humains et linguistiques. En conclusion, on se demande si les communautés de langues minoritaires sont capables de maintenir, dans un contexte multiculturel et multilingue, l’espace fonctionnel nécessaire à la sécurité de leurs langues

Franz Boas (1858-1942)

A desire to delve into "the simple relationships between man and land" among the Baffin Island Inuit was the ambitious goal of a 25-year-old German scientist who left Hamburg aboard the Germania on 20 June 1883. The schooner was bound for Kingua Fjord in Cumberland Sound, where the young German would stay for a year, the Germania herself returning home with the German scientific team of the First International Polar Year 1882/83. That voyage - one hundred years ago - marked the beginning of intensive and innovative field work on Inuit geographical perception, social and economic organization, and religious beliefs. In retrospect, this research was also the pivot of an extraordinary scientific career of an influential and farsighted man who shaped modern anthropology in North America - Franz Boas. All his life Boas encouraged rigorous scientific work and international cooperation; moreover, as a conscientious citizen and scientist, he energetically fought cultural and racial prejudices, the implications of which he was keenly aware, having been exposed to them as a Jew in his homeland of Germany. His arctic endeavours, although only a small part of his scientific work, not only advanced the discipline of anthropology in general, but contributed immensely to our knowledge of man-land relations and Inuit culture in the Canadian North. ... His curiosity about the Inuit and their arctic environment grew out of the question of how environmental influences on human behaviour affect spatial distribution. ... Covering nearly 4000 km on foot, by sled, and by boat, Boas showed no signs of physical fatigue, always pushing himself to the very limit. He vigorously pursued his scientific goals but never neglected to ask for local advice and to adjust to unforeseen circumstances, such as when canine disease left him without dogs for long stretches. With simple instruments he charted the configurations of Cumberland Sound and the east coast of Baffin Island, producing a map that served as a reference into the twentieth century. His relationship with the Inuit was based on mutual respect and appreciation, evident in his sole use of native place-names and in his criticism of explorers and whalers, who arrogantly and whimsically assigned European names, thus creating never-ending confusion. His dedication to the people and their culture was dictated not by a romantic perception of the "native", but rather by the urgent feeling that as much as possible of the cultural tradition of the Inuit must be preserved, an approach he followed in his later work among the Northwest Coast Indians and instilled in his students. The enormous body of information on Inuit culture, so valuable to today's Inuit, found its way into two major English publication that still retain their immediacy and are accepted source books. ..