New episode 🚨 James McElvenny (@jamesmcelvenny.bsky.social) talks to Peter Austin about his career in field linguists and language documentation in Australia, in particular how the role of Indigenous community members has changed over the past 50 years. 🎙️ hiphilangsci.net/2026/08/01/p... #Histlx
Podcast episode 62: Peter Austin
In this interview, we talk to Peter Austin about his career in field linguists and the history of language documentation in Australia, in particular how the role of Indigenous community members has…
hiphilangsci.net
!["Dear Carl: As usual your mental processes are difficult to follow. You ask me politely whether I wish to edit a perfectly inconsequential little manuscript like the Otomí & yet you send off without first consulting me, a rather consequential manuscript, the Patwin, to Harris. How come? [...]
Let me make myself clear upon this point. I do not recognize your right to do anything with the Boas' mss except return them to their authors upon demand. I feel sufficient wrought up about the matter to make it a public issue. As far as the Patwin mss, or any other of my mss, is concerned, I shall proceed to do exactly what I please in the matter and make my own arrangements about publication. I fortunately have a copy of the Patwin ms. So don't worry about it at all. It is my ms and it has only that status. There is no such thing as status in the Boas collection. Apparently power has gone somewhat to your head although you always had the possibilities of developing into a semi-fascist.
If I seem to be sharp, indeed oversharp, I do so deliberately so that you can pull yourself out of your subjectivistic haze and realize that you are living in a world of human beings and not in one composed of pseudo-logistic constructs á la Zelig Harris and some of the other contributors to the linguistic journal.
Apparently the same haze that is so evident in your Hitlerite disposal of properties made it impossible for you to understand the few questions I put to you in my letter. I did not ask you to look at my other linguistic mss. I asked an entirely different question, one in which I thought you would be interested. Apparently you were not, for I give you credit for understanding English. So forget all about my mss, those you have or those I have. I shall not let them have any further connection with you.
[] Paul
My best to Erminie. You certainly are lucky to have a wife who is not a logical positivist!"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:s4ulvuqeejluylobxsw5ujvn/bafkreifrqclx56hmyg6mdjuunryxh2jpoxzdlnms5w4g5odc7ssozjrvca)
