If you read the intro to the Ethnologue, you will find that the
data is acknowldeged of uneven validity. Every attempt is made
to document the information, and entries give some indication
of both the sources of information and what level of confidence
the editors have in the data. For most languages, the
Ethnologue represents the best or often the only source of
information that is readily accessible, though Marion is right
in saying that it's always good to look for other supporting
information if the details matter.
If anyone is aware of information in the Ethnologue that is
inaccurate or incomplete, they are gladly invited to submit
comments and updates:
<quote>
Corrections.
The information is not complete or perfect; but if we waited
until it were we would never publish. As far as we know, it is
the most complete and accurate large scale collection of
information of its kind available. This edition contains tens
of thousands of changes from the previous one. A new edition is
planned for publication approximately every four years. Readers
are encouraged to submit corrections and additions (see
questionnaires in the appendices) to:
Editor, Ethnologue
International Linguistics Center
7500 West Camp Wisdom Road
Dallas, Texas 75236, U.S.A.
</quote> (http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/introduction.html)
See also http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/feedback.html.
Peter
From: <mgunn@egt ie> AT Internet on 12/09/99 07:27 AM
Received on: 12/09/99
To: Peter Constable/IntlAdmin/WCT, <unicode@unicode org> AT
Internet@Ccmail
cc:
Subject: Re: Cornish
I should _not _advise trusting any material cited by Ethnologue
(SIL), without checking elsewhere. Cornish speakers may be few,
but their children are growing up now, with Cornish as their
mother tongue, as surely as Hebrew speakers are in Israel.
mg
Arsa Otto Stolz:
> <http://www.sil.org/ethnologue/countries/Unit.html#CRN> says:
> CORNISH [CRN] 150 fluent speakers (1990 Wall Street
Journal).
> A few thousand have studied it... No mother tongue speakers
--
Marion Gunn
Everson Gunn Teoranta <http://www.indigo.ie/egt/>
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