When do linguists make their best (cartographic) work?

Abstract

The title of this research note alludes to P.H. Franses’ papers in <i>Creativity Research Journal</i> ‘When Do Painters Make Their Best Work?’ (2013) and ‘When Did Nobel Prize Laureates in Literature Make Their Best Work?’ (2014). The speculative polemic is based on several years of linguistic engagement involving fieldwork in remote island communities in Oceania. I contend that doing linguistics, specifically collecting toponymic (placename) data, is an aesthetic, artistic, and creative commitment as well as a scientific endeavour involving accessing the language awareness of a group of individuals. The creative manifestation of linguistic and toponymic research is twofold: the explicit cartographic representation, where I pose the map as art, and the more subtle interaction and development of friendships within specific communities associated with the research. Both appearances are creatively driven and are a part of accessing how we possess and become aware of language and how such language is expressed in maps.