Teaching Indigenous Language Revitalization over Zoom

In this teaching reflection, co-authored by an instructor and a teaching assistant, we consider some of the unanticipated openings for deeper engagement that the “pivot” to online teaching provided as we planned and then delivered an introductory course on Indigenous language documentation, conservation, and revitalization from September to December 2020. We engage with the fast-growing literature on the shift to online teaching and contribute to an emerging scholarship on language revitalization mediated by digital technologies that predates the global pandemic and will endure beyond it. Our commentary covers our preparation over the summer months of 2020 and our adaptation to an entirely online learning management system, including integrating what we had learned from educational resources, academic research, and colleagues. We highlight how we cultivated a learning environment centered around flexibility, compassion, and responsiveness, while acknowledging the challenges of this new arrangement for instructors and students alike. Finally, as we reflect on some of the productive aspects of the online teaching environment—including adaptable technologies, flipped classrooms, and the balance between synchronous and asynchronous class meetings—we ask which of these may be constructively incorporated into face-to-face classrooms when in-person teaching resumes once more.

A Program for the Preservation and Revitalization of the Languages of Russia

This article presents the Program for the Preservation and Revitalization of the Languages of Russia proposed by the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences (the Program). The Program is based on knowledge accumulated in linguistics in domains such as linguistic diversity, language endangerment, and language preservation methods. According to a recent assessment, there are 150 to 160 languages of Russia. This number of languages, even though quite high, is manageable for a national language preservation Program. Languages are rapidly becoming extinct worldwide, and Russia is no exception to this trend. The following terms are used to categorize languages according to risk of extinction: safe languages, endangered languages, severely endangered languages, and nearly extinct languages. There are several important humanitarian and scientific reasons for engaging in language preservation. The central idea of the Program is to boost intergenerational language transmission wherever feasible. Various approaches to different language situations are envisaged, including enlightenment campaigns, language nests, and language documentation. Three necessary conditions for language revitalization include engaging local activists, administrative and financial support, and the scientific validity of the methodology. The Programs 12-year roadmap is split into three stages. There are a number of favorable factors making the Program feasible, as well as a number of potential obstacles. We have a historic opportunity to preserve languages spoken in Russia, and this is an opportunity that must be used.

Best Practices for Information Architecture, Organization, and Retrieval in Digital Language Archives within University Institutional Repositories

This report presents a case study about building a working digital language archive in a hosted university institutional repository. Best practices in language documentation regarding information architecture, organization, and retrieval are considered in relation to university library commitments to resource acquisition/preservation and online cataloging/delivery systems. Despite challenges, findings suggest that constructing digital language archives in university institutional repositories may offer viable collaborative solutions for researchers unable to find suitable, pre-existing archives in which to deposit their language documentary materials. The report concludes that, in such situations, the ability to satisfy best practices may respond to the strengths/weaknesses of particular software implementations as much as it reflects the design team’s vision, as theory and method in language documentation increasingly become matters of library and information science.

Linguistic Analysis, Ethical Practice, and Quality Assurance in Anonymizing Recordings of Spoken Language for Deposit in Digital Archives

This report considers linguistic analyses as matters of ethical practice and quality assurance in the anonymization of recordings of spoken language for deposit in a digital language archive. Ethically, researchers must be committed to protecting the identities of primary data providers. Accordingly, conducting pragmatic analyses before initiating technical anonymization procedures can aid in determining exactly what discourse, in what contexts, might constitute identifying information in need of anonymization. Qualitatively, one of the main goals of language documentation is to preserve as much primary data as possible for future research. Accordingly, conducting phonotactic analyses with the help of computer software can aid in determining precise chronometer readings for each tonal insertion to excise as little primary data as possible during anonymizations. These findings warrant further research on anonymization protocols in digital language archive projects.

Toponyms as a Gateway to Society

Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island, South-East Indonesia. Although there are rich studies on the Abui language and its structure, research on Abui toponymy, which aids the understanding of language, culture, and society, deserves greater attention. This paper analyzes features of Abui society through Abui toponyms collected using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods. It finds that, because place names communicate valuable information on peoples and territories, Abui toponyms reflect the agrarian lifestyle of Abui speakers and, more broadly, the close relationship that the people have with their landscape. Furthermore, Abui toponyms express positive traits in the Abui culture like kinship ties and bravery. Notwithstanding, like other pre-literate and indigenous societies, oral stories are commonly used to explain how places are named. This paper augments the existing Abui toponymic studies on the connection between names and the places they name and provides a deeper understanding of the Abui language, culture, and society.

Emerging Role of Libraries in Language Archiving in India A Case Study of SiDHELA

SiDHELA is a language archive developed by the Centre for Endangered Languages, Sikkim University in collaboration with the Central Library, Sikkim University. It is the first language archive developed in India. SiDHELA is a model attempt at digital archiving in collaboration with communities of Sikkim and North Bengal region of India. The main highlight of the paper is the possibilities which emerges out of a collaboration between under resourced indigenous communities and an institutional library backed by a language documentation project to curate digital contents for endangered and lesser known languages from under resourced regions like the Northeast of India.

Forensic Linguistic Examination of a Documentary Text: Foreign Experience

Introduction. Forensic linguistic examination is, currently, an essential type of forensic anal- ysis. Herewith, forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text appears to be one of the most relevant and promising modern types of forensic linguistic examination. Theoretical Basis. Methods. Forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text in for- eign countries is not associated with language documentation, which means documenting languages, but with legal linguistic examination and legal language – the knowledge is re- quired to compile legal documents. The objective of selecting methods to conduct a foren- sic linguistic examination of a documentary text is, primarily, a search of a correlation (and differentiation) between language and law.. Results. Preparation of legal documents in English is provided according to a certain stan- dard that is called “plain language”. The object of a document’s forensic linguistic exam- ination is a text of such documents as contracts, agreements, notifications, interrogation protocols, etc. The need to conduct a forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text arises when it is required to explain and describe various linguistic wordings in the docu- ment that may be incomprehensible to the forensic examination initiator. The author has illustrated, by the example of the trial cases of such advanced Western countries as Great Britain and the United States, that forensic linguistic examination of a documentary text abroad has its own unique features. Discussion and Conclusion. An analysis of forensic best practice in the UK and the USA shows that plain language standards violation leads to a misunderstanding of the entire document meaning, which may entail certain legal consequences for one of the parties in- dicated in the document. Sometimes a replacement of wording in a document is carried out by criminals with the purpose of committing a crime. This is related to the fact that a male- factor deliberately counts on a misinterpretation of a document meaning by an ordinary cit- izen due to the lack of relevant special knowledge and training.