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Advances in Language Documentation and Archiving: A Historical Perspective

This work in progress by David Nathan discusses the evolution of language documentation and archiving, highlighting key milestones such as the launch of ASEDA in 1993 and the transition from traditional preservation methods to modern digital archiving. It explores the changing nature of data types, storage methods, and dissemination practices in the context of endangered languages. Nathan emphasizes the importance of metadata, standardization, and curatorial roles in enhancing accessibility and usability for linguists and communities. The paper addresses essential questions about the future of language resources and participatory approaches in documentation.

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Advances in Language Documentation and Archiving: A Historical Perspective

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  1. Language Documentation and Archiving:a Work in Progress David Nathan Endangered Languages Archive Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project SOAS, University of London

  2. Language documentation and archiving • a fickle relationship • early documenters (e.g Franz Boas) had preservation in mind • modern documentation places archiving as indispensible

  3. The way we were ... 1993 • 1993. The Aboriginal Studies Electronic Data Archive (ASEDA) was launched on gopher by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.

  4. The way we were ... ASEDA • received and catalogue electronic materials that were at risk • lexica • grammars • texts • received on floppy disks, backed up using MO disks (later, CD)

  5. The way we were ... ASEDA • a web edition appeared in 1994, part of Coombsweb at ANU, the 5th website in Australia • (and on the same server, the first ever web dictionary in 1995)

  6. How things have changed since 1993 • types of data (modalities and genres) • now predominantly media/documentation • storage methods • now “professional”, mass data systems • standardisation and metadata • now standards for data and metadata • dissemination • now web-based dissemination • expanded influence into practice and workflow of linguists

  7. documentary dog archiving tail X The way we were … 2004 documentation = description + x x = ? technology, archiving (metadata, standardisation …)

  8. Back to basics? • we are finally moving away from formats to what to express • knowledge structures eg semantically organised grammars • context, interpretation • and restoring curatorial roles • curation as an explicit, indispensible, creative, value-adding, component

  9. Social not search? • up until 2003 humans created 5 exabytes of data (five billion gigabytes). We now create that much every day. • we increasingly want to find what we need via our people networks, not a company’s algorithm • if language documentation turns out as successful as we hope, then organising around language codes won’t be the way to go!

  10. Polarities • a ‘language resource’ approach or participatory approach? • do we aim to make it easier or make it richer? • are archivists data ‘shepherds’ or the partners in preservation and promotion? • are archivists automatons or artisans? • are depositors, users and speakers them or us?

  11. End

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