Endangered Language Fund Inc

INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE DATABASE PROJECT -FOR ABOUT 12,000 YEARS, NUMEROUS SMALL FORAGING COMMUNITIES LIVED IN EQUILIBRIUM IN A REGION OF WHAT IS NOW THE US. USING RESOURCES CREATED IN THIS PROJECT, LINGUISTS ARE RECONSTRUCTING THEIR RELATIONSHIPS AND HISTORY, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE REGAINING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, A VITAL GESTURE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND HEALING OF GENERATIONAL TRAUMA. THE PROJECT COMPILES, ELUCIDATES, AND MAKES ACCESSIBLE INVALUABLE LANGUAGE RESOURCES THAT ARE IN DANGER OF BEING LOST BOTH TO SCIENTISTS AND TO THE COMMUNITIES. THE SCIENTIFIC RESULTS OF THE STUDY CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN PREHISTORY AND TO THEORIES OF LANGUAGE CONTACT AND CHANGE, WHILE THE BROADER IMPACTS INCLUDE TRAINING AND TRANSFER OF DATA STEWARDSHIP TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS, ADVANCING US EFFORTS TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES BASED ON RESPECT FOR TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY AND SELF-GOVERNANCE. THIS PROJECT DELIVERS A LINGUISTIC DATABASE TO THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY, WITH A GRAMMAR, DICTIONARY, COLLECTION OF ORAL LITERATURE (TRANSLATED, ANALYZED, AND ANNOTATED), AND A RANGE OF MATERIALS AND PROCESSES CREATED BY PROJECT STAFF FOR THE PEOPLE TO MAKE EACH OF THEIR HOMES A 'LANGUAGE NEST' IN WHICH THE LANGUAGE IS USED AND NURTURED. FOR SEVERAL OTHER LANGUAGES IN THE AREA, IT PROVIDES THE EXAMPLE AND EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION FOR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE ACTIVISTS AND RESEARCHERS TO CREATE A DATABASE OF THE SAME SORT FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE LANGUAGES. THESE DATABASES TOGETHER ENABLE RESEARCHERS TO RECONSTRUCT THE LINGUISTIC HISTORY OF THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS OF THE REGION WITH SPECIFICITY, COMPLETENESS, AND CONFIDENCE THAT HAVE UNTIL NOW BEEN IMPOSSIBLE. THIS AWARD IS MADE AS PART OF A FUNDING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES FOR THE NSF DYNAMIC LANGUAGE INFRASTRUCTURE ? NEH DOCUMENTING ENDANGERED LANGUAGES PROGRAM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

ACHUMAWI (PIT RIVER; ACV) LINGUISTIC DATABASE

IMPLEMENTING A LINGUISTIC DATABASE FOR ANALYSIS OF AN ENDANGERED LANGUAGE

BREATH OF LIFE ARCHIVAL INSTITUTE FOR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES

BREATH OF LIFE ARCHIVAL INSTITUTE FOR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES

LANGUAGE LEARNING IN NATIVE AMERICAN REVITALIZATION PROGRAMS (LLINARP)

CONFERENCE: SPECIAL SESSION ON LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY AT THE 2024 ALGONQUIAN CONFERENCE -THIS AWARD SUPPORTS A SPECIAL SESSION ON LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 56TH ALGONQUIAN CONFERENCE. THE SESSION FEATURES SPEAKERS ON USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE THE STUDY OF ENDANGERED LANGUAGES, PROVIDING INSIGHT INTO HOW TECHNOLOGY, ESPECIALLY CONCERNING ARCHIVES, IS MAKING THE ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE FASTER AND MORE COMPLETE, ESPECIALLY FOR UNDER-RESOURCED LANGUAGES. THE SESSION IS IMPORTANT TO FOSTERING SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION BETWEEN ACADEMIC LINGUISTS AND TRIBES THAT ARE IN NEED OF UNDERSTANDING THE INNER WORKINGS OF THEIR HERITAGE LANGUAGES. THE ABILITY TO MAKE BETTER USE OF ARCHIVES ENHANCES THE ABILITY OF INDIGENOUS AND NON-INDIGENOUS SCHOLARS ALIKE TO GAIN MORE INSIGHTS ABOUT NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES AND TO ADVANCE LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION. THERE WERE MORE THAN 300 LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN NORTH AMERICA AT THE TIME OF EUROPEAN CONTACT. THERE ARE PERHAPS 50 LANGUAGE FAMILIES THAT CAN BE RECOGNIZED FOR THOSE LANGUAGES, INCLUDING THE ALGONQUIAN FAMILY. ALL THE FAMILIES HAVE DIFFERENT TRAITS, BUT ONE CONSISTENT FEATURE IS THE USE OF COMPLEX MORPHOLOGY AND A GREATER IMPORTANCE OF VERBS THAN NOUNS COMPARED TO MANY OTHER LANGUAGES. THESE TYPOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM ENGLISH AND OTHER LANGUAGES THAT HAVE BEEN THE SUBJECT OF MOST WORK ON LANGUAGE TECHNOLOGY. MANY RECENT ADVANCES IN SPEECH TECHNOLOGY ARE THEREFORE ILL-EQUIPPED TO ADDRESS NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES. IN ADDITION, THE AMOUNT OF LANGUAGE MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES IS USUALLY TOO RESTRICTED FOR THE MOST COMMON LANGUAGE TOOLS. THIS SESSION ADDRESSES THESE PROBLEMS BY PRESENTING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THAT SCIENTISTS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN USE TO GET ACCESS TO ARCHIVAL MATERIAL AND TO OPTIMIZE HOW IT IS USED. ALTHOUGH THE ALGONQUIAN CONFERENCE IS NATURALLY CENTERED ON LANGUAGES FROM THAT FAMILY, THE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES PRESENTED AT THIS SPECIAL SESSION ARE GENERAL TO ANY LANGUAGE. THIS AWARD IS MADE AS PART OF A FUNDING PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION AND THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES FOR THE NSF DYNAMIC LANGUAGE INFRASTRUCTURE ? NEH DOCUMENTING ENDANGERED LANGUAGES PROGRAM. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.