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A Scalable Method for Preserving Oral Literature from Small Languages

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The Role of Digital Libraries in a Time of Global Change (ICADL 2010)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 6102))

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Abstract

Can the speakers of small languages, which may be remote, unwritten, and endangered, be trained to create an archival record of their oral literature, with only limited external support? This paper describes the model of “Basic Oral Language Documentation”, as adapted for use in remote village locations, far from digital archives but close to endangered languages and cultures. Speakers of a small Papuan language were trained and observed during a six week period. Linguistic performances were collected using digital voice recorders. Careful speech versions of selected items, together with spontaneous oral translations into a language of wider communication, were also recorded and curated. A smaller selection was transcribed. This paper describes the method, and shows how it is able to address linguistic, technological and sociological obstacles, and how it can be used to collect a sizeable corpus. We conclude that Basic Oral Language Documentation is a promising technique for expediting the task of preserving endangered linguistic heritage.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Computer Science and Software Engineering, University of Melbourne,  

    Steven Bird

  2. Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania,  

    Steven Bird

Authors
  1. Steven Bird
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Technology, Sydney, PO Box 123, 2007, Broadway, NSW, Australia

    Gobinda Chowdhury

  2. Nanyang Technological University, 31 Nanyang Link, 637718, Singapore

    Chris Koo

  3. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia

    Jane Hunter

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Bird, S. (2010). A Scalable Method for Preserving Oral Literature from Small Languages. In: Chowdhury, G., Koo, C., Hunter, J. (eds) The Role of Digital Libraries in a Time of Global Change. ICADL 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6102. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13654-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13654-2_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-13653-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-13654-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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