This document discusses technological approaches to linguistic documentation and metadata. It notes that half of the world's languages may disappear in the next few generations if they are not used by children. Both old and new technologies are important, as languages need orthography to function in modern society, but new tools risk lack of sustainability, portability, and compatibility. A balance is needed between portability, sustainability, maintenance, access, and latest tools for recording, analysis, archiving, and sharing language data in formats and platforms that ensure preservation of unique linguistic heritage.

1. Technological Approaches to
Linguistic Documentation
and
Metadocumentation
Pankaj Dwivedi
Gulab Chand
Somdev Kar
Indian Institute of Technology Ropar
Rupnagar, Punjab 140001
India
27 March 2014 1

2. Language Documentation
Principles and methods used for the
recording and analysis of primary
language and cultural materials, and
metadata about them.
Unlike before, with the revolution in the
area of information technologies, it is now
possible to maintain organized and long-
lasting linguistic and cultural records.
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3. Why documenting languages is
IMPORTANT?
Half of the world’s language may no
longer to continue to exist after a few
more generations as they are not being
learnt by children as first languages
(Austin & Sallabank, 2011).
Crystal (2002) claims that the rate of
language disappearance is as high as two
languages each month.
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4. How ?
 Creating Dictionaries
 Preparing Language Teaching Materials
 Archiving
 Language Corpora (Written & Spoken)
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5. What is needed?
Lot of language data and latest technology
Language data: Text, Audio and Video
Technology: software and tools which can
handle the language data and platforms
wherein these data can be effectively made
use of.
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6. What do we need?
 Language data ( No Problem)
 Platforms (will see later on)
 Latest TOOLS and SOFTWARE for:
1. Recording and Capturing
2. Analysis
3. Archiving
4. Mobilization
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7. ONE MOMENT!!!
Is ‘Latest’ the best?
or
Old is gold?
CHOOSE CAREFULLY !!!
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8. Is ‘TECHNOLOGY’ adoption
always good?
 Languages may live on without orthography.
But no language will be able to function as
administrative language in a modern society
without a developed language technology
(Trosterud, 2006).
 Technology changes quickly and an uncritical
adoption of new tools and technologies might
compromise with long-term
sustainability, portability, usability and
compatibility with other platforms (Bird &
Simons, 2003). 27 March 2014 8

9. Striking a balance
 Portability: operating
systems, formats, software, encodings
 Sustainability: long-term preservation
and usefulness
 Maintenance and Distribution:
finances, space, tools and reach
 Access and protocols: paid or free, open
or closed, research or business, full or
partial
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10. Capturing Audio Media
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11. Why or Why not WAV?
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12. Capturing Video Media
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 CODECS

13. CONTAINERS
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14. Capturing Digital Text
 Character Encoding:
Unicode, ASCII, Windows/ANSI, Bi
g5, Latin 5 etc.
 Data Encoding:
XML, SGML, MSWord etc.
 File Encoding: plain-
text, PDF, MSWord etc.
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15. Digital text: An overview
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16. Analysis tools
 Transcription
 Annotation
 Translation
 Metadata Management
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17. Popular Tools
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18. Metadata Management
 Cataloguing: title, speakers, collectors, time
and place, language name etc.
 Descriptive: information about
content, relationship to other content etc.
 Structural: structures and patterns
 Technical: description of
formats, encoding, required tools and software
 Administrative: work log, access protocol etc.
(Nathan &Austin, 2004)
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19. Platforms
1. Online Language Archives:
Examples:OLAC, ANLA, ELAR, CLA, The
Language Archive, PARADISEC etc.
2. Social Media:
Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc.
Examples: ‘Indigenous Tweets’ and
‘Facebook in your language’ by Prof. Kevin
Scannell
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20. Conclusion
In the generation when the rate of language
death is at its peak, if we choose to use
moribund technologies to create and preserve
language data, when technologies die, unique
heritage is also lost or encrypted (Bird &
Simons, 2003).
We must keep in mind:
Purpose, Presentation, Portability
and
Preservation
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21. References
 Austin, P., & Sallabank, J. (Eds.) (2011). The
Cambridge handbook of endangered languages.
Cambridge University Press
 Bird, S., & Simons, G. (2003). Seven dimensions of
portability for language documentation and
description. Language, 79(3), pp. 557-582
 Crystal, D. (2002). Language death. Cambridge
University Press.
 Nathan, D., & Austin, P. (2004). Reconceiving
metadata: language documentation through thick and
thin. Language documentation and
description, 2, 179-187.
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22.  Trosterud, T. (2006). Grammatically based
language technology for minority languages.
TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS STUDIES AND
MONOGRAPHS, 175, 293.
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23. Thank You!
Questions and Feedback.
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