Workshop on Digital Technology for Language Preservation

Assoc Prof Steven Bird, University of Melbourne and University of Pennsylvania

University of Goroka: 8-10 February 2010 (1-5pm, Tess Faherty Conference Room)
Divine Word University: 12-13 February 2010 (Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, Graduate Centre)
University of PNG: 16-18 February 2010 (9am-1pm each day, Linguistics Laboratory)

This workshop will provide training in Basic Oral Language Documentation, and is intended for staff, research students, and upper-level undergraduate students from disciplines that are concerned with language and culture, including linguistics, translation, anthropology, musicology, folklore, and history.  Participants need to be available for three half-day sessions, and are also expected to spend an hour between each class doing further collection and annotation work.  There is capacity for approximately 30 participants.

	Session 1: Audio Capture	Session 2: Oral Annotation	Session 3: Transcription
1 hour	WELCOME PRESENTATION & DISCUSSION Introduction to language preservation, definitions, motivations, goals, documentation types, language development	PRESENTATION & DEMONSTRATION Review of audio capture, issues with quality of audio capture, text selection, respeaking technique, controller vs speaker, record keeping	PRESENTATION & DISCUSSION Review of audio capture and oral annotation, text transcription, text translation, orthographic issues, quality control, record keeping
1 hour	DEMONSTRATION Recording a linguistic event, explaining the purpose, permission, microphone placement, file identifiers, introducing a recording COFFEE BREAK	PRACTICE SESSION Respeaking into a second recorder, quality control COFFEE BREAK	PRACTICE SESSION Transcription and translation COFFEE BREAK
1 hour	PRACTICE SESSION Allocate voice recorders, participants to record narratives and dialogues, small group discussion, report back	PRACTICE SESSION Computer lab, Google spreadsheets, keyboarding and publishing metadata	PRACTICE SESSION (CONT) Transcription and translation DISCUSSION
1 hour	PRESENTATION Metadata, record keeping, discourse types, logbooks ADMIN attendance roll, email accounts	PRESENTATION Oral translation, translation issues PRACTICE SESSION Oral translation, working with two voice recorders	PRESENTATION Project timeline, milestones, review ADMIN feedback form
	Close	Close	Close
	HOMEWORK	HOMEWORK

The workshop will be led by Steven Bird, a specialist in technology for working with indigenous languages.  There is no charge for participation, however participants are expected to attend all sessions, and to contribute a week of time during 2010 for project work.

To register your interest in participating, please complete the form.

A further session for site coordinators will cover the use of a mass storage device, and transfer of audio files from digital voice recorders to long-term storage.