SGER: Developing a Northern Indigenous Languages Archive: Yup'ik Pilot Project

University Of Alaska Fairbanks Campus, Fairbanks AK

Investigators

Abstract

As the world's indigenous languages become more endangered the need for adequate linguistic documentation has become more acute. Of equal importance is the need to preserve and provide access to existing documentation, particularly audio recordings. For many endangered languages archival recordings document speech patterns and features which are no longer present in the modern language. Archival recordings can thus provide an invaluable resource for language learners and researchers in order to assist with language revitalization and documentation efforts. However, in many cases existing archival recordings are themselves in danger of decay and are often relatively inaccessible. This is particularly true for the indigenous languages of the North. By far the largest collection of recordings documenting Northern languages is housed at the Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC), and many of the older recordings in this collection are in danger of decay and are not readily accessible by indigenous language communities. With NSF funding this project is creating a digital archive of more than 1000 Central Alaskan Yup'ik audio recordings, drawing on the extensive archival tape collection held at ANLC. The project will serve as a pilot in order to assess the feasibility of developing a large-scale digital archive for the indigenous languages of the circumpolar North and neighboring regions. The Northern Indigenous Languages Archive (NILA) is intended as a premier demonstration center for digital archiving, complementing prominent international efforts to develop regional digital language archives. Recordings will be digitized according to technical standards developed by the Library of Congress, and digital recordings will be stored at the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. Catalog descriptions (metadata) will be made available in order to facilitate web-based searching and discovery of digital resources, which will then be accessible directly via a web-based interface.