Building Capacity in Linguistics, STEM and Technology through the Documentation of the North Slope Dialect of Inupiaq, an endangered Native Alaskan language

Ilisagvik College, Barrow AK

Investigators

Abstract

The essential elements that constitute the minimal scientific documentation of a language include a reference grammar, a dictionary, and transcribed narratives with translations and linguistic analysis. In contemporary language documentation projects, an especially important role is often played by electronic databases, which structure a set of data and allow multiple routes to search for information. With the advent of digital tools, databases often incorporate richer data and documentation, including sound files, photographs, grammatical information, and entire stories. This project will document document the North Slope Dialect of Iñupiaq, a highly endangered Native Alaskan language, and it will create and expand a database of the language. This language documentation will add to the current knowledge of Native languages while building scientific research capacities at Alaska's only tribal college. The Native American Languages Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1990, enacted into policy the recognition of the unique status and importance of Native American languages, including Alaska Native languages. Broader impacts include introducing Iḷisaġvik College students to linguistic research, creating institutional partnerships with the University of Alaska Fairbanks -- home to the Alaska Native Language Archive -- and providing source materials for Iñupiaq faculty in the instruction of Iñupiaq language, and in the fields of science, technology and the humanities. In addition, increased interaction with technology by tribal college students and community youth will increase participants' skills in the technological field, creating a stronger STEM workforce in Alaska. The creation and expansion of the North Alaskan Iñupiaq Database will document this important Native language and will be a tool to introduce tribal college students to applications of technology design and linguistics. Bringing together elder speakers and the community's tech savvy youth, this project centers around an innovative, reciprocal exchange of knowledge, the elders' expertise in the indigenous language versus youth knowledge of technology. Ways of knowing and understanding will be documented in the language. The team, coordinated by Erin Hollingsworth of Iḷisaġvik College's Tuzzy Consortium Library, will produce endangered language research, engage in community outreach with members in remote Alaskan sites, and create participating opportunities for tribal college students. The project will also create high quality science resources for educators, while further strengthening the scientific capacity at Iḷisaġvik College. The North Slope Iñupiaq language material will be accessible to linguists, tribal community members, and the general public through the database. Databases for endangered and other languages advance knowledge by increasing access to linguistic, historical, cultural and scientific materials, especially when disseminated in online formats. The NSF Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUP) program in EHR is providing support for tribal college participation in this project.