project announcements

SSWL (Syntactic Structures of the World's Languages)

Submitted by Chris Collins on Thu, 11/10/2011 - 00:07

SSWL (Syntactic Structure of the World's Languages) is a open-ended database of syntactic, morphological and semantic properties. Each language is characterized by a set of property-value pairs (e.g., Object Verb: Yes), and examples that illustrate these property value pairs. A rich variety of search functions are available, as well as mapping and the creation of similarity trees. The database is open-ended in the sense that (a) new language experts may sign up to add new languages, and (b) new properties may be added.

Adapting a Scientific Workflow Infrastructure to Linguistics

Submitted by Richard Littauer on Thu, 09/29/2011 - 11:10

In Linguistics (and similar social sciences), there are no standard 'workflow workbenches' that can be used for non-programmers to develop, use, and share their workflows. However, as an increasingly data-intensive science, computational linguists are using computational pipelines in their research, in order to facilitate their main work.

Digital repatriation

Submitted by Emily M. Bender on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 20:07

Tomorrow Kimberly Christen (WSU) will give a talk at the University of Washington on the Mukurtu Indigenous Archive Tool and repatriation of indigenous knowledge in digital form.

Abstract, from the UW Simpson Center for the Humanities calendar:

Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation in Portugal

Submitted by Peter Bouda on Wed, 04/13/2011 - 08:12

The Centro Interdisciplinar de Documentação Linguística e Social (CIDLeS) is an interdisciplinary non-profit centre dedicated to the documentation and preservation of the linguistic (and cultural) heritage in Europe. It was founded in January 2010 as a result of the work of a number of researchers at the Institute of General Linguistics and Language Typology at the University of Munich and at the Department of Portuguese Studies at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa.

Open Linguistics

Submitted by Emily M. Bender on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 12:07

project announcements

The Open Knowledge Foundation (cf. the next post on OKCon) has a working group on Linguistic data, known as Open Linguistics. That website has links to various resources, including linguistics-related posts on the Open Knowledge Foundation blog.

The Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) at SOAS

Submitted by David Nathan on Sat, 09/11/2010 - 10:48

The Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) at SOAS preserves and disseminates digital documentation of endangered languages around the world, especially (but not limited to) the outcomes of ELDP-funded projects. ELAR's recently re-launched website is designed specifically to suit the needs of endangered languages archiving, using "Web 2.0" methods to implement a nuanced access control system and make the site user-friendly for a range of audiences.

Dictionaries and Endangered Languages

Submitted by Sarah Ogilvie on Thu, 04/08/2010 - 15:21

The Endangered Languages and Dictionaries Project at the University of Cambridge investigates ways of writing dictionaries that better facilitate the maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages. It explores the relationship between documenting a language and sustaining it, and entails collaboration with linguists, dictionary-makers and educators, as well as members of endangered-language communities themselves, in order to determine what lexicographic methodologies work particularly well pedagogically for language maintenance and revitalization.

Dictionaries and Endangered Languages

Submitted by Sarah Ogilvie on Thu, 04/08/2010 - 15:11

The Endangered Languages and Dictionaries Project at the University of
Cambridge investigates ways of writing dictionaries that better facilitate
the maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages. It explores the
relationship between documenting a language and sustaining it, and entails
collaboration with linguists, dictionary-makers and educators, as well as
members of endangered-language communities themselves, in order to
determine what lexicographic methodologies work particularly well
pedagogically for language maintenance and revitalization.

Language Description Heritage (LDH) open access digital library

Submitted by Michael Cysouw on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 01:10

it is my pleasure to announce the Language Description Heritage (LDH) open access digital library, available online at

http://ldh.livingsources.org

The LDH is being compiled at the Max Planck Society in Germany, specifically at the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig in cooperation with the Max Planck Digital Library in Munich.

Language Description Heritage (LDH) open access digital library

Submitted by Michael Cysouw on Tue, 03/23/2010 - 01:09

Dear colleagues,

it is my pleasure to announce the Language Description Heritage (LDH) open access digital library, available online at

http://ldh.livingsources.org

The LDH is being compiled at the Max Planck Society in Germany, specifically at the MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig in cooperation with the Max Planck Digital Library in Munich.