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

随着世界土著语言日益濒危，对适当的语言文献的需求变得更加迫切。同样重要的是，必须保存和提供现有文件，特别是录音记录。对于许多濒危语言，档案录音记录了现代语言中不再存在的语音模式和特征。因此，档案录音可以为语言学习者和研究人员提供宝贵的资源，以协助语言振兴和文献工作。然而，在许多情况下，现有的档案记录本身就有腐烂的危险，而且往往相对难以获得。北方的土著语言尤其如此。到目前为止，记录北方语言的最大录音收藏在阿拉斯加土著语言中心（ANLC），其中许多较旧的录音都有腐烂的危险，土著语言社区无法随时访问。在NSF的资助下，该项目正在创建一个超过1000个阿拉斯加中部Yup'ik录音的数字档案，利用ANLC保存的大量档案磁带。该项目将作为一个试点，以评估为北极圈和邻近地区的土著语言建立大规模数字档案的可行性。北方土著语言档案馆（NILA）旨在成为数字存档的首要示范中心，补充国际上开发区域数字语言档案的突出努力。记录将根据美国国会图书馆制定的技术标准进行数字化，数字记录将存储在北极地区超级计算中心。将提供目录说明（元数据），以便利网上搜索和发现数字资源，然后可通过网上界面直接查阅。

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.