Using Computational Tools to Facilitate Corpus Collection and Language Use in Arrernte (aer)

在该领域研究濒危语言的语言学家经常要求他们的线人描述说明其语言特定特征的图片，例如它如何使用代词、空间关系或时间概念。这使领域语言学家能够以最少的指导获得自然语言，对所说的话施加最小的影响，从而可以记录关于该语言的准确信息。通常情况下，这样的图片是基于对这种语言的研究假设提前准备的--但通常在与告密者交谈的过程中会出现新的假设。哥伦比亚大学的研究人员提议开发一种帮助现场语言学家的工具，使在该领域出现新的研究问题时能够对其进行测试。他们将修改现有的文本到场景生成软件WordsEye，该软件允许用户从简单的英语输入创建3D场景，以产生一种名为Welt的新型田野调查工具，WELT工具最终将有两种操作模式：1)在第一阶段，英语输入将自动生成一幅图片，可用于得出目标描述；2)在第二阶段，以目标语言输入的内容将自动生成一幅代表输入含义的图片，以验证母语人士的语言假设。虽然Welt最终打算用于一般用途，但它最初的开发目的是学习Arrernte语，这是一种濒危语言，在澳大利亚中部约有6000至8000名Arrernte人使用。虽然这种语言的某些方面已经被很好地记录下来，但这种语言与描述空间关系有关的一些特殊的词汇和形态特征并没有得到很好的理解。这些特征很有趣，因为它们直接与说话者如何使用语言来描述他们感知世界的方式有关。该语言群体的偏远地理位置和与世隔绝的文化使其很难通过传统方式进行记录，因此像Welt这样的工具应该特别有用。Welt将作为与澳大利亚悉尼麦格理大学的Mark Dras博士和其他研究人员现有合作的一部分进行实地测试。计算机与信息科学与工程总局的信息与智能系统部门正在[共同]资助这一奖项，作为其支持开发用于记录濒危语言的计算工具和方法的承诺的一部分。

Linguists studying endangered languages in the field often ask their informants to describe pictures that illustrate particular characteristics of their language, such as how it uses pronouns or spatial relations or concepts of time. This enables the field linguist to obtain natural language with minimal instruction, exercising minimal influence on what is said, so that accurate information about the language can be recorded. Typically such pictures are prepared in advance, based upon research hypotheses about the language -- but often new hypotheses emerge in the course of sessions with informants. Researchers at Columbia University have proposed to develop an aid to field linguists which makes it possible to test new research questions as they arise in the field. They will adapt existing text-to-scene generation software, WordsEye, which allows users to create 3D scenes from simple English input, to produce a novel tool for fieldwork called WELT, the WordsEye Linguistics Tool.WELT tool will ultimately have two modes of operation: 1) In Phase 1, English input will automatically generate a picture which can be used to elicit a targeted description, 2) In Phase 2, input in the target language will automatically generate a picture representing the meaning of the input, to verify linguistic hypotheses with native speakers. While WELT is intended ultimately for general use, it will initially be developed to study Arrernte, an endangered language spoken by ~6000-8000 Arrernte people in Central Australia. While some aspects of this language are well documented, a number of idiosyncratic lexical and morphological features of the language that relate to describing spatial relations are not well understood. Such features are interesting because they relate directly to how a language is used by its speakers to describe the way their perceive the world. The language group's remote location and insular culture have made it difficult to document by traditional means, so that tools such as WELT should be particularly useful. WELT will be tested in the field as part of an existing cooperation with Dr. Mark Dras and other researchers at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.The Division of Information & Intelligent Systems of the Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering is [co-]funding this award as part of its commitment to support the development of computational tools and methods for the documentation of endangered languages.