REU Site: Building digital tools to support endangered languages and preserve environmental knowledge in Mexico, Micronesia, and Navajo Nation

REU 网站：构建数字工具以支持濒危语言并保护墨西哥、密克罗尼西亚和纳瓦霍族的环境知识

• 批准号: 1461056
• 负责人: K Harrison
• 金额: $ 39.97万
• 依托单位: Swarthmore College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-05-01 至 2019-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1461056&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Building; digital; tools

This project is supported under the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites program, which is an NSF-wide program although each Directorate administers its own REU Site competition. This program supports active research participation by undergraduate students in an effort to introduce them to scientific research so as to encourage their continued engagement in the nation's scientific research and development enterprise. REU projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects designed especially for the purpose. The REU program is a major contributor to the NSF's goal of developing a diverse, internationally competitive, and globally-engaged science and engineering workforce. The Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) sciences Directorate awarded this REU Site grant to Swarthmore College to provide undergraduate students with intensive training in community-based collaborative language documentation. The project builds bridges between indigenous linguists in the US academic community, Mexico, Micronesia, and the Navajo Nation, with collaborative research that benefits all parties. It helps uncover deep connections between languages and landscapes by documenting the knowledge base about the natural world found in endangered languages. The resulting linguistic materials support local communities' language revitalization efforts. They will also be a resource to the broader scientific community seeking to understand language complexity, diversity and universals.This REU site recruits a diverse group of twelve undergraduate students of Linguistics. The project begins with a two-week intensive, hands-on training session on current best practice for recording languages (or areas of grammar within languages) that have not yet been adequately documented. Students learn directly from professional linguists and indigenous language experts how endangered languages are being modernized, digitized, and expanded into new technological domains. In weeks three and four, students participate in a two-week field practicum. Working in teams led by indigenous language experts, students help record basic and specialized lexica, folk taxonomies, toponyms, and ethno-biological nomenclature. They explore and help document the rich knowledge base in each language that uniquely encodes the natural environment (flora, fauna, weather, geography, etc.). They also learn current best practices in sustaining indigenous languages and supporting global language diversity. The program concludes with a one-week workshop, where students reflect on their collaborative fieldwork and prepare presentations for their respective home institutions. This REU Site project is co-funded by the Documenting Endangered Languages program and also by the International Science and Engineering Program.

该项目是根据本科生（REU）网站计划，这是一个NSF范围内的计划，虽然每个董事会管理自己的REU网站竞争的研究经验的支持。该计划支持本科生积极参与研究，努力向他们介绍科学研究，以鼓励他们继续参与国家的科学研究和发展事业。REU项目以有意义的方式让学生参与正在进行的研究项目或专门为此目的设计的研究项目。REU计划是NSF发展多元化，具有国际竞争力和全球参与的科学和工程劳动力的目标的主要贡献者。社会，行为和经济（SBE）科学理事会授予斯沃斯莫尔学院这个REU网站赠款，为本科生提供基于社区的协作语言文档的强化培训。该项目在美国学术界、墨西哥、密克罗尼西亚和纳瓦霍民族的土著语言学家之间建立了桥梁，合作研究使各方受益。它通过记录濒危语言中有关自然世界的知识库，帮助揭示语言和景观之间的深层联系。由此产生的语言材料支持当地社区的语言振兴努力。他们也将成为更广泛的科学界寻求理解语言的复杂性，多样性和共性的资源。这个REU网站招募了一个由12名语言学本科生组成的多元化小组。该项目首先举办为期两周的强化实践培训班，介绍目前记录尚未充分记录的语言（或语言中的语法领域）的最佳做法。学生直接从专业语言学家和土著语言专家那里学习如何将濒危语言现代化，数字化并扩展到新的技术领域。在第三和第四周，学生参加为期两周的实地实习。在土著语言专家领导的团队中工作，学生帮助记录基本和专业词汇，民间分类，地名和民族生物命名法。他们探索并帮助记录每种语言的丰富知识库，这些知识库对自然环境（植物群、动物群、天气、地理等）进行了独特的编码。他们还学习当前在维护土著语言和支持全球语言多样性方面的最佳做法。该计划以为期一周的研讨会结束，学生们反思他们的合作实地考察，并为各自的家庭机构准备演讲。这个REU网站项目由记录濒危语言计划和国际科学与工程计划共同资助。