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

由于世界上的土著语言日益受到威胁，对充分的语言文献的需求变得更加迫切。同样重要的是需要保存和提供查阅现有文件，特别是录音的机会。对于许多濒危语言，档案记录记录了在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，而且往往相对难以接近。对于北方的土著语言来说尤其如此。到目前为止，最大的记录北方语言的录音收藏在阿拉斯加土著语言中心（ANLC），这个收藏中的许多旧录音都有腐烂的危险，土著语言社区不容易获得。在美国国家科学基金会的资助下，该项目正在建立一个超过1000个阿拉斯加中部Yup'ik录音的数字档案，利用在ANLC举行的广泛的档案磁带收集。该项目将作为一个试点，以评估为北极圈北部和邻近地区的土著语言开发大规模数字档案的可行性。北部土著语言档案（NILA）旨在成为数字档案的首要示范中心，对发展区域数字语言档案的突出国际努力进行补充。录音将根据国会图书馆制定的技术标准进行数字化，数字录音将存储在北极地区超级计算中心。将提供目录描述（元数据），以促进基于网络的数字资源搜索和发现，然后可通过基于网络的界面直接访问这些资源。

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.