North American Indian Sign Language Video Dictionary

传统上，北美印第安人手语(NAISL)，也被称为手语，是北美几代人传承下来的一种重要的部落间和部落内语言。然而，最近NAISL的签字者数量以惊人的速度下降。如果没有大量的即时文件，今天剩下的签名者很可能是最后一批携带部落手语知识的人。这一奖项使NAISL视频词典的创建成为可能，这是为子孙后代保存这一丰富的文化和语言资源的重要一步。NAISL词典项目代表着对土著人民以及对美洲印第安人研究、语言学、人类学、土著教育、历史和手语研究等研究领域的重要文化贡献。这个项目是一个社区推动的努力，为部落提供了学习他们自己独特的手语的工具，并将它们带回他们的社区使用。NAISL词典包含了来自多个部落社区的签名者演示的手势的视频记录。符号根据部落NAISL的变化、意义和语言标识(包括手形、位置、移动、手掌方向和面部表情)进行分类。每个词条还提供了补充的文化和词源信息。此外，标志分为公共标志或私人标志；包含敏感文化信息的私人标志由相关部落语言项目保留和管理，而公共标志则对所有人开放。该项目解决了NAISL在语言和文化保护以及学术研究中代表性不足的问题。最近土著社区对使用传统手语的兴趣高涨，也推动了国家手语协会的有力文件编制和振兴。视频词典与参与的部落共享，并向公众提供用于研究目的。它还分发给部落，作为语言和文化的教育材料。这一奖项是国家科学基金会和国家人文基金会为国家科学基金会动态语言基础设施-NEH记录濒危语言项目建立的资金合作伙伴关系的一部分。该奖项反映了国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Traditionally, North American Indian Sign Language (NAISL), also known as Hand Talk, was a vital inter- and intra-tribal language passed down through the generations across North America. In recent times, however, the number of NAISL signers has declined at an alarming rate. Without extensive and immediate documentation, the remaining signers today are likely the last carriers of tribal sign language knowledge. The creation of a NAISL video dictionary, made possible by this award, represents a significant step towards preservation of this rich cultural and linguistic resource for future generations. The NAISL dictionary project represents an important cultural contribution to Native Peoples as well as to fields of study such as American Indian studies, linguistics, anthropology, Indigenous education, history, and Sign Language studies. This project is a community-driven effort that gives tribes the tools to study their own unique sign languages and bring them back into use in their communities. The NAISL dictionary contains video recordings of signs demonstrated by signers from multiple tribal communities. Signs are categorized by tribal NAISL variety, meaning, and linguistic identifiers including handshape, location, movement, palm orientation and facial expression. Supplemental cultural and etymological information is also given for each entry. In addition, signs are classified as either public or private; private signs containing sensitive cultural information are retained and managed by relevant tribal language programs, while public signs are accessible to all. This project addresses the underrepresentation of NAISL in language and culture preservation as well as in scholarly research. Robust documentation and revitalization of NAISL is also motivated by a recent upsurge of interest in using traditional sign languages in Native communities. The video dictionary is shared with participating tribes and available to the public for research purposes. It is also distributed to tribes for use as educational material in language and culture. This award is made as part of a funding partnership between the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities for the NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure – NEH Documenting Endangered Languages Program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.