Cross-Lingual and Cross-Chronological Information Access to Multilingual Historical Documents

In this chapter, we present our work in realizing information access across different languages and periods. Nowadays, digital collections of historical documents have to handle materials written in many different languages in different time periods. Even in a particular language, there are significant differences over time in terms of grammar, vocabulary and script. Our goal is to develop a method to access digital collections in a wide range of periods from ancient to modern. We introduce an information extraction method for digitized ancient Mongolian historical manuscripts for reducing labour-intensive analysis. The proposed method performs computerized analysis on Mongolian historical documents. Named entities such as personal names and place names are extracted by employing support vector machine. The extracted named entities are utilized to create a digital edition that reflects an ancient Mongolian historical manuscript written in traditional Mongolian script. The Text Encoding Initiative guidelines are adopted to encode the named entities, transcriptions and interpretations of ancient words. A web-based prototype system is developed for utilizing digital editions of ancient Mongolian historical manuscripts as scholarly tools. The proposed prototype has the capability to display and search traditional Mongolian text and its transliteration in Latin letters along with the highlighted named entities and the scanned images of the source manuscript

Multiethnic Societies of Central Asia and Siberia Represented in Indigenous Oral and Written Literature

Central Asia and Siberia are characterized by multiethnic societies formed by a patchwork of often small ethnic groups. At the same time large parts of them have been dominated by state languages, especially Russian and Chinese. On a local level the languages of the autochthonous people often play a role parallel to the central national language. The contributions of this conference proceeding follow up on topics such as: What was or is collected and how can it be used under changed conditions in the research landscape, how does it help local ethnic communities to understand and preserve their own culture and language? Do the spatially dispersed but often networked collections support research on the ground? What contribution do these collections make to the local languages and cultures against the backdrop of dwindling attention to endangered groups? These and other questions are discussed against the background of the important role libraries and private collections play for multiethnic societies in often remote regions that are difficult to reach

Multiethnic Societies of Central Asia and Siberia Represented in Indigenous Oral and Written Literature

Central Asia and Siberia are characterized by multiethnic societies formed by a patchwork of often small ethnic groups. At the same time large parts of them have been dominated by state languages, especially Russian and Chinese. On a local level the languages of the autochthonous people often play a role parallel to the central national language. The contributions of this conference proceeding follow up on topics such as: What was or is collected and how can it be used under changed conditions in the research landscape, how does it help local ethnic communities to understand and preserve their own culture and language? Do the spatially dispersed but often networked collections support research on the ground? What contribution do these collections make to the local languages and cultures against the backdrop of dwindling attention to endangered groups? These and other questions are discussed against the background of the important role libraries and private collections play for multiethnic societies in often remote regions that are difficult to reach

Mongolia: social and economic issues

Çevrimiçi (II, 157 Sayfa : resim, tablo ; 26 cm.)Along with the interest in general Turkish history, the interest in the history, language and culture of the Mongols has also increased; researchers who prefer this field as a field of specialization have increased. Especially in recent years, Turkish and Mongolian academics have carried out joint studies, workshops and conferences in the field of history, language and culture, and shared them with the scientific world. This historical interest in the Mongols and the geography of Mongolia has also triggered the interest in the contemporary life, social and economic situation of Mongolia. Izmir Katip Celebi University has also cooperated with Mongolian universities to bring academicians and students of the two countries closer. The book of Relations between Turkey and Mongolia in the 21st Century published by our university is also a good example of collaborative work. Our University, which continues its desire to carry out such studies with Mongolian academics, has decided to publish the book Mongolia: Social and Economic Issues as a result of this. The present work consists of 15 different studies on the contemporary social and economic situation of Mongolia, as well as Mongolian history and culture. In these studies, all of which were written by Mongolian researchers, the social and economic situation of Mongolia is discussed with data and analysis. We would like to thank the researchers who contributed to this book with their work

Central Asian Sources and Central Asian Research

In October 2014 about thirty scholars from Asia and Europe came together for a conference to discuss different kinds of sources for the research on Central Asia. From museum collections and ancient manuscripts to modern newspapers and pulp fiction and the wind horses flying against the blue sky of Mongolia there was a wide range of topics. Modern data processing and data management and the problems of handling five different languages and scripts for a dictionary project were leading us into the modern digital age. The dominating theme of the whole conference was the importance of collections of source material found in libraries and archives, their preservation and expansion for future generations of scholars. Some of the finest presentations were selected for this volume and are now published for a wider audience

The Glacier Complexes of the Mountain Massifs of the North-West of Inner Asia and their Dynamics

The subject of this paper is the glaciation of the mountain massifs Mongun-Taiga, Tavan-Boghd-Ola, Turgeni- Nuru, and Harhira-Nuru. The glaciation is represented mostly by small forms that sometimes form a single complex of domeshaped peaks. According to the authors, the modern glaciated area of the mountain massifs is 21.2 km2 (Tavan-Boghd-Ola), 20.3 km2 (Mongun-Taiga), 42 km2 (Turgeni- Nuru), and 33.1 km2 (Harhira-Nuru). The area of the glaciers has been shrinking since the mid 1960’s. In 1995–2008, the rate of reduction of the glaciers’ area has grown considerably: valley glaciers were rapidly degrading and splitting; accumulation of morainic material in the lower parts of the glaciers accelerated. Small glaciers transformed into snowfields and rock glaciers. There has been also a degradation of the highest parts of the glaciers and the collapse of the glacial complexes with a single zone of accumulation into isolated from each other glaciers. Reduced snow cover area has led to a rise in the firn line and the disintegration of a common accumulation area of the glacial complex. In the of the Mongun-Taiga massif, in 1995– 2008, the firn line rose by 200–300 m. The reduction of the glaciers significantly lagged behind the change in the position of the accumulation area boundary. In the past two years, there has been a significant recovery of the glaciers that could eventually lead to their slower degradation or stabilization of the glaciers in the study area

Timbre-based composition:exploration of drone-overtone singing with reference to Tuvan and Mongolian sonorities and its integration into Western contemporary compositions.

This doctoral research in composition focuses on investigating Tuvan throat singing (khöömei), in comparison with Mongolian throat singing (khöömii) and its application in Western contemporary classical composition. This has been achieved through a survey ofethnomusicology and the inclusion of timbre-centrism in my compositions. The ethnomusicological angle aims to discover exemplary research methods for khöömei bridging the oppositions of outsider (etic) and insider (emic) perspectives. Based on this goal, this research explores two examples of research approaches: an etic approach by A. N. Aksenov and the combination of etic and emic approach by Theodore Levin with Valentina Süzükei. Ultimately, this exploration underlines the importance of combining etic and emic approaches giving priority to emic perspective in the research of khöömei and its integration into experimental compositional practices. Additionally, this research finds that the political changes in Inner Asia have influenced the cultural maintenance transforming the art form and practice of khöömei. This ends up with developing khöömei as state or national art in each state that practises khöömei. This actuality is investigated not only by noticing the dispute over the ownership of khöömei among its holders but also by looking into the stylistic difference between Tuva Republic and Mongolia. However, this research concentrates more on intrinsic personal diversity and creativity of khöömei performance supporting this idea with graphic analyses, which have become an influential vehicle in my music-making process. Finally, an in-depth study of Tuvan aesthetic in music “timbre-centred listening” is undertaken, and then methods of imbuing the sounds of nature into European-style composition are minutely traced.On the compositional side, Tuvan ethnomusicologist Valentina Süzükei’s theory “timbrecentralism” has been tested as a valid musical system for contemporary classical music looking at the potential that hybrid music surmounts cultural appropriation. Various musical experiments with khöömei have been conducted in practical ways based on Tuvan musical aesthetics, new notation and technique applications, interdisciplinary approaches, and becoming a khöömei practitioner myself. Additionally, other ethnic and extended vocal techniques such as the Inuit vocal game katajjaq, vocal fry and "drone-partials vocal technique" (see Pegg 2024 forthcoming for the latter), as Stockhausen demands in his piece Stimmung, have been experimented with by myself and versatile vocalists within my compositions. This practical research is demonstrated in the concert recordings that accompany and should be considered as a part of this portfolio

Words Flying on the Wind: Buriat Mongolian Children in a Chinese Bilingual School

This study focused on the language socialization experiences non-mainstream Indigenous Buriat youth from the Republic of Buriatia, Russian Federation, encountered as they attended a bilingual school in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China. They migrated in order to start language studies which would eventually allow them to study alternative Mongolian medicine in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. Both the Russian Federation and the Republic of China are countries in transition. The Russian educational and economic systems have made dramatic changes after the fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991; currently, the economy and educational opportunities are in decline and there is a widening economic and social gap concerning educational and other resources. China, in contrast, began booming economically in the early 1980s, and the Chinese are keen to keep harmonious relations with their ethnic minorities. Consequently, bilingual education in Inner Mongolia and other minority autonomous regions are given national and state funds. This ethnographic study explored the language socialization practices four Buriat youth experienced at school in China, and followed some focal children to Buriatia, to document the language socialization practices there. Bakhtin is used to discuss how the focal childrens identities are impacted as a result of their migration indicating that sociocultural, historical and political factors have caused the Buriat focal children\u27s sense of self to shift and transform over time and place. Findings indicated that ethnic identity and social identity shifted for these children. They appeared conflicted and ambivalent. Buriat youth identities are not just situational and something they chose; the children experienced pressures from their parents and from the school teachers and authorities to speak, behave, and communicate in certain ways. The children resisted in various ways, some rebelled, and returned home. Concepts of being \u27Buriat\u27 also varied amongst the children, but all agreed that linguistic fluency in Buriat was not essential in defining themselves as Buriats. For these youth and their families, a strong connection to the family practices and their homeland was linked to a strong sense of being Buriat, and linked as well to Buriat spiritual beliefs from Buddhist and shamanistic traditions. These beliefs also are in accord with the profession of alternative Mongolian medicine.\u2

Buddhism in Central Asia I

Buddhism in Central Asia (Part I): Patronage, Legitimation, Sacred Space, and Pilgrimage, 6-14th Centuries deals with the various strategies of legitimation and the establishment of sacred space and pilgrimage among both trans-regional (Chinese, Indian, Tibetan) and local (Khotanese, Uyghur, Tangut, Kitan) Buddhist traditions. Readership: All interested in dynamics of inter-cultural encounter and Buddhist transfer in pre-modern Eastern Central Asia

SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE “LINKING THE MIDDLE AGES” WORKSHOP (MAY 11-12, 2015) at the University of Texas at Austin

Summary of Proceedings of Workshop on the possible application(s) of Linked Open Data to Medieval Studies.In May 2015 the CLIR/Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellows in Medieval Data Curation convened a two-day workshop on the sharing and publishing of linked open data (LOD). Funded by a CLIR/Mellon microgrant, the workshop brought together librarians, technologists, and scholars to exchange ideas on the challenges posed to medievalists in sharing data on digital platforms. More than thirty experts took part in the workshop, which was held at The University of Texas at Austin on May 11-12, 2015. Participants presented their work in linked open data operational sites and took part in discussions about the obstacles and opportunities of LOD in three areas: research, teaching, and publication. This paper documents the possibilities and problems of applying LOD in medieval studies. It focuses specifically on its application to the field’s data, which requires medievalists to work together with librarians and technologists, and considers a technical infrastructure that can maintain and proliferate this type of collaborative work.Council on Library and Information Resources, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, University of Texas Libraries, University of Texas at AustinUT Librarie