An integrated FLEx–ELAN workflow for linguistic analysis with multiple transcriptions and translations and multiple participants

This paper presents a workflow integrating the linguistic software ELAN and FLEx. This workflow allows the user to move between these two software applications to refine the transcription, translation, and annotation of the speech of multiple participants. The workflow also enables the addition of multiple writing systems for vernacular and analysis languages. The paper is based on a manual that explains in a simple and visual manner how to achieve such a set-up in both ELAN and FLEx. The workflow allows language consultants to make changes and additions to transcriptions and translations in ELAN in a script and language that they are most comfortable with. In this way, the workflow fills a gap where language consultants with limited computer literacy and command of the major interface languages of software programmes can still work on the basic analysis of recordings of a language that they know well.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Sartang (West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, India) – Language Contexts

Sartang is a recently coined name for a Scheduled Tribe inhabiting four villages and their associated hamlets in West Kameng district of the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Sartang also refers to the four linguistic varieties that the people belonging to this Scheduled Tribe speak. Sartang is a Trans-Himalayan language belonging to the Western Kho-Bwa languages of the Kho-Bwa cluster. Because of low speaker numbers and rapid socio-economic developments in the area, Sartang may be considered vulnerable. This paper provides an initial overview of the four Sartang varieties, their purported origin, their history, their genetic classification, their contact languages, the language use, and attitudes, and two characteristic aspects of the Sartang culture

The multiple benefits of making predictions in linguistics

Through an experiment on a Western Kho-Bwa linguistic dataset, Timotheus A. Bodt and Johann-Mattis List provide evidence for the regularity of sound change

Speak to awaken: Revitalising Kusunda

In the mid-19th century, when first described to western science, the Kusunda people and their language were already in a precarious position. Since then, the language has been described as ‘dying’, ‘moribund’, ‘dead’ and ‘extinct’ on several occasions. Remarkably, though, Kusunda speakers survived right into the 21st century when changes to the political and social situation in Nepal inspired renewed ethnic and cultural consciousness among minority groups. In this context, the small remaining Kusunda community expressed their wish to document and describe whatever was still known about their language and culture and create a vibrant speech community once again. In this chapter, we describe and critically examine the ongoing efforts to teach the Kusunda language to community members again. While it is still too early to judge the success of the efforts to awaken the Kusunda language, we will show that its initialisation and continued progress depend on the interest of the community, the support of the government, and the efforts of a dedicated community linguist. We also briefly discuss the main limitations to the awakening efforts, including factors affecting attendance in and operation of language classes; we also present how traditional gender roles, marriage patterns, seniority relations, socioeconomic conditions, and scattered residence of the Kusunda community affect awakening effortsIn this chapter, we describe and critically examine the ongoing efforts to teach the Kusunda language to community members again. While it is still too early to judge the success of the efforts to awaken the Kusunda language, we will show that its initialisation and continued progress depend on the interest of the community, the support of the government, and the efforts of a dedicated community linguist. We also briefly discuss the main limitations to the awakening efforts, including factors affecting attendance in and operation of language classes; we also present how traditional gender roles, marriage patterns, seniority relations, socioeconomic conditions, and scattered residence of the Kusunda community affect awakening efforts. Cuando el pueblo Kusunda y su lengua fueron descritos por primera vez para la ciencia a mediados del siglo XIX, estos se encontraban ya en una situación precaria. Desde entonces y en varias ocasiones, a la lengua se le ha calificado de ‘moribunda’, ‘muerta’ o ‘extincta’. Sin embargo, los hablantes de Kusunda siguen presentes en el siglo XXI en un momento en el que los cambios políticos y la situación social en Nepal ha inspirado una nueva conciencia étnica y cultural entre grupos minorizados. En este contexto, la comunidad Kusunda que se conserva ha expresado su deseo por documentar y describir todo aquello que aún se conoce sobre su lengua y cultura, y por crear una nueva y dinámica comunidad de habla. En este capítulo se describe y se examina de manera crítica los esfuerzos actuales por volver a enseñar la lengua Kusunda a los miembros de la comunidad de herencia. A pesar de que cualquier evaluación de los logros de estos esfuerzos sería prematura, se muestra que el que hayan surgido estos esfuerzos y que se hayan mantenido depende del interés de la comunidad, del apoyo del gobierno, y del compromiso de un lingüista comunitario. También abordamos las limitantes principales de los esfuerzos por despertar una lengua incluyendo los factores que afectan la asistencia a las clases y la organización de estas; también explicamos cómo los roles de género, las prácticas culturales en torno al matrimonio, las relaciones en base a edad y estatus socioeconómico, y lo dispersa que está la comunidad Kusunda afectan a la evolución de los esfuerzos por despertar la lengua

Computer-Assisted Language Comparison: State of the ArtW

Historical language comparison opens windows onto a human past, long before the availability of written records. Since traditional language comparison within the framework of the comparative method is largely based on manual data comparison, requiring the meticulous sifting through dictionaries, word lists, and grammars, the framework is difficult to apply, especially in times where more and more data have become available in digital form. Unfortunately, it is not possible to simply automate the process of historical language comparison, not only because computational solutions lag behind human judgments in historical linguistics, but also because they lack the flexibility that would allow them to integrate various types of information from various kinds of sources. A more promising approach is to integrate computational and classical approaches within a computer-assisted framework, “neither completely computer-driven nor ignorant of the assistance computers afford” [1, p. 4]. In this paper, we will illustrate what we consider the current state of the art of computer-assisted language comparison by presenting a workflow that starts with raw data and leads up to a stage where sound correspondence patterns across multiple languages have been identified and can be readily presented, inspected, and discussed. We illustrate this workflow with the help of a newly prepared dataset on Hmong-Mien languages. Our illustration is accompanied by Python code and instructions on how to use additional web-based tools we developed so that users can apply our workflow for their own purposes

Computer-Assisted Language Comparison: State of the Art

Historical language comparison opens windows onto a human past, long before the availability of written records. Since traditional language comparison within the framework of the comparative method is largely based on manual data comparison, requiring the meticulous sifting through dictionaries, word lists, and grammars, the framework is difficult to apply, especially in times where more and more data have become available in digital form. Unfortunately, it is not possible to simply automate the process of historical language comparison, not only because computational solutions lag behind human judgments in historical linguistics, but also because they lack the flexibility that would allow them to integrate various types of information from various kinds of sources. A more promising approach is to integrate computational and classical approaches within a computer-assisted framework, “neither completely computer-driven nor ignorant of the assistance computers afford” [1, p. 4]. In this paper, we will illustrate what we consider the current state of the art of computer-assisted language comparison by presenting a workflow that starts with raw data and leads up to a stage where sound correspondence patterns across multiple languages have been identified and can be readily presented, inspected, and discussed. We illustrate this workflow with the help of a newly prepared dataset on Hmong-Mien languages. Our illustration is accompanied by Python code and instructions on how to use additional web-based tools we developed so that users can apply our workflow for their own purposes

The Database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifications, reproducible analysis of cross-linguistic polysemies

Advances in computer-assisted linguistic research have been greatly infuential in reshaping linguistic research. With the increasing availability of interconnected datasets created and curated by researchers, more and more interwoven questions can now be investigated. Such advances, however, are bringing high requirements in terms of rigorousness for preparing and curating datasets. Here we present CLICS, a Database of Cross-Linguistic Colexifcations (CLICS). CLICS tackles interconnected interdisciplinary research questions about the colexifcation of words across semantic categories in the world's languages, and show-cases best practices for preparing data for cross-linguistic research. This is done by addressing shortcomings of an earlier version of the database, CLICS2, and by supplying an updated version with CLICS3, which massively increases the size and scope of the project. We provide tools and guidelines for this purpose and discuss insights resulting from organizing student tasks for database updatesTT, MSW, NES, YL, and JML were funded by the the ERC Starting Grant 715618 Computer-Assisted Language Comparison (http://calc.digling.org). SJG was supported by the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (project number DE 120101954) and the ARC Center of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language grant (CE140100041). MKT was supported by the Riksbankens Jubileums Fond (Grant SAB17-0588:1). TB was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, P2BEP1_181779, “Reconstruction of Proto-Western Kho-Bwa”