Miromaa Update - "Using technology for language archiving, collating and resource creation"

[Daryn McKenny]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just thought I would let you all know about the latest changes to our
language technology program called "Miromaa".

 

We have recently added the ability where it can now import data from
Toolbox and Lexique Pro via the Standard Format Marker text file format.
This itself is a huge feature, it can enable Linguists and other
researchers to hand material back to community which may have been done
in either Lexique Pro or Toolbox via Miromaa in a format which could be
more user friendly for them to continue with, Miromaa can also Export
and produce Toolbox text files as needed as well.

 

We have also launched our new website at www.miromaa.com.au

 

You can also download our information sheet on it at
http://www.miromaa.com.au/miromaa/download-a-brochure.html 

 

Our next update will include some minor cosmetic features, the ability
to change the field label "Aboriginal" to your own choice and some
Learning Area changes.

We are also after feedback from users on their experiences with the new
import feature, so please let us know.

 

For those of you who don't know about Miromaa and are curious here is
some information taken from our website which you may find interesting:

 

About Miromaa

Miromaa has been developed by Arwarbukarl CRA Inc, a non-profit
Aboriginal Language Centre based in Newcastle NSW, Australia. Miromaa
has over 4 years of extensive development behind it to provide one of
the easiest and best software products anywhere to empower language
owners, language workers, language experts, language speakers and
linguists to assist in the documentation and dissemination of
traditional languages.

It has full Multi-media capabilities for the attaching of multiple
sound, video and still images to each piece of language evidence
recorded, it can store all of your digitised documents including PDF's,
Word and Excel document formats. Miromaa can import and export from some
of the major analytical linguistic software programs which are used
internationally so that your work can benefit future users and you can
take benefit of previous work which may have been done on your own
language.

The best way to describe some of the benefits of using Miromaa can best
be explained in relation to the various users:

Language Worker

Language worker can also be usually defined as someone who identifies as
a Indigenous person who is working in some role in either maintaining,
preserving or disseminating a traditional language, their level of
skills and knowledge could also identify them as a Language Speaker,
Language Expert or as a Language Activist, so the term 'Language Worker'
is very broad and general in its meaning.

So for any Indigenous person in a similar role Miromaa can benefit you
with the following:

*	Easy to use with a minimal learning curve.
*	It empowers users in using a user friendly program which would
not normally be possible.
*	Gives you the ability to be involved in all aspects of language
activity.
*	Gather all written, audio and video evidence of language in one
place.
*	Employ community protocols with security controls.
*	Create word lists and do basic analysis of language gathered.
*	Sets the foundation for a strong recovery of your language.
*	Help support Linguists and other academics in their work.
*	Commence learning the language immediately via the Miromaa
Learning area.
*	Being a very user friendly and feature packed tool it can assist
in employing in either a voluntary or paid role Indigenous people which
would normally not happen.
*	If you are using Miromaa you have made it very easy to commence
building a huge range of teaching and learning resources for your
language.
*	Free through sponsorship program*

Language Centre

Language centres can be working on strict budgets, they can be working
on many languages and also attempting to do very specialised, time
consuming and difficult work.

Miromaa can benefit a language centre in the following ways:

*	Work on multiple languages.
*	Extensive feature list.
*	Minimal training required.
*	Commence recording languages immediately.
*	Can be installed in a Network environment.
*	Language centre staff can now be using technology in a manner
normally reserved for highly trained people.
*	Prepare standard format marker text files of language gathered
for linguists.
*	Import standard format marker text files from previous language
activities by academics.
*	Compatible with Toolbox and Lexique Pro.
*	Minimise time, dollars and effort needed to produce
dictionaries.
*	It provides a secure community learning environment for
intermediate to advanced users.
*	Staff become more excited as they are now able to be more
involved with all aspects of the language activities.
*	Digitally archive all of your sources of language evidence in a
manner never seen before
*	Free through sponsorship program*

Linguist, Researcher and Academic

Even if you fall in this area there are a lack of user friendly computer
programs available, the excellent and very powerful Shoebox, Toolbox and
Lexique Pro programs still have a fairly extensive learning curve to
master the programs properly.  Miromaa is in no way intending to replace
these programs, far from it, its intention is to compliment these
programs and we have ensured this by making sure that Miromaa can export
and import from these programs with you having full control of the
process.  Miromaa also handles multimedia like no other program, it
stores all evidence of audio and video of language in a multitude of
formats.  One of the most important factors that Miromaa can help you
with is that it is also very user friendly for language workers and
centres to use, this means that skills transfer from yourself to them
can be much better regarded as these people have good tools to support
your own work and it is a good method for keeping community involved
with your work .  This will ensure that your good work has a very strong
chance of continuing and growing in todays ever changing world.

*	User friendly linguistic area
*	Import/Export from standard format marker text files
*	Great interface and fields for field work
*	Please refer to the extensive feature list of Miromaa to
understand it better.

Unfortunately it does not run in the MAC OS X environment, you would
have to run it via BootCamp or Parallels.

 

 

 

 

Regards

 

Daryn 

 

Arwarbukarl Cultural Resource Association Inc.

 

P | 02 4954 6899    F | 02 4954 3899    E | daryn at acra.org.au
<mailto:daryn at arwarbukarl.com.au>     W | www.acra.org.au

 

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