[etnolinguistica] Media: Technology Revitalizes Endangered Languages

Tue Mar 11 20:31:00 UTC 2003

Aos colegas que assinam a LINGUIST List, peço desculpas pela repetição.
Abraços,
Eduardo

----- Original Message -----
From: "LINGUIST List" <linguist at linguistlist.org>
To: <LINGUIST at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG>
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2003 3:18 PM
Subject: 14.706, Media: Technology Revitalizes Endangered Languages

> -------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------
>
> Date:  Tue, 4 Mar 2003 10:09:31 -0700 (MST)
> From:  Terry Langendoen <langendt at U.Arizona.EDU>
> Subject:  Article - Technology Revitalizes Endangered Languages (fwd)
>
> Innovative use of technology breakthrough revitalizes endangered
> languages
>
> VICTORIA, BC, March 4 /PRNewswire/ - There is an urgent need for
> Aboriginal communities worldwide to have the tools to document,
> archive and revitalize their endangered languages while enough fluent
> speakers still survive.
>
> Two Victoria-based organizations - The First Peoples' Cultural
> Foundation (FPCF) and Trafford Publishing - are exploring ways to
> support and enhance existing First Nations language programs and
> encourage the revitalization of endangered languages around the world.
>
> They have begun to use Trafford's breakthrough service in full-color
> book publishing to create a series of customized full-color primers-in
> several Aboriginal languages. Language revitalization is critical to
> cultural survival; primers like this are much-needed by Aboriginal
> language instructors.
>
> "There are more than 6,500 languages spoken around the world," says
> Simon Robinson, Executive Director of the FPCF. "It is estimated that
> 90 per cent of these languages will be extinct by the end of the 21st
> century. Unless we act now to support their revitalization, thousands
> of years of accumulated human knowledge is at risk of disappearing
> without record." In Canada, British Columbia is home to 32 of the
> country's 50 Aboriginal languages. By building tools and providing
> resources that support community language initiatives, Robinson's
> organization aims to help endangered languages thrive again.
>
> In their initial collaboration, Trafford and the FPCF will publish
> primers on colors and numbers. There will be five different versions
> of the book - each featuring a different First Nations language. As a
> testament to the speed and accessibility of Trafford's new publishing
> tool, a proof of the first book in the series - a book in Sencoten
> created by students of the Lau,Welnew Tribal School on the Saanich
> Peninsula - was produced in under one week.
>
> Future work includes expanding the series to include an alphabet
> primer, books on conversational phrases, and dictionaries; and
> translating the primers into other First Nations languages. The new
> technologies will enable First Nations communities and individuals to
> produce their own wide range of books in their own languages.
>
> "We are really excited about the work of the First Peoples' Cultural
> Foundation," states Bruce Batchelor, co-founder and CEO of Trafford
> Publishing. "Our on-demand publishing system can provide the FPCF with
> an accessible and cost-effective way to produce dictionaries,
> children's books - any imaginable printed resource - in First Nations
> languages."
>
> Generally, once a manuscript and accompanying artwork are complete,
> Trafford can have the book ready for distribution to classrooms and
> retail outlets in as little as four weeks. It will be stored as a
> digital file and printed on-demand using a Xerox DocuColor system
>
> "Xerox has been a leader in Print On Demand since the initial launch
> of high-speed digital print engines more than 20 years ago. Our latest
> generation of digital printing devices, particularly the DocuColor
> family of digital color presses, enables the cost-efficient production
> of full-color books such as these First Nations primers," said Peter
> W. Perine, vice president and general manager, Xerox Publishing
> Segment Marketing. "In this high-growth area of Print On Demand, Xerox
> is helping customers produce high-quality books in short run lengths
> and quick turnaround times."
>
> The FPCF and Trafford Publishing are making their announcement at
> iSynergy, a technology showcase in Vancouver that was sponsored by
> Apple Computers. The FPCF's programs and enabling tools (website
> interactivity, remapped keyboards and customized fonts, for example)
> are built on Apple technology. Trafford uses Apple Macintosh computers
> for its prepress and production processes, and Apple 0SX servers for
> its data-intensive networking.
>
> The First Peoples' Cultural Foundation is committed to the
> documentation, protection and revitalization of the full diversity of
> Aboriginal language,arts and cultures. It has garnered worldwide
> attention for FirstVoices.com, an impressive web-based Indigenous
> language archiving application that it has developed and made
> available online. Indigenous groups from Canada, Australia, Europe and
> the USA are preparing to use the FPCF's tools.  www.fpcf.ca
>
> Trafford is a Canadian-registered private company currently serving
> close to 2,000 authors from over 40 countries. It has offices in
> Victoria, BC (Canada), New Bern, NC (USA), Drogheda, Co. Louth
> (Ireland), and Crewe, Cheshire (UK). Trafford is credited with
> inventing the on-demand publishing process for authors of black and
> white paperback books-now over 10% of all new titles launched in North
> America use this process. Extending this service to affordable
> full-color children's books is another world first.
>
> See www.trafford.com/journalists for a backgrounder on this publishing
> breakthrough.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> LINGUIST List: Vol-14-706

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