Article - Technology Revitalizes Endangered Languages

[Bruce Stonefish]

Hello All,
I know some may not of heard from me in awhile - have been doing fine, as I am back in my 
community. Recently we (Myself and Glen Jacobs) have released a Lunaape Lanaguage resource. You 
can check it out at the following website - www.mohican.com - then log on to 'community' then 
'Lunaape Language'.
We have to date sold approximately 50 or so. We are currently in the process of make a bulk order 
for the CD's.
The resource is a Booklet and 3 CD Set (4hrs) of Lunaape Language. There are words in this booklet 
that cannot be found anywhere else. This booklet is a product of the Lunaapge Language Immersion 
Camp that we held last August- it is actually the booklet we used. We recieved funding from the 
Stockbridge Munsee Tribe in Wisconsin. (We will be hosting this camp again this August in our 
community if you are interested - let me know)
This e-mail is intended help advertise the sale of our Language Resource as well as to give you a 
glimpse into what I have been doing.
Check it out - order one for yourself or some for you community. We are approaching our chief and 
council as well as the Chief and Council in Munsee. So let me know if you need any. Got to keep 
the language alive.
Anushiik waak Laapichkuneewal,
Bruce Stonefish

(519) 692-7226
stonefbr at gse.harvard.edu









On Tue, 04 Mar 2003 11:38:18 -0500 (EST)
  Jim Rementer <Jimrem at AOL.COM> wrote:
> A recent article of interest.
> 
> Jim Rementer
> 
> 
> 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.