Acorns Language Restoration Software

[Dan Harvey]

Hi All,

The new release of the ACORNS software is now available. This software is freely downloaded. It's purpose is to support tribal language revitalization programs. The software can be effectively used with any language. The name ACORNS stands for [A][C]quisition [O]f [R]estored [N]ative [S]peech in honor of the indigenous tribes of Northern California and Southern Oregon. You can visit http://cs.sou.edu/~harveyd and click on the ACORNS language project for more information. The download page has instructions related to installation. 

The software allows language teachers, or their students, to prepare lessons to assist in language acquisition. Prepared lessons can be posted on the Web, or sent back and forth by e-mail. It is easy to use and requires little training. However, should any tribes want training, we are happy to provide it.

Version 2.0 had two types of language lessons. Picture and Sound lessons allows you to attach a group of sound recordings to places on a picture. When the student clicks on those places in the pictures, one of the recorded sounds attached to that spot is heard. Multiple Choice lessons work much like those of the commercial Rosetta Stone product. This kind of lesson attaches a group of recorded sounds to a series of pictures. The student hears a sound clip and then clicks on the appropriate picture. This kind of lesson has proven successful in training our country's diplomats.

Version 3.0 now adds a third lesson type. This lesson, called Hear and Respond, annotates a sound recording with translation phrases and words. The student hears the recording (which could be a story for example) and sees the transcription, either in English or in the indigenous language. The program randomly leaves words blank which the student fills in. The program gives audible feedback as to whether the student is correct, or if they are  close. This kind of lesson is useful to improve comprehension and helps the student learn correct spelling.

Version 3.0 also integrates our Sound Editor directly into the ACORNS application. This feature enables you to edit recordings. For example, you might want to delete the parts of the recording that have 'ahs' or other sounds that don't relate to the language. Our Sound Editor also includes the  'front end' of portion of a speech recognition system. We intend to use this as a tool for research as this project matures. Our long term plan is to create games where indigenous speakers can interact with the computer in their native tongues.

Version 3.0 now supports both the Cherokee and Chinook-Wawa keyboard fonts. It is easy to add others, so let us know if you have needs for this feature. We plan to incorporate a GUI front end to this feature so users can easily add their own keyboard mappings.

We are still working on the ability to import dictionaries created by linguists. With this capability, we can create an indigenous scrabble game, magnet games, flash card lessons, and other neat features. This feature will also provide user a friendly interface that allows you to update and maintain the dictionary.  

Please let us know if you have any problems. Universities don't have a quality support department, so we can only find out about problems if you let us know. There is now a forum at the ACORNS web site for easy posting of any problems that you come across.

Thanks for your interest. My goal is for ACORNS to become a useful tool for restoring culture and language. 

Have a great day, 
Dan Harvey, Associate Professor, Southern Oregon University
(541) 552-6149, harveyd at sou.edu