How IT is saving Pilbara's Aboriginal languages (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

How IT is saving Pilbara's Aboriginal languages

Angus Kidman, ZDNet UK
12 June 2008 11:33 AM

Creating and cataloguing recordings of indigenous languages is a challenging
enough technology task, but the Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre
had some additional barriers to overcome: creaky IT systems, a depleting base
of native speakers and the ever-present threat of cyclones.

The 21-year-old centre in remote Western Australia exists to document the 31
indigenous languages in the Pilbara region, a relatively urgent task given that
several of those languages have just a handful of active native speakers.

IT plays a critical role in performing those functions. "We should use
technology to work a lot smarter," senior linguist Sue Hanson said during a
recent presentation at the Connecting Up convention for non-profit
organisations in Brisbane.

Backup is particularly important, as existing and newly created recordings of
speakers need to be carefully preserved and analysed. "We've now got huge
archives of material, and that material is extremely precious," Hanson said. "A
lot of it is deceased people's stories; we can never replace that."

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