Kamusi Project facing funding issues

[Elizabeth J. Pyatt]

Hello:

I was wondering this news item had been submitted to LinguistList. This kind of information is posted there and could pass before the eyes of additional linguists from around the worl.
The post link would be http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm

Hope this helps.
Elizabeth Pyatt

On Sep 10, 2014, at 11:30 AM, Martin Benjamin <martin at kamusi.org> wrote:

> Thanks Don, for the write-up on your blog, and for posting to ILAT.
> 
> I've just posted a video that explains a bit about the unique data model that underlies Kamusi. It took hours and hours of work to make, so I hope everyone watches and enjoys! Here it is on YouTube: http://youtu.be/XJLaqwZkBK0
> 
> For this list, I'm less interested in seeking funding than in seeking partners to help us spend what we get. We are soon to upgrade our code so that we can, in principle, start taking in data from all 7000 languages in Ethnologue. However, this presents two big questions: configuration and validation.
> 
> For configuration, it would be extremely helpful if knowledgeable people could help us set up the proper fields for their languages of expertise. For example, how many plural forms does a noun have, or what class categories? The more we know about the structure of a language, the better we can tailor the interface to your specific needs. Just email me if you can help us configure a particular language - it isn't difficult work.
> 
> For validation, we will be taking in data from "the crowd", but the data will remain in quarantine until it passes review. There are two ways to pass. First, if we get the same result from a threshold number of contributors - but that requires a critical mass of participants for a language. Second, if an authority in the language confirms the contribution - but that requires the involvement of someone with the right expertise. We are working on ways to build crowd interest, including games and interactive mobile apps, that we'll announce in the months to come. But we also hope to work with scholars and language communities. So, if you are interested in participating at the expert level, please email me and we can talk about your needs for getting involved.
> 
> Any other questions, please post to the list if they are of general interest to others, or write me directly if they are specific to your language/ work situation.
> 
> Best,
> Martin
> 
> 
> 
> On 9/9/14, 10:49 PM, dzo at bisharat.net wrote:
>> Many of you may be familiar with the Kamusi Project - the online living Swahili dictionary that began at Yale and later transitioned to an NGO that has developed and tested a model for online dictionaries in multiple languages (Global Online Living Dictionary - "GOLD") with means to look up definitions across languages.
>> 
>> It's currently facing a budgeting crisis and seeking ways fund implementation of its model. I just did a short write-up on the Beyond Niamey blog:
>> "Kamusi at 20: Keeping the vision alive and working"
>> http://niamey.blogspot.com/2014/09/kamusi-at-20-keeping-vision-alive-and.html 
>> 
>> In principle, the GOLD model stands to benefit non-dominant languages (even though it includes all languages) by first of all providing a platform in which words and definitions in any language can be entered. Secondly it facilitates dictionary look-ups across uncommon language pairings (Navaho-Swahili?), with appropriate annotations where those occur through one or more other languages.
>> 
>> I believe Martin Benjamin, the Kamusi Project director, is subscribed to ILAT, so hopefully he can respond to any questions about this effort and its current situation.
>> 
>> Don
>> 
>> Don Osborn, PhD
>> (Kamusi board member)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Dr. Martin Benjamin
> Senior Scientist, EPFL and
> Executive Director, Kamusi Project International
> http://kamusi.org
> 
> Full contact information, social networks, blog and photos:
> http://about.me/martin.benjamin
> 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
Instructional Designer
Teaching and Learning with Technology
Penn State University
ejp10 at psu.edu, (814) 865-0805 or (814) 865-2030 (Main Office)

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