geographic interfaces to OLAC data
Terry Langendoen
terry at LINGUISTLIST.ORG
Wed Jun 14 22:23:43 UTC 2006
Hi, this relates only indirectly to the question Baden raised,
and to the follow-up discussion from Jeff, Anthony and Helen, but
should be of interest to this group (and definitely will be to
certain members -- read on).
Last week, Joan Maling (NSF Linguistics Program Officer), Anna
Kerttula (NSF Office of Polar Programs Social Sciences PO) and I
met with Chris Rainier and other National Geographic Society
staff, and representatives from Conservation International to
find out about and to discuss NGS's plans to construct a
web-based interactive global map of biological and linguistic
diversity. NGS and CI have framed their planning so far in terms
of "hot spots" (areas of great biodiversity which are at greatest
risk of massive extinctions), but Anna, Joan and I pointed out
that this is not quite the right model for presenting data about
languages and their endangerment (it leaves out the Arctic, for
example) -- which everyone acknowledged. CI is providing data
about biological diversity and threatened extinction. For
languages, they have looked at Ethnologue and the UNESCO Red
Book.
We gave the NGS folks information about the LL-MAP project and
told them to be in touch with Helen and Anthony; and with Gary
Simons about Ethnologue. I had intended to alert Helen, Anthony
and Gary right away that they might be contacted by NGS, but in
the press of getting ready to leave for Tucson (where I am now,
basking in the 110 F = 43 C heat) and E. Lansing, forgot to do
so, for which I apologize.
Terry
On Wed, 14 Jun 2006, Anthony Aristar wrote:
> Just to add a bit of information here: we (i.e. LINGUIST List) were funded
> this year to build a GIS system for language data, in a project called
> LL-MAP. The system we're building, though it could certainly use Google
> Earth if it wanted to, will not depend on it, since it will be a full
> implementation of ArcIMS. We've been negotiating with GMI, the people who
> did the polygons for Ethnologue, and they have tentatively agreed to let us
> serve their data as part of our maps. And the database design is just about
> done.
>
> Our language system already incorporates language subgrouping (that is, each
> language "knows" where it belongs in a subgroup). These subgroupings are now
> being updated and expanded in another funded project called Multitree. So,
> since we run an OLAC harvester, we will be able to run the kind of queries
> that have been talked about on either the DELAMAN or the OLAC-IMPLEMENTERS
> list. And in theory all OLAC data which has geographical information should
> be incorporable into the system.
>
> Anthony
>
> Quoting Baden Hughes <badenh at cs.mu.oz.au>:
>
>> Hi OLAC-Implementers
>>
>> Supposing :-) we had centroid point data for each language listed in
>> the Ethnologue, and were going to build some geography-oriented
>> services for OLAC. What sorts of things would people be interested in
>> seeing ? Some ideas:
>>
>> - geographic coverage map per archive and for all archives, with "dots
>> on maps" representing languages which have resources listed in OLAC
>>
>> - geographic coverage map per archive and for all archives, with "dots
>> on maps" representing resource types (eg dictionaries) listed in OLAC
>>
>> - search by country, based on a graphical map selector interface
>> (click a country, see all resources for that country)
>>
>> - search for related resources by geographic proximity
>>
>> NB we are not allowed to distribute the data, but there is no reason
>> why we can't build a service or two with an API to allow others to use
>> it in conjunction with an OLAC-centric service.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Baden
>>
>
>
>
>
> **************************************
> He either fears his fate too much, Or his deserts are
> small, That puts it not unto the touch To win or lose it
> all
>
> James Graham - Marquis of Montrose
>
> Semper Litteris Mandate
>
> **************************************
> Anthony Aristar Professor
> Moderator, LINGUIST Principal Investigator, EMELD Project
> Linguistics Program
> Dept. of English aristar at linguistlist.org
> Wayne State University aristar at wayne.edu
> 5057 Woodward
> Detroit, MI 48202
> U.S.A.
>
> URL: http://linguistlist.org/aristar/
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