Tag: Indigenous Languages
Lessons From the Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project
The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project is a wide-scope initiative that aims to provide resources for essential services to Mayan language speakers. This article describes the project’s efforts with the hope that it serves as a roadmap for all indigenous language communities.
Modern Mayans: A Hidden World Closer Than You Think
Jace Norton recounts his career journey from missionary to interpreter to company founder — and how he came to learn about indigenous languages and communities along the way. Now committed to providing language services to underserved populations, Norton encourages readers to look beyond their narrow surroundings to adopt broader perspectives on language access.
LIS Solutions and Maya Bridge Launch Indigenous Language Glossary
The Indigenous Gateway Project is a work of language conservation and continuity that serves as a living resource for language workers and laypeople alike. The glossary covers eight high-demand Mayan languages, aiding refugee resettlement efforts.
Collateral Damage
The Mayan civilization may have vanished, but its linguistic heritage endures. Today, up to 22 ancient Mayan languages are still spoken in Guatemala and beyond, though their survival remains precarious. Ewandro Magalhães describes the challenges facing native speakers and efforts to provide language services to those in need.
Developing Language Technology Tools for Low-Resource Languages
For 20 years, Sjur Nørstebø Moshagen has led an effort to develop language technology tools for the indigenous Sámi languages of Northern Europe. While the project has produced many important tools, the limitations of commonly used hardware and software negatively affect their ease of use. Moshagen ends by proposing an “open language” model similar to the idea of open source.
Writing Joyfully
While the traditional Ranjana script is recognized and respected in Nepal, most people can’t read or write it due to centuries of restriction and oppression. Now, thanks to local efforts at teaching calligraphy, it’s making a comeback.
Writing Beyond Writing
The book is at once an historical overview of scripts, a memoir about carving endangered scripts, a manifesto that takes aim at the dominance of the Latin script, and — perhaps most vitally — a clarion call to save the scripts used by marginalized peoples around the world.
The Need for Audio Description in Indigenous Languages
In a world of digitized media and language tools, ancestral languages are often left behind.
Indigenous Language Hub Faces Funding Crisis: The Vital Need for Urban Language Revitalization
The Victoria Native Friendship Centre (VNFC) in Canada grapples with the sudden loss of crucial funding for its Urban Indigenous Language Hub.