Language documentation and division: Bridging the digital divide

Contemporary language documentation workflow is a largely digital process. While this has had many benefits for how linguists undertake language documentation projects, it has also lead to a disparity between how the process is conceptualised by academic researchers, and how it is conceptualised by the speakers of endangered languages. In […]

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A Lifeline for Endangered Languages

During a gruelling interview at the All Things Digital conference, on May 28th, Walt Mossberg cut off the Apple C.E.O. Tim Cook mid-sentence to raise an uncomfortable subject for the company. “There is a level of control that you exercise—curation, one might say, not just in your app store but […]

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Backward Compatible: Cybertracker fuses ancient knowledge with cutting-edge technology

Excerpt: CyberTracker creator Louis Liebenberg, a South African scientist and author, first came up with the idea in 1996 while tracking with a group of Kalahari Bushmen. Liebenberg realized that he could help save the Bushmen’s rapidly disappearing knowledge if he could find a way to help trackers, who could […]

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Do It Yourself Non Governmental Organisation (DIYNGO)

DIYNGO stands for “Do It Yourself Non Governmental Organisation”. We are an NGO (currently a voluntary organisation) who create an awareness of the usefulness of renewable technologies, e.g. wind and solar power. Specifically, we are interested in using this renewable energy to power a range of computing devices, from Personal […]

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CyberTracker

CyberTracker Conservation is a South African non-profit company that develops handheld data capture solutions. Their flagship product is called CyberTracker 3 and can be downloaded free from the CyberTracker website. The software itself was first developed as a way to allow non-literate animal trackers to communicate their environmental observations. It […]

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Smartphones promoted as a tool for indigenous forest protection

Excerpt Smartphones beeping in the woods may be a welcome presence that augurs the increased ability of indigenous communities to be stewards of their own biodiverse forests. Representatives of these communities and their supporters have advocated that international conservation policies like Reduced Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) be increasingly […]

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FirstVoices Chat App enables Indigenous language speakers to text in their own language

FirstVoices Chat From the First Peoples’ Cultural Council press release (in full below): Brentwood Bay, B.C. – FirstVoices Chat, an Indigenous language texting app for Facebook Chat and Google Talk, is now available at the Apple App Store as a free download for iPad, iTouch and iPhone. The app contains […]

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Blacktracker

Blacktracker: GPS-based Smartphone app for Indigenous Heritage Have you ever wondered about the traditional owners of the land you’re on? And not known where to find out about their cultures and traditions? As the ‘Indigenous Heritage and Education’ working group at the Heywire Regional Youth Summit, our aim was to create […]

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Open Source Native Language App Code

Ogoki Learning Systems Inc. is releasing their App code for free The following text is from the Ogoki Learning Systems Inc. website: Would you like your own Aboriginal language app for the iPad, iPhone or Touch? Your language app can look like Ojibway – People and Language iPhone app Build your own […]

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Ogoki Learning Systems Releases Open Source Native Language App Code

Ogoki Learning Systems Inc. is releasing their App code for free The following text is from the Ogoki Learning Systems Inc. website: Would you like your own Aboriginal language app for the iPad, iPhone or Touch? Your language app can look like Ojibway – People and Language iPhone app Build your own […]

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Using ICTs for Indigenous Cultural Preservation: Challenges and Strategies

As Indigenous communities endeavor to maintain their traditional ways of knowing, many are turning to information and communications technologies (ICTs) to sustain and stimulate their Indigenous knowledge traditions ([1],[2],[3]). They are using analog and digital video and audio recording devices, as well as a constellation of computer, mobile, and Internet-related […]

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