Technology & collaboration in language documentation & revitalization: the case of a Zapotec Talking Dictionary

February 28, 20154th International Conference on Language Documentation & Conservation

Alex Mannix, Bryn Mawr CollegeBrook Danielle Lillehaugen, Haverford CollegeJanet Chávez Santiago, Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova

Roadmap¡Zakxdilih sa’ yiubtu!

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● Background information on the language and the Talking Dictionaries

● Presentation of the many layers of interaction that exist in regards to the Talking Dictionary, facilitated through the online interface

● Evaluation and implications of the collaborative nature of the project, with focus on collaboration as goal (Pérez Báez 2015)

The entrance to the town of Teotitlán del Valle

BackgroundTeotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca

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State of Oaxaca, Mexico(maps.google.com)

BackgroundTeotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca

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The three Valleys of Oaxaca(maps.google.com)

BackgroundTeotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca

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The Tlacolula Valley(García García, et al. n.d.)

BackgroundTeotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca

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Teotitlán del Valle● population of 5,638 people

(INEGI 2010)● 3,658 speak Zapotec (INEGI

2010)

The church in Teotitlán del Valle

BackgroundZapotec

● Over 18 language families spoken in Oaxaca

● Zapotec (Otomanguean)

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Language families in Oaxaca(Munro et al. 2007: 4)

BackgroundZapotec

● Zapotec is a complex language family● More detailed proposed structure in Smith

Stark 2003● Four main branches of Core Zapotec● Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec is a Valley Zapotec

language, part of the Central branch 4th ICLDC; Mannix, Lillehaugen & Chávez Santiago - 8

Zapotec language family(Galant & Foreman 2010, Figure 1)

BackgroundTeotitlán del Valle Zapotec (Dixza)

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● ISO code zab (Lewis et al. 2014)

● variety of Tlacolula Valley Zapotec (aka “San Juan Guelavia Zapotec”)

● no standardized orthography● under documented● most of the linguistic

documentation done by Troi Carleton

● transnational community, with speakers in Oaxaca and the US, especially in California

Shop sign: “Handcrafts of Teotitlán”

Background Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec: Language Valorization

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● Five school institutions in the village

● Zapotec is acquired orally ● There is no possibility to

either learn or speak Zapotec in school

● Discrimination against speakers of Zapotec

● Decline in use of Zapotec with young children

Janet-- insert picture

View from the main road to Teotitlán

BackgroundTalking Dictionary Project

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● Living Tongues Institute ● K. David Harrison● National Geographic● Swarthmore College● Dictionaries on languages around the

world, including the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, India, Micronesia, and Zimbabwe

Talking Dictionaries Webpagetalkingdictionaries.swarthmore.edu

BackgroundZapotec Talking Dictionaries

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● Emiliano Cruz’s TD for Miahuateco (not part of our project)

● Zapotec Talking Dictionaries○ Tlacolula de Matamoros○ San Lucas Quiaviní Zapotec○ Tlacochahuaya Zapotec○ Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec

Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec Talking Dictionaryhttp://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/teotitlan

Background Talking Dictionary Project

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Four entries from the Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec Talking Dictionaryhttp://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/teotitlan

Background Talking Dictionary Project

● Comparative Zapotec dictionary interface

● Allows for comparison across different Valley varieties

4th ICLDC; Mannix, Lillehaugen & Chávez Santiago - 14‘Two’ in the Comparative Zapotec TD interface

technical support from Living Tongues

Institute

Interaction Technology facilitates multiple types of interaction

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Zapotec language learners

linguists

linguistics students

any interested

person with

internet

other Zapotec

community members

Representation of interactions between type of people who interact with the Talking Dictionary

Zapotec language activists & teachers

funding agencies/ institutional support

InteractionZapotec teacher

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Poster advertising Zapotec Language Classhttp://www.bibliotecajuandecordova.mx/lenguas

● Motivation for teaching Zapotec

● 2012- first Zapotec language course at La Biblioteca Juan de Córdova

● No pedagogical materials available

● Summer of 2013- started the Teotitlán del Valle Talking Dictionary

InteractionZapotec language students

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● TD used in conjunction with text by Chávez Santiago

● Prioritized recording of vocabulary words in class text, first envisioning the TD as a tool for the students in the course

Janet-- insert classroom picture here

Zapotec class at the Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova

InteractionLinguistics students

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● Lillehaugen’s students in US classrooms

● Structure of Colonial Valley Zapotec courses

● Phonetics & Phonology courses (tone and phonation phenomenon)

● Diverse usership made possible by online platform

Haverford & Bryn Mawr students in the Structure of Colonial Valley Zapotec class celebrating the Day of the Dead

InteractionCollaborative training

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● Work between language activists, linguistics, and linguistics students in the field● Exchange of knowledge and ideas on multiple levels

○ linguistic knowledge○ language, Theoretical knowledge○ technical and analytical skills○ collaborative skills

InteractionInterdisciplinary collaboration

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● Web designers, technical experts (especially Jeremy Fahringer, Swarthmore College)

● Computer science students at Haverford College (implementing Android App as part of classroom project, in consultation with Lillehaugen & Chávez Santiago and Computer Scientist Sorelle Friedler)

insert pic of janet and jeremy

Chávez Santiago consulting with Fahringer and Babinski at Swarthmore College

Implications

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● Collaborative research model (Czaykowska-Higgins 2009, Dwyer 2010, Rice 2006, Yamada 2007)

Teaching and collaborating with Zapotec language activists, Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova, 2013

Implications

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● Collaboration as a goal rather than condition (Pérez Báez 2015)

Working on the Talking Dictionary

technical support from Living Tongues

Institute

Implications The creation & fostering of an intentional collaborative project

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Zapotec language learners

linguists

linguistics students

any interested

person with

internet

other Zapotec

community members

Zapotec language activists & teachers

funding agencies/ institutional support

¡Xtiuzeng & Mahalo!

Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdova Bryn Mawr College Deans Office

Troi Carleton Jeremy Fahringer

Helen Felker Ambrocio Gutiérrez

Bibiana Gutiérrez K. David Harrison

Haverford College Center for Peace and Global Citizenship Haverford College Provost’s Office

Haverford College Teaching with Technology Grant Nick Kalivoda

Living Tongues Institute Teresa Martínez Chavez

Swarthmore College Rachel Elizabeth Weissler

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Works Cited● Carleton, Troi. in preparation. Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec Dictionary. ms.● García García, Ángel, et al. n.d. [1998?]. Oaxaca: Distritos (Municipios, Localidades, y Habitantes). n.p. (Priv. de Rayon no.

104, Centro, Oaxaca, Oax.)● Czaykowska-Higgins, Ewa. 2009. Research models, community engagement, and linguistic fieldwork: Reflections on working

within Canadian indigenous communities. Language Documentation and Conservation 3 (1): 15-50.● Dwyer, Arienne M. 2010. Models of Successful Collaboration. In N. Louanna Furbee and Lenore A. Grenoble, eds. Language

Documentation: Practice and Values. Amsterdam: Benjamins: 193– 212.● Galant, Michael and John Foreman. 2010. 'La negación en el zapoteco – hacia una tipología', paper presented at Coloquio

sobre Lenguas Otomangues y Vecinas IV: Thomas C. Smith Stark, Oaxaca.● INEGI. 2010. Conteo de población y vivencia. Mexico. ● Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2014. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Eighteenth edition.

Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com.● Munro, Pamela, Brook Danielle Lillehaugen, and Felipe H. Lopez. 2007. Cali Chiu?: A Course in Valley Zapotec, preliminary

revised edition, New York: Lulu.com.● Pérez Báez, Gabriela. 2015. ‘Slowly, slowly said the jaguar’: Giving collaborations time to develop. Presented at the 4th

International Conference on Language Documentation and Conservation, Honolulu.● Rice, Keren. 2006. Ethical issues in linguistic fieldwork: An overview. Journal of Academic Ethics 4.1-4: 123-155. ● Smith Stark, Thomas C. 2003b. Algunas isoglosas zapotecas. Paper presented at the III Coloquio Internacional de Lingüística,

México, D.F.● Yamada, Racquel-Maria. 2007. Collaborative Linguistic Fieldwork: Practical Application of the Empowerment Model.

Language Documentation and Conservation. Vo.1 No. 2: 257-282

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Contact information

Alex Mannix, Bryn Mawr Collegeamannix@brynmawr.edu

Brook Danielle Lillehaugen, Haverford Collegeblilleha@haverford.edu

Janet Chávez Santiago, Biblioteca de Investigación Juan de Córdovajanet.chavez@san-pablo.mx

Talking Dictionary main webpage: http://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/Zapotec Talking Dictionaries: http://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/zapotecs/Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec Talking Dictionary: http://talkingdictionary.swarthmore.edu/teotitlan/

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