Indigenous Languages in the CKK: New language object and APIs
Kwusen’s most recent project is a new language object in the CKK that supports Indigenous language learning and revitalization. With this new feature, the CKK can store any language of choice and sync this information to existing online dictionaries bearing rich linguistic information and language learning games. Keep reading to learn more about this feature development project with Gitxaała Nation’s Language & Culture team, and the language, Sm’algyax.
Partnering to revitalize language
Over the past year and a half, Kwusen’s Research, Digital, and Development teams have been working closely with Gitxaała Nation’s Language & Culture team on a project to build a Language object in the Community KnowledgeKeeper (CKK). This work has been funded by a Language Technology Program grant from the First Peoples’ Cultural Council. Together with Gitxaała Nation, we have embarked on a two-year project to store Sm'algyax audio and video data in the CKK for eventual uploading to Gitxaała’s FirstVoices online Sm’algyax dictionary and develop a Language Object in the CKK that will allow an API to sync files from the CKK to the FirstVoices site directly.
Endangered languages in B.C.
Sm’algyax is an Indigenous language spoken in northwestern British Columbia and Alaska. Like many Indigenous languages, Sm’algyax is an endangered language with very few children learning or continuing to use this language from birth. According to the First Peoples’ Cultural Council report on the status of B.C. First Nations Languages in 2022, there are only 79 fluent speakers remaining out of a population of over 9000 individuals. This makes Sm’algyax an ideal language for the Language Technology Program, which offers funding, along with equipment and training, to support Indigenous language revitalization using technology. It is our hope that this digital support will help the Gitxaała Nation increase the number of fluent Sm’algyax speakers.
APIs and Language Objects
An API is a mechanism that allows two software components to communicate with each other. In the current context, the API will send data from Gitxaała’s CKK to the First Voices Sm’algyax dictionary, meaning Gitxaała will only need to upload and manage the data within the CKK archive, without the need for duplicative data entry and management directly to FirstVoices.
Before utilizing the API, the CKK must first be able to hold language data. As such, our first task has been to build out a Language Object in the CKK. In building this language object, we’ve matched the existing dictionary fields already present in the FirstVoices dictionary, while also fleshing out important linguistic details. While our target language for this project is Sm’algyax, our goal is to build a Language Object in the CKK that bears linguistic structure in mind, making it possible for any language to be represented in the system.
Connectivity across the CKK
Recognizing that community members have important oral knowledge to share, it’s also important for us to ensure the Language Object is built with connectivity across the CKK in mind. As we continue developing this Language Object, we intend to integrate and link this with Research Data and Archive entries. In this way, users may access not just the pronunciation of the word, but see it in broader context with research projects and archival documents. Once the language object is complete, other Indigenous communities will be able to use it to hold their language recordings in their CKKs.
