Language Documentation and Description: Ensuring Portability and Usability

Title: Language Documentation and Description: Ensuring Portability and Usability

Research Question: How can language documentation and description be made more portable and usable across different platforms, communities, purposes, and time periods?

Methodology: The researchers surveyed the current tools and technologies used for language documentation and description. They analyzed how these materials are created, managed, and accessed, which led to the identification of seven portability problems: content, format, discovery, access, citation, preservation, and rights. They then provided value statements that serve as a framework for best practice recommendations.

Results: The researchers found that while digital language documentation and description are becoming easier to create and link to linguistic descriptions, ensuring their portability and usability over time is a significant challenge. They identified seven portability problems that need to be addressed:

1. Content: The information being documented or described needs to be organized and structured in a way that makes it easy to access, understand, and use.

2. Format: The data should be stored in formats that are widely accepted and easily accessible across different platforms.

3. Discovery: There should be effective ways to find and identify language documentation and description resources, especially as more materials become available online.

4. Access: Users should be able to easily access and navigate the data, regardless of the platform or device they are using.

5. Citation: Proper citation practices should be established and followed to give credit to the original creators and contributors of the data.

6. Preservation: Language documentation and description materials should be stored in a way that ensures their longevity and prevents data loss.

7. Rights: Users should be aware of and respect the rights and permissions associated with the data, including any copyright or intellectual property restrictions.

Implications: The researchers conclude that while the rapid adoption of new tools and technologies can help facilitate language documentation and description, it is crucial to consider portability and usability issues to ensure that these resources remain accessible and useful over time. They provide a series of value statements and best practice recommendations to guide future projects in this field.

Link to Article: https://arxiv.org/abs/0204020v1 Authors: arXiv ID: 0204020v1