How Software Features and Linguistic Analyses Add Value to Orthographic Markup in Transcription of Multilingual Recordings for Digital Archives

Abstract

This report discusses the importance of accounting for language contact and discourse circumstance in orthographic transcriptions of multilingual recordings of spoken language for deposit in digital language archives (DLAs). Our account provides a linguistically informed approach to the multilingual representation of spontaneous speech patterns, taking steps toward documenting ancestral and emergent codes. Our findings lead to portable lessons learned including (a) the conclusion that transcriptions can benefit from a bottom-up approach targeting particular linguistic features of sociocultural relevance to the community documented and (b) the implication (for researchers developing transcriptions for other DLAs) that the principled implementation of particular software features in tandem with systematic linguistic analysis can be helpful in finding and classifying such features, especially in multilingual recordings.

Evaluation and analysis of digital language archives development platforms: a parametric approach

“…A digital repository, such as DSpace or CKAN, can work as a warehouse of digital language contents, such as text, pictures, audio and video, where these materials can be systematically ingested, stored, managed, preserved and reused (Narayanan, 2020). Archives are proven to be the custodians of human civilisation’s socio-cultural heritage and the keepers of ethnicity (Sarkar and Biswas, 2020) and, hence, LIS professionals can collaborate with endangered language communities, linguists and endangered language researchers to build digital language archives (Burke, 2021; Khait et al , 2021; Rodriguez and Vann, 2021). The use of ACMSs like ArchivesSpace will make their jobs easier and give them a systematic workflow for content creation, storage, preservation and distribution (Sarkar and Biswas, 2020).…”