Literacy Through the Web: The Chuxnabán Mixe Online Dictionary Carmen Jany California State University, San Bernardino [email protected]
Dec 29, 2015
Literacy Through the Web: The Chuxnabán
Mixe Online Dictionary
Carmen JanyCalifornia State University, San
This project Trilingual (Spanish/English/Mixe)
multimedia online dictionary Chuxnabán Mixe: Mexican
indigenous language spoken in one village in Oaxaca
Chuxnabán Mixe: Mainly spoken endangered language
This talk Chuxnabán Mixe: Language family,
Speakers, Materials, Orthography, Linguistic features
Web-based language documentation & maintenance
Chuxnabán Mixe Online Dictionary
Mixe Languages Mixe territory: 290 communities in Oaxaca,
19 municipalities Each community with a different variety Classification of Mixe varieties still unclear
due to limited sources of documentation Mixe-Zoque language family Mixe varieties differ mostly in their vowel
systems Very few published grammars and
dictionaries of the Mixe languages
Mixe Territory & Languages
San Juan Bosco Chuxnabán, Summer 2006
San Juan Bosco Chuxnabán, Summer 2006
Chuxnabán Mixe Previously undocumented Spoken by 900 people in one village No established orthography Endangered Language:
Education/Literacy in Spanish No literacy/educational materials No language documentation Migration to cities & the US Language ideology: Spanish/English represent
progress/economic growth
Orthography development Determine phonemes Check for other orthographies (grammars,
government) Use literacy background in Spanish Test with speakers
Challenges Vowel system Using keyboard symbols Phonemic vs. phonetic writing (i.e. voiced
stops allophonic only)
7 Vowel phonemes: /a, æ, e, i, o, u, / i ~ : tsip ‘war’ tsïp ‘plant name’
a ~ u: kam ‘field’ kum ‘sweet fruit’
æ ~ u: tsäk ‘dull’ tsuk ‘mouse’
o ~ u ~ : joon ‘bird’ juun ‘hard’
jïïn ‘fire’
Plain vs. Aspirated a/aa/(a)ah: pak ‘pigeon’ taak ‘mother’
paajk ‘bone’ taajk‘police’
ï/ïï/(ï)ïh: mïk ‘strong’ mïït ‘they went’
xïïjk ‘bean’ mïïjt‘year’
Vowel length (all short and long) o ~ oo: mox ‘stomach’ moox ‘knot’
a ~ aa: kam ‘field’ kaan ‘salt’
e ~ ee: kepy ‘tree’ keepy ‘bream’(fish)
Phonation contrasts Modal vowels (short and long): V, VV Aspirated vowels (short and long): Vh, VVh Glottalized vowels (short, interrupted): V, VV
Plain vs. glottalized a/a: täp ‘you have’ kä’p ‘scorpion’
u/ u: tsuk ‘mouse’ ju’k ‘owl’
ï/ï: mïk ‘strong’
mï’t ‘mother-in-law/father-in-law’
Plain vs. Interrupted
ii/ii: kiix ‘woman’ pi’ix ‘tail’
uu/ uu: puuy ‘seat’ pu’uy ‘table’
ï/ïï: tsïp ‘plant name’ tsï’ïp ‘plant whengetting cut’
Consonants: 15 phonemes p, t, k, m, n, x, ts, ch, j can be palatalized
Bilabial
Alveolar Palatal
Velar
Glottal
Plosives p t k (‘)
Nasals m n
Fricatives s, ʃ (x) h (j)
Affricates ts, tʃ (ch)
Rhotic r
Lateral l
Glides w y
Can internet technology help with literacy development & with the maintenance of Chuxnabán Mixe?
Web-based Language Documentation & Maintenance Recent explosion of web-based
technology reaching all parts of the world
Implications for language documentation and maintenance Materials can easily be made available
more widely for language learning and research
Implications for language documentation & maintenance con’t Online materials can help promote
literacy development for the mostly oral languages
Online materials assist the formation of a new type of literacy: Digital fluency(=>refers to the ways people become comfortable using technology)
Inexpensive & immediately accessible
Trilingual online dictionary: Goals (1) Describe the lexicon and grammar of
Chuxnabán Mixe (2) Create literacy materials in order to
facilitate language maintenance Three main components
a) Illustration & explanation of established orthography
b) Description of phonetics & phonology to facilitate pronunciation
c) Searchable trilingual dictionary database for searches in Mixe, Spanish, and English
Illustration/explanation of orthography Needed since users are literate in Spanish and/or
English, but not in Mixe Certain sounds represented in a unique way not
found in Spanish or English, given the complex vowel system
Main orthography page All letters of the alphabet; each letter opens a
link to another page with: a) Set of words where letter occurs in initial, medial, and
final position if applicable b) Set of sound files linked to sample words c) Additional explanations of how and why letter has
been chosen to represent the sound
Online Dictionary: Entry page & orthography page
http://flan.csusb.edu/~cjany/Mixe/
Description of phonetics & phonology Links to two tables with phonemes: vowels and
consonants Tables following International Phonetic Alphabet
Chart (IPA symbols) Notes & explanations where practical
orthography differs Each symbol linked to new page with sample
words and sound files Allophones, variations of a sound, included Tool may be less valuable for speakers, but
important feature for researchers and linguists (& teachers for pronunciation)
Online Dictionary: Sounds pagehttp://flan.csusb.edu/~cjany/Mixe/
phonemes/sounds.htm
Searchable Trilingual Dictionary Users search in English, Spanish, or in
Chuxnabán Mixe for a dictionary entry Target word appears with corresponding
two translations and is accompanied by a phonetic transcription
Each entry is also linked to an audio file and a picture (for culture-specific items)
Database can be searched by semantic category (plants, animals, food, etc) (for teachers and linguists examining word structures)
Online Dictionary Databasehttp://flan.csusb.edu/~cjany/Mixe/dictionary.htm
Why Spanish & English?Spanish is the second language in
the Mixe community and the official dominant language
English is the most accessible language to researchers worldwide and the first or second language of Mixes living in the United States
Target audiencesMixe community in OaxacaMixes living elsewhereLinguists working on MixeOther researchers
Possible additions Description of other parts of the
grammar (morphology and syntax) Sound files from multiple speakers for
each word Examples with entire sentences where
the target words are used Page with narratives, their transcriptions
and sound files, as well as explanations, if needed (video files of performance)
Learning modules, games for pedagogical purposes
Conclusions While web-based technology is becoming
widespread, indigenous languages are disappearing
Language maintenance efforts can benefit from more active use of web-based resources
Web‑based language materials give a voice to linguistically peripheral groups
Project promotes two types of literacy: (1) Traditional literacy linked to reading and writing (2) Digital fluency which is needed to prosper in the
digital age
Conclusions (con’t)Useful tool for speakers, teachers,
and researchersMultimedia facilitates the fast and
easy acquisition of informationProject aids literacy development
as well as digital fluency
Bibliography Campbell, Lyle, Terrence Kaufman, Thomas C. Smith-
Stark. 1986. Meso-America as Linguistic Area. Language, Vol. 62, No. 3. 530-570.
Crawford, John Chapman. 1963. Totontepec Mixe Phonotagmemics. Summer Institute of Linguistics, No. 8. University of Oklahoma.
De La Grasserie, Raoul. 1898 (reprint 1968). Langue Zoque et Langue Mixe: Grammaire, Dictionnaire. Biliothèque Linguistique Américaine, Tome XXII. Paris. (Reprint: Kraus. Nendeln, Liechtenstein).
De Quintana, Fray Augustin. 1733 (printed 1890). Confesionario en Lengua Mixe. Alençon.
Bibliography Hoogshagen Noordsy, Searle And Hilda Halloran
Hoogshagen. 1997. Diccionario Mixe de Coatlán Oaxaca. Summer Institute of Linguistics. 2nd edition (1st edition 1993). Mexico.
INEA (Instituto Nacional para la Educación del los Adultos). 1994. Ayuk Ja’jy Y’ayuujk. Libro del Adulto, Población Mixe (Parte Baja), Oaxaca.
INEA (Instituto Nacional para la Educación del los Adultos). 1997. Ayuk Ja’jy Y’ayuujk. Libro del Adulto, Población Mixe (Parte Alta), Oaxaca.
Ladefoged, Peter And Ian Maddieson. 1996. The Sounds of the World’s Languages. Blackwell, MA.
Bibliography Schoenhals, Alvin and Louise C. 1982. Vocabulario
Mixe de Totontepec. SIL. 2nd edition. Hidalgo, Mexico. Suslak, Dan. 2003. The Story of ö: Orthography and
Cultural Politics in the Mixe Highlands. Pragmatics 13:4. 551-563.
Thomas, Kimberly D. And Alan Shaterian. 1990. Vowel length and Pitch in Yavapai. Papers from the 1990 Hokan-Penutian Languages Workshop. Margaret Langdon ed. Carbondale, IL. 144-53.
Van Haitsma J. D. and Willard Van Haitsma. 1976. A Hierarchical Sketch of Mixe as spoken in San José El Paraíso. Summer Institute of Linguistics 44. Mexico.
Thank you!
¡Gracias!