Running head: LAB 1 – ELDERS DESCRIPTION
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Lab 1 – ELDERS Product Description
Ben Cortina
CS 411W
Janet Brunelle
March 18, 2013
Version 2
Table of Contents
1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1
2
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................... 1
2.1
Key Product Features and Capabilities .................................................................................. 1
2.2
Major Components (Hardware/Software).............................................................................. 1
3 IDENTIFICATION OF CASE STUDY .................................................................................... 1
4
4.1
PRODUCT PROTOTYPE DESCRIPTION ............................................................................. 1
Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software) ........................................................................ 1
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4.2
Prototype Features and Capabilities....................................................................................... 2
4.3
Prototype Development Challenges ....................................................................................... 2
GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................... 2
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................... 2
List of Figures
Figure 1. Major Functional Component Diagram ........................................................................ 7
Table 1. Prototype and Product feature comparison................................................................... 11
Figure 2. Prototype Major Functional Component Diagram ..................................................... 12
1
INTRODUCTION
There are up to 7,000 different spoken languages around the world. Each one defines a
culture. UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
estimates that, by the end of this century, nearly half of these languages will die off if no further
efforts at preservation are made ("Endangered Languages"). Out of a concern over the possible
extinction of these languages and loss of the valuable cultural heritage, numerous programs are
dedicated to saving endangered languages. Some of the most notable efforts include UNESCO,
First Voices, Rosetta Stone, and FLEx (FieldWorks Language Explorer). The majority of these
programs focus on documenting and retaining the language in its current state. Unfortunately,
this approach does not help the language grow in its user base or vocabulary. As the user base of
a language shrinks, parts of it are steadily forgotten. With ninety percent of current languages
having less than 100,000 users, it is uncertain how much of each language may have already
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been forgotten (“Languages of the World“.). Some languages are so close to extinction that only
a minute portion of the language remains, leaving only a stark framework without potential for
complex cultural images and metaphors.
To save these languages, documentation is the key. However, it is not always enough in
some cases. In order for a language to remain relevant in a constantly changing world, it must
continue to develop alongside a society. For languages that have lost so much, aid is desperately
needed to help the language develop. This development implies the expansion the user base and
continuation of linguistic evolution and growth through ever expanding vocabulary, complexity,
and imagery.
Sadly, of all the language revival projects out there, none of them focus on the Nottoway
language. That is why this project’s focus is on the Nottoway dialect; a language so severely
antiquated it was declared extinct around 1958 (Paul Lewis, 2009). All that remains is around
300 words recorded almost two hundred years ago. Additionally, the original Nottoway alphabet
was not documented.
In order to help such an endangered language, a tool must be designed to provide the
users with a means to teach and expand the language. This tool must be versatile enough to
accommodate any change to the language, otherwise it could hinder the language’s continued
development. It must be educational enough to allow for people to learn the language. The tool
should be accessible to all in the community who wish to aid in the development of their
language; as such, it should be free. Reliable and valid documentation of a language is necessary
to provide a foundation on which the language can grow. Therefore, the tool must excel at
documenting grammar, vocabulary, and alphabets. A language must be supported, and ultimately
nurtured by the community for it to continue to thrive and evolve. Most importantly, the
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language must be defined by its community; as such, the tool must be community managed and
driven. The Endangered Language Documentation, Extension, and Revival System (ELDERS)
will be designed to be this tool.
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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
ELDERS will be designed to ensure the language will thrive by focusing on the three
most important elements of language revival: documentation, expansion, and education. While
the language must expand, without a well-documented origin, the language would have no root
from which to grow. Therefore, ELDERS will offer services that allow communities to store the
alphabet of their language, words and their appropriate attributes, and grammar structure from
the time they begin using ELDERS. Development of the language should be entirely community
driven. This is why ELDERS will offer language expansion tools in the form of a suggestion and
voting system for new words. For a language to thrive, there must be a growing user base. To
support and enable expansion, ELDERS will provide educational material such as history,
grammar tutorials, and word games.
A dialect’s attributes will be stored in an online database. Upon using EDLERS, a
language’s vocabulary and grammar will be stored in a table on the database. Further additions to
the language will be stored on a separate table. ELDERS will encourage community involvement
by providing a means for the users to directly aid in the expansion of the language via the word
suggestion and voting system. Additionally, each community will be provided with a forum on
which they can communicate with other members.
2.1
Key Product Features and Capabilities
As introduced in Section 2.0, the ELDERS database will feature two separate tables: one
to preserve the language in the state is was in upon joining ELDERS (Historical Dictionary), and
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another table for storing any additions during the use of ELDERS (Expanded Dictionary).
ELDERS will be able to read both tables but, after initial setup, the Historical Dictionary table
will not be modifiable through ELDERS. This feature is to ensure the language is remembered
exactly as it was before contact with ELDERS. Users, with the proper authority, will have the
means to remove, modify, and add new words or rules.
The Education section of ELDERS will provide tools to learn the language and the
culture of the community. There will be lessons designed to teach users proper sentence
structure, conjugation, and other grammatical attributes of the language. Additionally, a variety
of educational games will be available to offer a more interactive learning experience. The
ELDERS prototype will only have one game, but the option for users to submit new games will
be available. Finally, ELDERS will provide an option for the community to document the history
of its culture. This gives the community a secure place to store their history, and it provides new
users with the means to understand the nature of the community’s culture.
Community interaction and communication are both key to the language growing through
ELDERS. This is why a forum to interact with the rest of the community in hopes to drive up
user engagement will be provided. Additionally, notifications will be sent out informing users of
new additions or changes to the language. Finally, as ELDERS is designed to a be a tool for the
community, they are directly in charge of the language growth. Users are provided with means to
suggested new words and vote on the preferred version if a word has already been suggested.
These features are designed to encourage users to take part in ELDERS and help their language
expand.
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2.2
Major Components (Hardware/Software)
Figure 1 illustrates the major functional components of ELDERS. In the “Client” box, the
website features are depicted. In the “Server” cylinder, the back-end setup is defined. The entire
project will be free and open source software. This means that there will be no licensing fee for
anyone who wants to use ELDERS or its code. Additionally, this allows the community to give
full control to whomever they decide should have it.
Figure 1. Major Functional Component Diagram
The client side of ELDERS holds the features a user will be able to access via the
website. This side is designed to be accessible for people at home as well as those who do not
have immediate access to a computer. The website will be viewable on a computer with Internet
access and a web browser. The ELDERS website will also support mobile devices with a
specially designed view.
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The website will feature different layouts for each section. There will be a section where
users may view the alphabet. The words in the dictionaries of the Historical and Expanded
Dictionary will have a section that allows for listing a selection of words and searching for a
specific word. The history of the host community will receive its own section designed to allow
users to easily learn about a specific time period or event. Finally, there will be a forum on the
ELDERS’s website that allows users to communicate with each other.
Access control and user authentication will be a key part of ELDERS’s functionality. The
website administration account will be allowed to decide which users are able to view certain
sections of the website. This allows for the community to prevent all but a small group from
suggesting new words or opening all features of the website. This will be accomplished using a
tiered account system. After a user creates an account, it can be promoted to one of the
administrator designated tiers. The rank the account has will determine the features available to
that user.
The server software of ELDERS can be hosted wherever the community decides. The
host will need to be able to provide at least two to four gigabytes of RAM and at least twenty
gigabytes of storage space. Additional space will be required as the language expands.
3 IDENTIFICATION OF CASE STUDY
As was mentioned in the introduction, ELDERS is aimed at revitalizing the Nottoway
language. This project is being worked on by a group of students at ODU (Old Dominion
University). This group of students has been working with Professor Jay Morris and the
Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia. The final product will be designed for initial use by the
Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia. Over the last few years, Professor Morris has become close
with the leaders of the tribe, allowing us to have an understanding of their desires and
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expectations for the product. It was through this relationship and by learning of the tragic past
and threatened loss of this culture that the idea for this project was borne.
The first record of the Nottoway Indians in American history occurred when Edward
Bland, an explorer, first encountered them in 1650 and recorded their status in his journal. At
that time, the Nottoway was a relatively small tribe, with a population of only four to five
hundred (D. Lewis, 2007). In 1681, the tribe was located in today’s Sussex County, but they
were forced to relocate after being threatened by hostile tribes. The majority of the tribe moved
to Surry County, but it is believed that some moved north and established a tribe in New Jersey
(Parramore, 1978). Much later, in 1820, Thomas Jefferson requested documentation of the
Nottoway language. John Wood was sent to talk with the tribe’s chief at the time, Chief ‘Queen’
Edie Turner. During this meeting, two hundred and fifty words were recorded. It was also noted
that at that time only three Nottoway speakers remained, and all of them were elderly. The
language was declared extinct by the end of the 19th century. Today, there are two Nottoway
tribes recognized by the state of Virginia: the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia and the
Cheroenhaka (Nottoway) Indian Tribe.
The Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia is located in Surry County and the Cheroenhaka
(Nottoway) Indian Tribe is located in Southampton County. The tribe the ODU students are
working with, the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia, has only around 200 members remaining,
none of which are able to speak their own language. Our mentor, Jay Morris, learned about the
story of the Nottoway and their language while he was studying Cherokee over the past eight
years. He then took it upon himself to help the Nottoway restore their ancient language.
Jay Morris graduated from University of Missouri in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts. He
then proceeded to get two Masters Degrees at Yale in 1996 and 1994 in Philosophy and
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Mechanical Engineering, respectively. Professor Morris now teaches Computer Science at Old
Dominion University. His interest in American Indians sprouted from his Cherokee ancestry. As
mentioned previously, he has been studying the Cherokee over the past eight years. Over the last
two years he has been honored with the title of “State Plan Chief.”
It has taken Morris a long time to gain the trust of the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia.
Now, he is in regular contact with the tribe chief. The idea for this project and the specifications
of the product have been relayed and discussed with the Nottoway.
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PRODUCT PROTOTYPE DESCRIPTION
The ELDERS prototype will implement several key features: documentation, archiving,
culture, access control, word approval process, and notifications. The prototype will come will
full support for documenting the Historical Dictionary and archiving the changes to the language
while being developed through ELDERS. The history section of the website will be fully
functional to allow the culture to be well defined. The prototype will contain a system that allows
user to suggest, vote on, and approve new words. The notification system will also be
implemented in the ELDERS prototype. Table 1 details the differences in the features of the
ELDERS prototype and real world product.
Feature
Games
Real World Product
Multiple games
Prototype
A single, simple game
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Feature
Real World Product
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Prototype
Language Lessons
A suite of lessons to teach
Foundation for adding lessons
users how to speak, write, and
read the language
Mobile Accessibility
A separate website view
designed for use with mobile
devices
Mobile users will see the
same design as desktop users
Server
Website is hosted on an
independent web server
Website is hosted on a
computer on the Old
Dominion University network
Word Conjugation
Words are automatically
conjugated using a defined
system
Words need to be manually
conjugated
Dictionary Parsing
Automatic parsing and storing Automatically parsers a text
of multiple dictionaries
document of a specific format
Table 1. Prototype and Product feature comparison
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4.1
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Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software)
The prototype for ELDERS will be run on a virtual machine at ODU. This virtual
machine will be running a LAMP stack. The Linux operating system will be Ubuntu and the
programming language will be PHP. ELDERS will run on a LAMP stack because every
component is free and open source. This provides the most versatility in the development of
ELDERS.
Figure 2. Prototype Major Functional Component Diagram
A key focus of the prototype will be on the documentation aspects of ELDERS. As such, the
MySQL database will be fully functional. The prototype database will be capable of storing the
words in the dictionaries as well as each word’s attributes. Language lessons and mobile
accessibility will not be included initially.4.2
Prototype Features and Capabilities
The prototype website for ELDERS will feature most of the functionality detailed in
Section 2.0. The tiered user account system will be functional, including user registration and
access control. The history section will also be implemented with the features to create, edit, and
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view sections of history. The prototype will be released with only one game, hangman. The
search feature on the dictionary section of the website will be functional in the prototype. The
forum section of ELDERS will be implemented, but likely not fully functional in the prototype.
The database to hold the Historical Dictionary and Expanded Dictionary will be
implemented. They will each be entirely independent. The Historical Dictionary table will be
non-modifiable via ELDERS after it is initially setup. The Expanded Dictionary table will be
modifiable and will house new additions to the language as a result of the outcomes of the voting
system. The search feature on the website will draw from both tables and compile the results
seamlessly.
The language expansion features of ELDERS will be included in the prototype. Users
with the proper access privileges will be able to suggest new words for the language. These
suggestions will be available to be voted on by other users. When a suggestion has reached an
established number of votes, designated users referred to as Council in Figure 1, will have the
final decision on whether or not the suggested word is added to the language. If a word is
approved, notifications of the addition will be sent out to all users who have designated they
wish to receive notice.4.3
Prototype Development Challenges
There are a few technical challenges associated with this project. The foremost is testing.
As is the case with any large project, especially those dealing with important subjects, the testing
of the product must be extensive and thorough. Features of ELDERS will be tested constantly
throughout development. This will allow more time to test each and every aspect of the
prototype.
Another challenge is accessability for those who do not have constant access to the
Internet. In order to make it more accessible, we plan on allowing for easy exportation of the
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dictionaries of the language. Word association and grammar is also a challenge for the
developers of ELDERS. Development of certain features will be aided by outside contact with
lingusitc specialists.
Consumer challenges for ELDERS are also a concern. As ELDERS is designed to be
used and run by the community, it will be developed it to be able to meet its consumer’s desires.
In this case, the consumer is the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia. That is why the tribe will be
aiding in the development of ELDERS through feedback. Because ELDERS is designed to be
run without interference from its developers, it is important that those who take on the
responsibility of being an administrator are ready for the responsibility. There will be training for
those taking on this role to ensure that they understand every aspect of the system and are able to
train more administrators when the need arises. GLOSSARY
ELDERS: Endangered Language Documentation, Extension, and Revival System.
Historical Dictionary: The vocabulary and grammar of the language before contact with
ELDERS. This will be stored in a table separate from the table that stores the Expanded
Dictionary
Expanded Dictionary: This term refers to the changes and additions to the vocabulary and
grammar of the language during the use of ELDERS.
ODU: Old Dominion University.
LAMP: Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, Python, or Perl.
REFERENCES
"Endangered Languages." United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2013.
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"Languages of the World - Interesting Facts about Languages." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 14
Feb. 2013.
Lewis, J. D. "Carolana Explorers - Edward Bland." Carolana Explorers. N.p., 2007. Web. 13
Nov. 2012.
Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.:
SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/.
Parramore, Thomas C. Southampton County, Virginia. Charlottesville: Published for the
Southampton County Historical Society by the UP of Virginia, 1978. Print.