Technology Helps Preserve Endangered Indigenous Languages科技助益濒危土著语言保护

From smartphone apps to web tools， tribal members are using tech to document and practice their native languages.

从智能手机应用程序到网络工具，部落成员们正在利用科技手段记录和练习他们的母语。

Of the 574 federally recognized Native American tribes， only 139 of them still have speakers of their native language， and more than 90% of those languages are at risk of becoming extinct by 2050.

在联邦政府承认的574个美洲土著部落中，只有139个部落的语言仍然有使用者，而其中90%以上的语言有在2050年前灭绝的危险。

In response to the threat of language loss， some Indigenous tribes are turning towards accessible technology to save and revitalize their languages.

为应对语言消亡的威胁，一些土著部落开始利用简便易行的科技手段来拯救和复兴自己的语言。

The computers in our pockets

口袋中的电脑

When Keegan Livermore， a member of the Yakama Nation1， learned that there were only a couple dozen fluent speakers of Ichishkíin—a language spoken by the Yakama， the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation， and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation—he felt a responsibility to learn the language himself.

当亚卡马部落的成员基根·利弗莫尔得知能够流利使用伊奇什基恩语的只有几十个人时，他觉得自己有责任学习这门语言。伊奇什基恩语是亚卡马部落、沃姆斯普林斯印第安人居留地联盟部落、尤马蒂拉印第安人居留地联盟部落使用的语言。

While attending a technology panel during a linguistic education workshop， Livermore’s group discussed how language tools could be made more accessible to young people.

在一次语言教育研讨会期间，利弗莫尔参加了科技专题组的讨论，大家探讨了如何使语言工具更便于年轻人使用。

“We’ve already had computer keyboards，” Livermore said. “If we’re thinking about how to get teenagers and college students to use it， why not make a phone keyboard？”

“我们已经有电脑键盘了。”利弗莫尔说，“如果我们想让青少年和大学生使用伊奇什基恩语，为什么不开发手机键盘呢？”

Livermore， who at the time was studying linguistics and learning the Ichishkíin language at Heritage University on the Yakama Reservation， describes the process of creating an Android Ichishkíin keyboard as a four-day fever dream， working on his graduate studies during the day and coding the keyboard at night.

那时候，利弗莫尔正在亚卡马居留地的传承大学攻读语言学，同时也在学习伊奇什基恩语。他将开发伊奇什基恩语安卓键盘的过程比作一场持续4天的狂热之梦——他白天努力完成研究生课业，晚上进行键盘编码。

Written Ichishkíin has a 39-character alphabet， many of which are modified English characters. While Livermore could have created a modified English keyboard， he chose to create a keyboard strictly built for Ichishkíin， honoring the actual alphabet of the language.

伊奇什基恩语的文字有39个字母，其中很多是英文字母的变体。利弗莫尔本可以设计改良英文键盘，但是为了尊重伊奇什基恩语实际的字母，他选择为这门语言量身定制一款键盘。

Livermore and seven other Ichishkíin speakers then tested the keyboard in text messages and social media posts， modifying the placement of characters until the keyboard seemed optimized for Ichishkíin.

利弗莫尔和其他7位伊奇什基恩语使用者通过发短信和社交媒体发帖来测试键盘，不断改进字母排列，直至键盘与伊奇什基恩语几乎完美适配。

“I was really pushing myself to use it as often as I could，” Livermore said， which helped him build his confidence speaking the language. “It gives me a tether for the language.”

“我真是努力督促自己尽可能多地使用这款键盘。”利弗莫尔说，这也帮助他树立了说伊奇什基恩语的信心。“这款键盘让我与这门语言建立了连接。”

Livermore， who is now working on adapting the keyboard to iOS， envisions using phone keyboards as a way to assign homework in his own future language curriculum. An easy assignment could be a student texting him a couple sentences in Ichishkíin about what they did over the weekend or requiring a few texts a week between class “pen pals，” Livermore said. Those types of assignments inject the language in students’ everyday modern life—a key part of language revitalization.

目前，利弗莫尔正在努力改进键盘，以适应苹果公司开发的移动操作系统。他想象着将来在自己讲授的语言课程中，可以通过手机键盘来布置作业。利弗莫尔说，一项简单的作业可以是让学生用伊奇什基恩语编辑几句话发给他，说说自己周末做了什么；或者要求同班“笔友”之间每周互发几条伊奇什基恩语信息。诸如此类的作业能将伊奇什基恩语融入当代学生们的日常生活中，这是语言复兴的关键一环。

Because Ichishkíin speakers must have a grasp of vocabulary to read and type the language， Livermore’s keyboard isn’t an early education tool， but rather an accessible way to integrate practice into a learner’s daily life.

阅读和打字都需要伊奇什基恩语使用者掌握一定量的词汇，所以利弗莫尔开发的键盘并不是早期教育工具，而是将练习融入学习者日常生活的一种简易方法。

“It enables you to use what you already know，” Livermore said.

“它能够让你把自己已知的东西应用起来。”利弗莫尔说。

Filling in the gaps

填补空白

Along with keyboards and texting， help comes from teachers such as Tami Hohn， a southern Lushootseed lecturer at the University of Washington and member of the Puyallup Tribe.

除了键盘和短信，教师也是一大助力。塔米·霍恩就是其中一员，她是华盛顿大学南方卢舒特西德语讲师，也是皮阿拉普部落成员。

Lushootseed is a Salishan language spoken by Indigenous people in the Puget Sound region of Washington state. Hohn has taught the language both to children and adults， groups that require different educational approaches， she said.

卢舒特西德语是华盛顿州皮吉特湾地区原住民使用的语言，属萨利希语系。霍恩教授这门语言，学生有儿童也有成人，她说每个群体的教学方法不一样。

For children， Hohn developed a curriculum that uses a grammatical approach by breaking down sentences into individual words and syllable sounds. With adults， Hohn teaches an intellectual understanding of the language， one that is informed2 by history， culture， and meaning. An intellectual understanding of the language allows speakers to create their own thoughts through the language， not just string together vocabulary words.

针对儿童，霍恩开发了一门采用语法教学法的课程，将句子拆成一个个单词和音节。针对成人，霍恩启发学生把语言当作一种知识来理解，即理解富含在语言之中的历史、文化和价值，如此便可激发语言使用者以这种语言生成自己的思想，而不仅仅是将词汇表里的单词串联在一起。