Lab 1 - cs.odu.educpi/old/411/purpls13/files/Lab1/… · Web viewTo support and enable expansion, ELDERS will provide educational material such as history, grammar tutorials, and

RLAB 1 – ELDERS DESCRIPTION 1

Lab 1 – ELDERS Product Description

Ben Cortina

CS 411W

Janet Brunelle

March 18, 2013

Version 2

Lab 1 – ELDERS Description 2

Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................2

2 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION.....................................................................................................2

2.1 Key Product Features and Capabilities...................................................................................2

2.2 Major Components (Hardware/Software)..............................................................................2

3 IDENTIFICATION OF CASE STUDY....................................................................................2

4 PRODUCT PROTOTYPE DESCRIPTION.............................................................................2

4.1 Prototype Architecture (Hardware/Software).........................................................................2

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

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

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.

2 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

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.


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


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


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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4 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 Real World Product Prototype

Games Multiple games A single, simple game

Language Lessons A suite of lessons to teach users how to speak, write, and read the language

Foundation for adding lessons

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 of multiple dictionaries

Automatically parsers a text document of a specific format

Table 1. Prototype and Product feature comparison


4.1 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

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

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.

"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.

Documents

Lab 1 - cs.odu.educpi/old/411/purpls13/files/Lab1/… · Web viewTo support and enable expansion, ELDERS will provide educational material such as history, grammar tutorials, and