Saving a language
Computer translator preserve native cultures
By Dolly A. Butz Journal staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Technology coordinator Joshlyn Parker, left, prepares to record another phrase by elder teacher, Susan freemont, center, as they record Omaha Nation phrases utilizing new technology that will help catalogue the Native American language for future use. (Staff photo by Jerry Mennenga)
Sitting in classroom resembling a traditional earthlodge, Susan Freemont spoke the phrase "Speak Omaha to me" in her native language into a headset microphone Tuesday at the Omaha Nation Public School.
Freemont is one of a dwindling group of elders who fluently speak the Omaha language. With the help of a high-tech military tool called a Phraselator LC, the 80-year-old's words will help preserve a dying language for future generations.
"It's very important for our future to keep our culture," Freemont said.
The revolutionary Phraselator LC, developed by defense contractor Voxtec International after 9/11, is a handheld unit that allows the user to instantly translate spoken English words and phrases into any native language. It was created to heighten communication in combat zones to save lives on both sides of the conflict.
The Phraselator LC is currently being used by U.S. troops to translate Farsi in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Don Thornton, who is Cherokee, obtained the device from the military defense contractor. Thornton, the president of Banning, Calif., based Thornton Media, Inc., the only tool company in the world devoted to Native languages, and his wife Kara, brought the Phraselator LC to Macy, Neb., this week, where they are working with tribal members.
"I read about it a couple years after it came out, and approached (the miliary defense contractor) with the idea of using it for a Native American language organization, but they weren't interested," Thornton said. "They basically told me 'no,' for a year and half, so I kept at them and they eventually relented. They really didn't think there was going to be a market for it."
Thornton said the Phraselator LC has been "extremely successful" and that he is currently working with approximately 60 tribes in the United States and Canada.
"The main feature of Phraselator that tribes really like is that fact that tribes can control the whole process themselves," he said. "In other words they don't need outsiders anymore. We provide the hardware, software and the training for a tribe to do it all themselves."
On Tuesday Omaha elders sat next to technology coordinator Joshlyn Parker, who prompted them to say an assortment of phrases, 550 in all, ranging from commands to sentences relating to eating and home life.
After the phrases were recorded on a laptop computer, Parker played them back and then saved them to the Phraselator LC.
When an English word is spoken, the Phraselator LC answers with the Omaha translation. The user cannot only hear the word, they can also see the fonts on a small screen. Besides voice, the device also translates via touch-screen or toggle button.
Vida Stabler, Omaha Language and Cultural Center director, said the Phraselator LC will be a "useful tool" for teachers and future educators.
"Our elders are few in number now, and because of that we need to make sure that we have enough information documented so that we have help," she said. "No one in my age group is fluent. We have people that understand my language. However, they're not speaking and that's what the real concern in our community is. We need to develop speakers. I see the Phraselator as one tool to be able to do that."
Once their language is recorded, Thornton said the tribes have complete control over the recordings.
A few years ago, Thornton said he brought a Cherokee-English dictionary to his grandmother's house in Oklahoma. His grandmother, a master speaker of the Cherokee language, said the author of the dictionary frequently asked her how to pronounce words and edit word lists for him. Thornton said his grandmother's name didn't appear anywhere in the dictionary.
"For me it was an example of kind of an exploitation that goes on with language," he said. "I was on the lookout for something whereby a tribe could control all of their own content."
Although Stabler said the home is the best environment in which to learn a language, she said the Phraselator LC is one step toward realizing her dream.
"The dream is to someday have an immersion classroom -- an immersion home where our children can go there and learn," she said.
Stabler said she has a team of six people who work on a daily basis to preserve the Omaha language and culture. Over the past 10 years she said 15-20 people have recorded video and audio.
Getting the community involved is the only way, Thornton said language preservation can be successful. He said the Phraselator LC alone is not a solution.
"We don't revitalize languages ourselves," he said. "It's beyond our power. It takes a whole community to revitalize a language."
Freemont is one of a dwindling group of elders who fluently speak the Omaha language. With the help of a high-tech military tool called a Phraselator LC, the 80-year-old's words will help preserve a dying language for future generations.
"It's very important for our future to keep our culture," Freemont said.
The revolutionary Phraselator LC, developed by defense contractor Voxtec International after 9/11, is a handheld unit that allows the user to instantly translate spoken English words and phrases into any native language. It was created to heighten communication in combat zones to save lives on both sides of the conflict.
The Phraselator LC is currently being used by U.S. troops to translate Farsi in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Don Thornton, who is Cherokee, obtained the device from the military defense contractor. Thornton, the president of Banning, Calif., based Thornton Media, Inc., the only tool company in the world devoted to Native languages, and his wife Kara, brought the Phraselator LC to Macy, Neb., this week, where they are working with tribal members.
"I read about it a couple years after it came out, and approached (the miliary defense contractor) with the idea of using it for a Native American language organization, but they weren't interested," Thornton said. "They basically told me 'no,' for a year and half, so I kept at them and they eventually relented. They really didn't think there was going to be a market for it."
Thornton said the Phraselator LC has been "extremely successful" and that he is currently working with approximately 60 tribes in the United States and Canada.
"The main feature of Phraselator that tribes really like is that fact that tribes can control the whole process themselves," he said. "In other words they don't need outsiders anymore. We provide the hardware, software and the training for a tribe to do it all themselves."
On Tuesday Omaha elders sat next to technology coordinator Joshlyn Parker, who prompted them to say an assortment of phrases, 550 in all, ranging from commands to sentences relating to eating and home life.
After the phrases were recorded on a laptop computer, Parker played them back and then saved them to the Phraselator LC.
When an English word is spoken, the Phraselator LC answers with the Omaha translation. The user cannot only hear the word, they can also see the fonts on a small screen. Besides voice, the device also translates via touch-screen or toggle button.
Vida Stabler, Omaha Language and Cultural Center director, said the Phraselator LC will be a "useful tool" for teachers and future educators.
"Our elders are few in number now, and because of that we need to make sure that we have enough information documented so that we have help," she said. "No one in my age group is fluent. We have people that understand my language. However, they're not speaking and that's what the real concern in our community is. We need to develop speakers. I see the Phraselator as one tool to be able to do that."
Once their language is recorded, Thornton said the tribes have complete control over the recordings.
A few years ago, Thornton said he brought a Cherokee-English dictionary to his grandmother's house in Oklahoma. His grandmother, a master speaker of the Cherokee language, said the author of the dictionary frequently asked her how to pronounce words and edit word lists for him. Thornton said his grandmother's name didn't appear anywhere in the dictionary.
"For me it was an example of kind of an exploitation that goes on with language," he said. "I was on the lookout for something whereby a tribe could control all of their own content."
Although Stabler said the home is the best environment in which to learn a language, she said the Phraselator LC is one step toward realizing her dream.
"The dream is to someday have an immersion classroom -- an immersion home where our children can go there and learn," she said.
Stabler said she has a team of six people who work on a daily basis to preserve the Omaha language and culture. Over the past 10 years she said 15-20 people have recorded video and audio.
Getting the community involved is the only way, Thornton said language preservation can be successful. He said the Phraselator LC alone is not a solution.
"We don't revitalize languages ourselves," he said. "It's beyond our power. It takes a whole community to revitalize a language."
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Yeral wrote on Sep 10, 2007 11:54 PM:
overseas reader wrote on Jun 14, 2007 5:22 PM:
Not a tribal member wrote on Jun 13, 2007 12:34 AM:
BORING wrote on Jun 7, 2007 12:40 AM:
tribal member wrote on Jun 6, 2007 9:10 PM: