Lotud | rapidwords.net

Submitted by Kevin Warfel on Wed, 2013-12-04 16:27

Ethnocode:

dtr [Lotud]

Word collection dates:

Sunday, 22 September, 2013 to Thursday, 26 September, 2013

Total days:

Location:

Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia

Total participants:

Avg daily participants:

18.0

Avg hours/day:

9.0

Avg participant groups:

3.0

Avg Participants per group:

4.0

Total domains treated:

380

Total raw words collected:

5063

Local context:

Many participants were lodged at Uncle Ben Villa, where the workshop was held. Some lived in Kota Kinabalu or the surrounding area, and commuted to the Villa each day. The accommodations were excellent!

% Words glossed:

% Words entered:

Software used:

FLEx

URL to collected data:

webonary.org

Language: Suang Lotud
Country: Sabah, Malaysia
Background: David and Doris Blood worked with the Lotud people in the ’80s and ’90s, but when they left, no other SIL team was assigned to the group. The Bloods published some linguistic and cultural papers, and also translated the Gospel of Mark. The Lotud people group is comprised of a mixture of Muslim, Catholics, evangelical Christians, and some animists.
Date and Location
1. Beginning date: Sept 18, 2013
2. Ending date: Sept 29, 2013
3. Three training days; one day off, five word-collection days, three days of editing entries in the database
4. City/village location: Nambazan Village, Penampang
5. Meeting place: Uncle Ben Villa
Participants
1. Consultants: Kevin Warfel, Verna Stutzman
2. Consultants-in-training
  1. Sylvia Poit, High School Diploma
  2. Sean Conklin, M.A. Linguistics
  3. Joes Chia, B.A. Communications; Diploma IT
  4. Ethan Mast, B.A.
3. Coordinator: Sylvia Poit, High School Diploma
4. Logistics Manager: David Orok
5. Record Keeper: Jean Martin
6. Team Leaders
  1. Datuk Monggoh Orow
  2. Sophian Stephan Injah
  3. Rubiah Ayid
7. Typists
  1. Azizah Lidan
  2. Fauziah Sidan
  3. Joes Chia (assistant)
  4. Kevin Warfel (assistant)
8. Glossers
  1. Betty Sikil
  2. Moreen Gadur
9. Typists for Editing Database
  1. Sylvia Poit
  2. Kevin Warfel
  3. Sean Conklin
  4. Verna Stutzman
10. Spelling Experts
  1. Sylvia Poit
  2. Azizah Lidan
Number of Computers used: 8
Number of Printers used: 1
Database program used: FLEx
Project-sharing strategy: Send/Receive using USB key, Internet (Language Depot)
Number of days of word collection: 5
Future planning for language
1. What are the goals of the local coworkers? Collect as many words as possible by completing the RWC process for the remaining semantic domains; create a clean lexical database for a future print dictionary and online dictionary.
2. Is continuing dictionary work needed? Yes
In what way was the methodology useful?
1. The RWC methodology provided a systematic way to collect vocabulary.
What is the impact of this workshop?
1. The Lotud people have a new sense of the importance of their language and culture, and a renewed vision to develop it.
2. They have united in their understanding of their new vision, as they have demonstrated to themselves that they can unite around a common goal.
3. They have gained new linguistic insights into their language.
4. They have gained insights into how powerful and versatile a clean lexical database can be for creating dictionary products for a variety of audiences.
5. They have been empowered to continue the collection of words using the RWC methodology.
6. Locally-based personnel have been trained to facilitate RWC workshops in the future in other Malaysian language communities.
What were the actual results?
1. They collected 5063 words in 380 semantic domains in 32 folders. Of these, 1511 words were glossed in English and Malay, entered into the computer and published on lotud.webonary.org by the end of the word-collection phase.
What contributed to the results?
1. Rita Lasimbang, a local linguist (SIL trained), provided encouragement, experience, wisdom, and invaluable linguistic insight into the Lotud language.
2. Kevin’s thorough instructions, including the presentation of the family tree, very effectively demonstrated the hierarchical structure of semantic domains.
3. The Lotud people demonstrated a lot of commitment, tolerance, and ingenuity in making the workshop happen without a large budget.
4. The expertise of the coordinator and the participants, and the involvement of community leaders and elders.
5. Uninterrupted electricity and internet access.
6. The wonderful facilities at Uncle Ben Village.
What hindered the results?
1. There were an insufficient number of glossers, considering that glossers were needed for 2 glossing languages.
2. An article criticizing recent Lotud orthography changes, published September 24th in the Borneo Post, greatly distracted and emotionally disturbed the workshop participants.
3. Workshop participants had to do their own cooking.
What might you do differently?
1. Shorten pre-training to 2 days; reduce the number of participants in the pre-training group by eliminating the glossers and typists, equip the coordinator to do the large-group training on the first day of the word-collection phase.
2. The coordinator should have an assistant and should brief the logistics manager earlier on his duties.
3. Spelling checkers are needed for all languages before sheets are sent to the typists.
What was set in place for ongoing follow-up?
1. There are between 3,000 and 3,500 words that have been collected, but not glossed or typed into the computer. The association will meet the following week to make a plan to complete this.
2. One or two word-collection groups will continue to meet every weekend to collect and gloss words for the remaining folders in domains 3 through 6.
3. A tentative plan for domains 7, 8, and 9 and any other remaining folders is to schedule another RWC workshop during school holidays.
Other impact:
1. When people saw that the collected words could be published online (webonary.org) as fast as they were entered into the computer, they were impressed!