Unlocking cultural conceptualisation in indigenous language resources:collaborative computing methodologies

The world’s indigenous languages and related cultural knowledge are under considerable threat of diminishing given the increasing expansion of the use of standard languages, particularly through the wide-ranging pervasion of digital media and machine readable editions of electronic resources. There is thus a pressing need to preserve and breathe life into traditional data resources containing both valuable linguistic and cultural knowledge. In this paper we demonstrate on the example of an Austrian non-standard language resource (DBO/dbo@ema), how the combined application of semantic modelling of cultural concepts and visual exploration tools are key in unlocking the indigenous knowledge system, traditional world views and valuable cultural content contained within this rich resource. The original data collection questionnaires serve as a pilot case study and initial access point to the entire collection. Set within a Digital Humanities context, the collaborative methodological approach described here acts as a demonstrator for opening up traditional/nonstandard language resources for cultural content exploration through computing, ultimately giving access to, re-circulating and preserving otherwise lost immaterial cultural heritage.