ECLING
Endangered Caucasian Languages
in Georgia
Interim report
16.4.2003
ECLING Languages
• Tsova-Tush (Batsbi)
– Affiliation: NECaucasian, Nakh
– Location: Zemo-Alvani
(Tushetia, NE-Georgia)
– Number of speakers:
less than 1000, all
bilingual with
Georgian
ECLING Languages
• Udi
– Affiliation: NECaucasian, Lezgian
– Location: Oktomberi
(Kakhetia, E-Georgia)
– Number of speakers:
less than 200 speakers,
all bilingual with
Georgian
ECLING Languages
• Svan
– Affiliation: SE-Caucasian
(Kartvelian)
– Dialects: Upper-Bal,
Lower-Bal, Lashkh, Cholur,
Lentekh
– Locations: Svaneti (NWGeorgia), Bolnisi region (SGeorgia)
– Number of speakers: ca.
30,000, all bilingual with
Georgian
ECLING Teams
• Frankfurt:
– Jost Gippert
– Manana Tandaschwili
– Svetlana Ahlborn
• Munich:
– Wolfgang Schulze
– Arnd Sölling
ECLING Teams
• Tbilisi: Tsova-Tush team:
– Maia Machavariani
– Bela Shavkhelishvili
– Donanna Dingashvili
• Tbilisi: Svan team:
– Iza Chantladze
– Rusudan Ioseliani
– Medea Saghliani
• Tbilisi: Ethnological advisor:
– Roland Topchishvili
Collected Recordings
(as of 31.3.2003)
• Tsova-Tush:
– 5 hrs. video & audio
recordings
– digitized by MPI
– IMDI metadata structure
provided
– monological texts
– narratives, explanations of
every-day life &
environment, historical
accounts; poetic texts
– 40 texts fully transcribed
– 70 sentences fully analyzed
Collected Recordings
(as of 31.3.2003)
• Udi
– 1.2 hrs. video & audio
recordings
– digitized by MPI
– IMDI metadata structure
provided
– monological & dialogical
texts
– narratives, explanations of
every-day life &
environment, historical
accounts
– 3 texts fully transcribed
– 90 sentences fully analyzed
Collected Recordings
(as of 31.3.2003)
• Svan
– 7 hrs. video & audio
recordings
– 4 hrs. digitized by MPI
– IMDI metadata structure in
process
– monological & dialogical
texts
– narratives, explanations of
every-day life &
environment, historical
accounts, legends, toasts;
musical ballads AVI / MPG
– 5 texts fully transcribed
– 70 sentences fully analyzed
Text transcription and analysis
• Raw transcription (Shoebox format): Svan
Text transcription and analysis
• Linguistic analysis (Shoebox format): Tsova-Tush
Text transcription and analysis
• Basic dictionary (Shoebox format): Svan, Udi
IMDI Data Structure
• General structure: Udi
IMDI Data Structure
• Monological and dialogical data structure: Udi
IMDI Data Structure
• Monological and dialogical data structure: Tsova-Tush
IMDI Data Structure
• Elicitation and non-linguistic data: Tsova-Tush
Publications
• Provisional Project Web Page
– http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/ecling/ecling.htm
• Historical and ethnological description of
the Svan speaking areas (R. Topchishvili;
manuscript, 99 pp.)
• Svan sample text in:
• Kartvelologiuri krebuli I, Tbilisi 2002, 121-128
Requirements
• IMDI Metadata
system:
– Language names for
the languages
concerned missing in
language list
Requirements
• Adaptation of
annotation systems to
language-specific
requirements
(Example: Svan)
Requirements
• Adaptation of
annotation systems to
language-specific
requirements
(Example: Udi)
Requirements
• Adaptation of annotation systems to code-switching
(multilingual speakers; example: Udi) AVI / MPG
Prospects
• Material to be recorded (2nd year):
– Tsova-Tush:
• Dialogical texts
• Recordings in natural environment
• Elicitation of special terminology
Prospects
• Material to be recorded (2nd year):
– Udi:
• Dialogical texts
• Historical texts
• Elicitation of special terminology
Prospects
• Material to be recorded (2nd year):
– Svan:
• Extension of dialectal basis (Cholur)
• Recordings in traditional environment (Upper /
Lower Svanetia)
• Elicitation of special terminology