2014-12-16

Atlas Teangeolaíochta don 21ú haois

rf/gl ("rófhada/gan léamh"): Ba mhaith liom atlas teangeolaíochta nua-aimseartha a chruthú don Ghaeilge. Má scríobhann tú i nGaeilge ar líne, seol chugam (kscanne ag gmail ponc com) ainm do bhaile dúchais, nó an áit a bhfuair tú do chuid Gaeilge.  

Wagner 1.0 

Is maith liom léarscáileanna (féach anseo nó anseo) agus is maith liom an Ghaeilge.  Dá bhrí sin is é "Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects" (LASID) le Heinrich Wagner, atlas teangeolaíochta don Ghaeilge a foilsíodh i gceithre imleabhar idir 1958 agus 1969, ceann de na leabhair is ansa liom.  Bhí sé bunaithe ar shaothar teangeolaíochta a rinne Wagner agus a chomhghleacaithe le cainteoirí dúchais Gaeilge idir 1949 agus 1956. Tá cóip agam anseo sa bhaile, agus is iomaí oíche bhreá chiúin a chaith mé leis thar na blianta.
 
Anois ba mhaith liom atlas teangeolaíochta nua a chruthú, ceann a thaispeánfaidh an teanga sa lá atá inniu, go háirithe an teanga mar a úsáidtear ar an Idirlíon agus sna meáin shóisialta í.  Dhírigh Wagner et al a n-aird ar chainteoirí dúchais amháin ("... people whose first language had been Irish only, or both Irish and English") agus den chuid is mó ar dhaoine a bhí ina gcónaí sa cheantar céanna i rith a saoil. Ach tá aidhm dhifriúil agamsa, is é sin an teanga mar atá sí á labhairt ag pobal ilchineálach soghluaiste domhanda a léiriú.  Mar sin, b'fhearr liom Éireannaigh a d'fhoghlaim an teanga sa scoil agus fiú foghlaimeoirí thar lear a chur san áireamh ar aon chéim le cainteoirí dúchais.  Is é "Wagner 2.0" an teideal oibre atá agam ar an togra seo, agus mar sin cuirfidh mé "Wagner 1.0" ar LASID sa díospóireacht thíos.

Wagner 1.5

Tá dul chun cinn déanta agam air seo cheana, ag baint úsáide as roinnt sonraí atá ar fáil saor in aisce ar an Idirlíon.

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom comparáid a dhéanamh idir na léarscáileanna atá in Wagner 1.0 leis na cinn a bheidh bunaithe ar shonraí ón Idirlíon.  Dá bhrí sin, rinne mé iarracht domhanleithead agus domhanfhad a aimsiú do na 91 áit atá luaite in Wagner 1.0 (gheobhaidh tú na sonraí sin anseo – fáilte roimh cheartúcháin) sa chaoi go mbeinn in ann chuile rud a chur ar taispeáint le chéile ar Google Maps.

Tá foireann Fhoclóir Stairiúil na Nua-Ghaeilge in Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann go díreach tar éis go leor seantéacsanna a fhoilsiú ar an suíomh atá acu – níos mó ná 10 milliún focal.  Tagann na téacsanna seo le roinnt meiteashonraí, mar shampla ainm an údair, dáta foilsithe, teideal, aicme (prós nó filíocht), srl.  Bhain mé úsáid as na meiteashonraí sin chun cuardach a dhéanamh ar gach údar sa chorpas ar an suíomh iontach ainm.ie, agus nuair a d'éirigh liom an duine ceart a aimsiú, bhí mé in ann nasc a leanúint ó ainm.ie go dtí a chomhshuíomh logainm.ie, ar a bhfuil sonraí faoi áit bhreithe an duine, domhanleithead agus domhanfhad san áireamh.  Phew.

Anois, leis na sonraí seo go léir, is féidir na léarscáileanna as Wagner 1.0 a leathnú agus a shaibhriú go mór.  Mar shampla, bhí suim agam in úsáid na bhfocal "feiscint" agus "feiceáil(t)" sna canúintí (lch. 125 in Wagner 1.0).  Rinne mé cuardach ar an dá fhocal sa chorpas (na céadta sampla le fáil ann), agus bhí mé in ann iad a cheangal leis na húdair a bhí á n-úsáid, agus ansin áit bhreithe na n-údar a mharcáil ar léarscáil Google Maps.  Sin é go díreach an rud atá déanta agam anseo:


 

Má chliceálann tú an bosca beag ag barr na léarscáile ar an taobh clé, feicfidh tú dhá "shraith" sa léarscáil; ceann amháin leis na sonraí as Wagner 1.0 agus ceann eile leis na sonraí leathnaithe as corpas an Acadaimh, sa chaoi gur furasta comparáid a dhéanamh eatarthu.  Ní gá ach an tic in aice le sraith a bhaint chun an tsraith sin a chur i bhfolach.

Agus seo iad na torthaí nuair a rinne mé an próiseas céanna le "práta/fata/préata":




Níl an cur chuige seo gan locht ar ndóigh.  Seans go bhfuilim ag lorg cáinte trí "Wagner 2.0" a chur ar an tionscadal seo, nó trí na sonraí ón mbunstaidéar a chur ar an léarscáil chéanna!  Ach tuigim go maith nach ionann cur chuige chomh simplí seo (na milliún focal a bhailiú ó chorpas nó ón Idirlíon) agus an saothar cúramach teangeolaíochta a rinne Wagner sna 1950idí.   Mar léiriú amháin ar na fadhbanna seo, thug mé faoi deara go raibh an focal "fata" in úsáid ag údar éigin as Rann na Feirste ar an léarscáil thuas.  Nuair a d'fhiosraigh mé an scéal, is éard a bhí ann ná sliocht leis an údar Connachtach Pádraic Ó Conaire as an leabhar "Pádraic Ó Conaire agus Aistí Eile", leabhar de chuid an údair Chonallaigh Seosamh Mac Grianna.  Nó, feicfidh tú an focal "feiscint" sa Tuaisceart ar an teorainn in aice leis an Srath Bán i gContae Thír Eoghain.  Tháinig an sampla seo ó "An Béal Bocht" le Myles na gCopaleen – is dócha gur sórt aithrise ar an mblas Muimhneach a bhí ann, ar son an ghrinn.  Agus ar ndóigh bhí Wagner ag lorg an fhocail a d'úsáideadh i gcomhthéacsanna ar leith, rud nach féidir liom a dhéanamh trí chuardach simplí a dhéanamh i gcorpas gan marcáil shéimeantach.

Is léir go mbeadh sé an-deacair an cineál seo truaillithe a sheachaint, ach is cuma liom i ndáiríre.   Baintear úsáid as focail chanúna ar fháthanna éagsúla, uaireanta ar son grinn nó magadh a dhéanamh, uaireanta, b'fhéidir, chun cumarsáid a éascú nó fáilte a chur roimh dhuine ina chanúint féin. Creidimse go mbaineann castacht den chineál sin le húsáid teangacha i gcónaí, agus gur gá dul i ngleic leis an gcastacht seo seachas neamhaird a dhéanamh di.  Agus is dócha go bhfuil úsáid na Gaeilge ar an Idirlíon níos casta fós!  Cé go dtaitníonn an t-ainm "Wagner 2.0" go mór liom, mar ómós do cheann de na leabhair is ansa liom, is é ainmhí go hiomlán difriúil atá á chruthú anseo!

 

Wagner 2.0

Mar is gnáth, níl aon deontas agam don togra seo, ná go leor ama le caitheamh air, agus mar sin braithfidh mé oraibh, pobal na Gaeilge ar líne, chun teacht i gcúnamh orm.  Más mian leat páirt a ghlacadh, seol ríomhphost chugam (kscanne ag gmail ponc com), agus tabhair ainm do bhaile dúchais dom, nó an áit a bhfuair tú do chuid Gaeilge.  Má tá blag nó cuntas Twitter agat, bheinn buíoch díot as nasc leis an mblag agus/nó ainm do chuntais Twitter.  Déanfaidh mise gach rud eile!  Ní úsáidfidh mé d'ainm nó sonraí pearsanta ar chor ar bith – nílim ag iarraidh ach rud amháin a dhéanamh: focail Ghaeilge a cheangal le pointí ar léarscáil.

Buíochas

Tá mé an-bhuíoch de Mhícheál Johnny Ó Meachair as go leor leor comhráite ar an ábhar seo agus as a chuid moltaí stuama, agus de Michael Bauer as na léarscáileanna ar a shuíomh álainn faclair.info a spreag mé chun tabhairt faoin togra craiceáilte seo!

Aguisín

Tuilleadh léarscáileanna - Nollaig shona daoibh!









Posted by at 1 comment:

2014-04-29

Social media in bilingual environments: online practices of Frisian teenagers

   The following is a guest post by Lysbeth Jongbloed, researcher at the Fryske Akademy, specializing in the use of the Frisian language in social media.  We're grateful to Lysbeth for taking the time to share her research with us!


Lysbeth Jongbloed
Probably most of you know the Netherlands: from tulips, clogs, or Amsterdam. Most people in the Netherlands speak Dutch, a West Germanic language. However, in the north of the Netherlands, in the province of Fryslân, we speak a different language: Frisian. Frisian is, besides Dutch, the second officially recognised language in the Netherlands. In Fryslân, the legal status of Frisian and Dutch are equal, however, in practice, in many domains Dutch is the dominant language and also in many schools, education in Frisian is rather limited. It is estimated that Frisian is the mother tongue for around half of the Frisian population, roughly some 350,000 people. Frisian is mainly a spoken language: while 85% of the population can speak the language, only 12% indicate that they can write the language well (De Fryske Taalatlas, 2011).

Frisian Twitter conversations; map by Indigenous Tweets
Research in Fryslân

In Fryslân, the Mercator Research Centre and the Fryske Akademy carry out fundamental and applied research in the fields of the Frisian language, culture, history and society. One of the current projects studies language use on social media. The expectation is that social media offer chances for minority languages to increase their vitality.

In 2013 and early 2014 the Mercator Research Centre received financial support from the Province of Fryslân and the municipality of Leeuwarden (capital of Fryslân) to research the language use of Frisian teenagers between 14 and 18 on social media. The outcomes of this research will be discussed below. Are you also studying the use of your minority language on the internet? We are interested in setting up an international network so we can compare results and initiate European funded projects in the future. Read more about these plans at the end of this blog.
#frysk was the #1 trending topic in the Netherlands for 7 hours on April 17th
WhatsApp most popular social media platform

Twenty Frisian schools for secondary general and vocational education participated in the research. As a result, over 2,000 Frisian teenagers filled in an extensive questionnaire. Almost all Frisian teenagers (98%) use social media. 95% of the teenagers use WhatsApp (a cross-platform mobile messaging app), 86% use Facebook and 76% use Twitter. Of the three, WhatsApp is used most: 47% chose the answer 'only when I am asleep, I do not check WhatsApp'.

Oral rather than written language

In general it can be concluded that Frisian still is rather an oral than a written language. For Frisian teenagers the Dutch language is the dominant language used in writing. On average, the more formal the medium, the less often Frisian is used. For instance, for text messages and WhatsApp approximately half of the Frisian-speaking teenagers use Frisian. On Facebook and Twitter that proportion decreases to around 30%, and in emails it is 15%. In personal messages Frisian is used more than in public or group messages.

Phonetical writing

Frisian is often written phonetically. Most teenagers are aware of that but do not mind: 'People will understand what I mean anyway.' Some think it is too much work to add all diacritics, others are not sure when to use them. Furthermore, the influence of Dutch is clearly visible in the teenagers' written language, and so is the use of dialect and abbreviations that are typical of social media. It also often happens that different languages are mixed intentionally.

Teenagers from the ‘Walden’ region use Frisian most on social media
Regional differences

In the province of Fryslân, big differences have been found regarding Frisian language use. In general, Frisian is hardly used in the big cities while it is much more common to use Frisian on social media in smaller towns and in the north-east of Fryslân.

Determining factors

The language one prefers to speak is the main factor determining one's language use on social media. Other factors affecting language choice are one's attitude towards Frisian, one’s writing skills in Frisian, and the general attitude towards Frisian at one's school.

Approximately one fifth of the Frisian-speaking teenagers never uses Frisian on social media. The main reason is that they find it difficult to write Frisian, but it also has to do with their surroundings not being Frisian and their own attitude towards Frisian.

Qualitative Twitter research

Besides mapping language use of Frisian teenagers by means of a questionnaire, I also studied tweets of 50 Frisian teenagers. The 50 teenagers for the Twitter research were selected from the participants of the second ‘Fryske Twitterdei’ (Frisian Twitter day), which was organised on April 18th 2013 by the organisation ‘Praat mar Frysk’ (Do speak Frisian). During this day people were encouraged to send Frisian tweets in combination with the hashtag Frysk. The whole day #Frysk was a trending topic in the Netherlands, and almost 10,000 tweets were sent with the hashtag Frysk. Per participant, their last 50 tweets before the Twitter day, their tweets on the Twitter day, and their first 50 tweets after the Twitter day were analysed: in total over 6,000 tweets.

Share of Frisian tweets

The analysis shows that on regular days, just over 10% of the tweets were in Frisian and 65% were in Dutch. On the Frisian Twitter day 53% was in Frisian and 29% in Dutch. Although the Twitter day has a strong upwards effect on the use of Frisian in tweets, the effect is not long-lasting.

Variables of influence on language choice

Variables of influence on language choice are the type of tweet and gender. The proportion of Frisian is highest in messages addressed to a particular person. On regular days 25% of those tweets are in Frisian. On the Twitter day the proportion doubles to almost half. The use of Frisian in other type of messages rises from under 10% to over 50%. In the analysed sample, the male teenagers tweet much more in Frisian than their female counterparts.

Every Wednesday @praatmarfrysk tweets a Frisian poem. On April 16th it was a poem about the Twitter Day.
Frisian Twitter day 2014

Last week, on April 17th, the third Frisian Twitter day was organised: again the Twitter day was a big success: during the whole day it was a trending topic in the Netherlands and during seven hours it even was the number one trending topic. Over 6 million people saw the #Frysk or #frysketwitterdei on their timeline, tweets came from over 25 countries.

Further research

The Province of Fryslân has granted a new subsidy to the Mercator Research Centre of the Fryske Akademy to carry out further research into Frisian language use on social media in 2014 and 2015; in particular, the question will be addressed what dynamics in a multilingual society lead to the use or non-use of a minority language on social media. To answer this question, we are also looking for partners in other minority language regions with whom we can compare research outcomes. Consequently we would like to build up an expert network to initiate European funded projects in the future. Please contact @lysbeth2_0 if you are interested to participate. For more information about the Frisian Twitter day, you can contact @praatmarfrysk.
Posted by at No comments:

2014-02-27

Indigenous Tweets #IMLD14 Roundup

Last Friday February 21st was International Mother Language Day, a celebration of linguistic diversity originally created by UNESCO in 1999.  This year, together with Rising Voices and the Living Tongues Institute, we tried to encourage people to tweet in their native language using the hashtag #imld14 (#dilm14 in Spanish).    We were thrilled with the response, and you can see some of the many tweets by searching for #imld14 on Twitter, or by checking out the Storify created by Laura Morris from Rising Voices.

For fun, I looked specifically at tweets written in any of the 157 languages we're tracking on the Indigenous Tweets site. In all, there were 491 tweets containing #imld14 or #dilm14, written in 31 of the 157 languages.  Leading the way were Gàidhlig with 158 tweets, followed by 74 tweets in Aragonese, 45 in Ojibwe/Nishnaabemwin, 41 in Malagasy, and 28 in Irish/Gaeilge.

One of the primary goals of the Indigenous Tweets project is to get people to use their language every day on Twitter and other social media sites.    We hope that a few of you who did this for the first time for #imld14 will continue to tweet in your native language and encourage others in your community to do the same.

For additional inspiration, we'll close with a sampling of tweets in a few other languages.   Looking forward to an even better turnout for #imld15!!

Chichewa:
Nahuatl:

Manx Gaelic:

Lezgian:
Karuk:
Nez Perce:
North Sámi:
Māori:




Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)