Hale Kuamoÿo staff have ambitious
plans for expanding Leokï in several directions. They would like to
add additional features to the system, such as audio-visual conferences.
They want to provide more regular and systematic teacher training so that
educators throughout the immersion program develop both the technical and
pedagogical expertise to full use of the system. After most of the immersion
schools are brought on to the network this year, they hope to gradually
expand the Leokï network into other schools and colleges where Hawaiian
language is taught, and eventually into private homes. One important area
for expansion would be the native speaking community on the small island
of Niÿihau, possibly through creative uses of solar power and satellite
telecoommunictions. Eventually, it should be possible to establish more
cross-Pacific ties, with Hawaiians communicating in Hawaiian and other
Polynesian languages with the Mäori, Tongan, Tahitian, Samoan, and
other Pacific peoples. These steps will be taken gradually though, to make
sure that Leokï first builds a strong foundation as Hawaiian-medium
gathering place for the teachers and students who are striving for native-like
fluency in the kula kaiapuni (immersion schools).

"I ka �ölelo nö ke ola,
i ka �ölelo nö ka make." In the language there is life, and
in the language there is death. Hawaiians have a proud history of taking
advantage of a wide range of media, from song to dance to print, to preserve
and the life of their language and culture. Now they are using the computer
to provide one more powerful voice for language use and revitalization,
and their example can be of potential benefit to other indigenous communities
throughout the world.

In response to this situation, the Hawaiian educational community developed
their own Bulletin Board System in Hawaiian, they worked to get their schools
online, and they developed software solutions to modify computer operating
systems to allow full Hawaiian-language operation, including Hawaiian language
menus. Most importantly, they designed and implemented educational uses
of the Internet which built off of the social and cultural strengths of
the Hawaiian community, emphasizing Hawaiian cultural traditions such as
'talking story' and encouraging student development of multimedia online
content which critically interpreted the Hawaiian experience. Though they
have much more work to do, they have taken important steps towards creating
a Hawaiian presence on the Internet which is congruent with their culture
and which furthers their aims of language and culture revitalization.

In order for this apology to be considered genuine, more efforts must be undertaken to correct current oppressive measures under the Indian Act that prevent Indigenous peoples from prospering socially, culturally, politically and economically.

The actions of the Canadian Government in opposing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples makes the apology feel hollow. Their opposition to the UNDRIP perpetuates the insidious, archaic Indian Act that continues to discriminate and deny Aboriginal nations their rights. The facts and arguments reflecting the manner in which the

Canadian Government continues to undermine the rights of Indigenous peoples, can be found in Amnesty International?s 2008 Annual Report.

We therefore urge the Government of Canada to adequately fund Indigenous languages in a manner that is equivalent to the support given to the French and English languages; to adequately consult Aboriginal peoples in good faith on legislation that addresses issues such as matrimonial real property, Bill C-21, Bill C-47; Bill C-30 and to eliminate the sexual discrimination that exists under Section 6 of the Indian Act.

In order for Aboriginal communities to emerge from the negative impacts of colonization they must have access to their lands and resources; they must have the opportunities to build strong and healthy nations by taking to task the social and economic problems whose roots are firmly based in colonization.

In 2001 the federal government created a department called Indian Residential Schools Resolution Canada and several compensation packages have made token reparations to the people who attended these schools.

Money will never compensate for the damage done to these children, their families and the rich culture that sustained these people for generations. On June 21, 2008 the Indian Residential School Museum of Canada will open near Portage La Prairie, Man.

It's too soon to tell what, if anything, we can learn from this dark chapter in Canadian history.

But a core issue is our society's belief that progress is linear, that we have arrived at the apex of civilization as a result of a string of good decisions, and that our leaders are wise and thoughtful. And that everything works out for the best.

But our past is far more complicated. Though we have had good intentions, and have made many good decisions, we have also been incredibly ethno-centric and arrogant. We failed to learn from the aboriginals and integrate their wisdom into the society that developed in western Canada.

BEIRUT: During the past few years email, chat rooms, and text messaging have forced Arabic speakers to rely on transliterations due to these technologies' use of Roman script.

As Arabic keyboards remain bewildering and unpopular among average users, transliteration has become a common method of written communication, particularly on the net.

This reliance on transliteration has spawned various Web sites which convert Latin-script Arabic transliterations into Arabic script. Now Arab-speaking internet users have a new tool at their disposal to do just that - but better.

Nagi Salloum, co-founder of the popular Cineklik Web site which aggregates movie listings all over Lebanon onto one site, has teamed up with a new partner to make the internet more accessible for arabophones.

Their creation - Yoolki - is a Web site which is proving to be the fastest tool on the net for converting transliterations into Arabic script.

Though there are many Roman to Arabic transliteration sites on the net, Yoolki is the only one which transliterates in real-time without the often irritating pause after typing. It is also the only site which allows users to work offline in case the internet connection is lost.

Yoolki uses a dual screen which allows users to constantly see their Roman script typing side-by-side with the Arabic script. The user is able to go back and make corrections to the original words without having to delete the Arabic script.

Yoolki is also the first transliteration tool which allows users to incorpo

California Indians gather in Berkeley to learn how to save dying languages

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Digital
race to save languages

By
Andy Webster

in
Melbourne

Researchers are
fighting against time to save decades of data on the world's endangered
languages from ending on the digital scrap heap.

Computer
scientist and linguist Professor Steven Bird of Melbourne University
says most computer files, documents and original digital recordings
created more than 10 years ago are now virtually irretrievable.

Linguists
are worried because they have been enthusiastic digital pioneers.

Attracted
by ever smaller, lighter equipment and vastly improved storage capacity,
field researchers have graduated from handwritten notes and wire recordings
to laptops, mini-discs, DAT tape and MP3.

"We
are sitting between the onset of the digital era and the mass extinction
of the world's languages," said Prof Bird.

"The
window of opportunity is small and shutting fast."