Living Dictionaries — Introduction
“Living Dictionaries are mobile-friendly web tools that support endangered, under-represented and diasporic languages.”
Living Dictionaries Website
Living Dictionaries is a free, mobile-friendly online tool designed to create and manage multimedia web-based dictionaries. Designed to be easy to use and comprehensive, this resource allows communities to develop a web dictionary for endangered and under-represented languages. The resource has helped make over 400 online dictionaries worldwide, including monolingual and multilingual resources.
Available on any computer, phone, or tablet with internet access, Living Dictionaries is a simple tool that supports community members or linguists create high-quality multimodal dictionaries which can include audio, video, and images. Designed to be accessible, dictionary creation, editing, and management can be done directly from a smart phone or tablet, if needed. The final output is an online language resource hosted on the Living Dictionaries website, which can be made public or kept private.
Living Dictionaries was initially launched by the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages as “Talking Dictionaries” in 2006. It was renamed Living Dictionaries in 2020.
Highlights
- The interface is simple, straightforward, and easy to use
- Images, audio, and video can be included in entries
- Speech communities own all of the data they upload
- Speech communities can create and edit entries on their own
- Batch import of language data is supported with assistance from the support team
- Completely free to use, although the developers encourage donations
- The final dictionary can be published publicly or privately online
- Multiple languages, orthographies, and definitions can be included in one dictionary entry
- There are many free learning resources for users
- Continuous updates based on user feedback
From Anderson, G. and Daigneault, A. L. 2021. “Living Dictionaries: An Electronic Lexicography Tool for Community Activists.” Proceedings of eLex 2021, 339-360. https://elex.link/elex2021/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/eLex_2021_20_pp339-360.pdf.
- Can be used on any type of mobile device, tablet, or computer
- Compatible with Linux, MacOS, and Windows
- Remote collaboration is possible and encouraged
- Entries can be tagged by filterable/searchable semantic domains
- Multiple viewing settings are available (e.g. list, table, gallery), providing options for how users can interact with the resource
Considerations
- Not all functions are available offline
- Not designed to create print dictionaries
- There are limited options for customization within the dictionary
Alternatives to Living Dictionaries
FirstVoices is another online language website similar to Living Dictionaries, although it is only available for communities in BC, Canada.
Murkurtu’s dictionary function is similar to Living Dictionaries, with the added ability to link language entries to archived heritage items.
Examples of Dictionaries Using Living Dictionaries
A list of all the public dictionaries created using Living Dictionaries and their locations are shown on a map on the Living Dictionaries home page. The dictionaries on this page range significantly in the number of entries they include and how many available features they incorporate in their resource.
One example that demonstrates many of Living Dictionaries’ features, such as semantic categories, images, audio, and multiple orthographies, is the Sora Dictionary.
Support Services
A range of support options are available through the Living Dictionaries website. These include a FAQ document that details answers to common issues users may face and serves as a portal to connect with other resources.
The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages also offers webinars and video tutorials to support learners on their YouTube channel.
In addition, when users register for Living Dictionaries, they are sent an email to which they can reply with questions.
Developer
This technology was initially launched as “Talking Dictionaries” by linguists Gregory D. S. Anderson and K. David Harrison in 2006 as part of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. It was renamed ‘Living Dictionaries’ in 2020.