Digital tools for Kanak languages – DiKaLa

The aim of this multidisciplinary JCJC project is to develop a set of digital tools to accelerate the research and valorisation of the Kanak languages of New Caledonia (Austronesian family, Oceanic subgroup). It represents an opportunity to set up a new and innovative research group at the University of New Caledonia, focusing on the digitization of rare or under-documented languages. The DiKaLa project involves the development of three tools freely accessible online: (i) a comparative lexical database, based on existing dictionaries of Kanak languages and on the collection of new data for languages that have no existing dictionaries; (ii) a linguistic atlas, created from the lexical database, with the aim of providing interactive maps of the core vocabulary (~200 lexical entries for each of the 28 Kanak languages), highlighting both the linguistic diversity of New Caledonia and its phylogenetic coherence; and (iii) a digital archive of Kanak language corpora, complemented by an online catalog, to provide easy access to an inventory of existing Kanak language resources, as well as to enable the deposit of new recordings and the digitization of historical manuscripts documenting Kanak languages. All these tools are designed to be participatory, enabling speakers and stakeholders of Kanak languages to add resources, enrich the database with audio recordings or suggest additions or corrections to the information. The results expected from this project will support ongoing linguistic and typological description work on the Kanak languages, and stimulate new perspectives and research capacities in the field of digital humanities for rare languages. It supports the reactivation of interest to these indigenous languages from New Caledonia by younger generations, enabling them to play an active role in documenting their ancestral languages.