University of Oregon · 2022
Indigenous Language Preservation
Transcribing 100+ pages of 1800s-era Hanis, Coos, and Miluk manuscripts into IPA.
Role
NSF REU Fellow, Linguistics
Client
University of Oregon
Year
2022
Focus
Field Linguistics, Archival Research, Database Design
Overview
An NSF-funded fellowship transcribing and digitizing historical manuscripts in Hanis, Coos, and Miluk into IPA and English, alongside building an interactive research database for academic users.
Context
The source documents were printed photocopies of handwritten manuscripts written in IPA, the International Phonetic Alphabet, the standardized system that gives every human speech sound its own written symbol. Transcription meant deciphering which characters had been written by hand, working out the sounds they represented, and logging each reading in a spreadsheet, with peer review and collaboration essential to verify accuracy.
Impact
Database engagement up 40% across academic users. Trust maintained with Indigenous community partners through strict ethical compliance.
100+
Pages transcribed (IPA + English)
200+
Stakeholders presented to
+40%
Database engagement lift
Research goals
- Transcribe and digitize fragile 1800s-era Hanis, Coos, and Miluk manuscripts into a usable scholarly resource.
- Build an interactive database that academic users would actually return to.
- Maintain strict IRB and ethical compliance with Indigenous community partners throughout.
Methods
- Transcribed 100+ pages of 1800s-era source material into IPA and English.
- Designed and maintained an interactive research database used by academic users.
- Presented findings to 200+ stakeholders including tribal members, faculty, and federal grant administrators.
Research process
Archival transcription into IPA
Transcribed 100+ pages of pre-1900 source material into IPA and English, working carefully through idiosyncratic and inconsistent original transcriptions.
Database design
Designed and maintained an interactive research database for academic users, structuring the data so future researchers could query, compare, and cite it.
Ongoing community accountability
Held strict IRB and ethical-compliance standards with Indigenous community partners at every step, treating compliance as relational rather than purely procedural.
Dissemination
Presented findings to 200+ stakeholders including tribal members, university faculty, and federal grant administrators, adjusting framing for each audience without losing fidelity.
Key research decisions
Lessons learned
What I'd carry forward.
Ambiguous source data makes peer review essential, accuracy was a collaborative achievement, not a solo one.
Turning 100+ manuscript pages into a structured, searchable database created more lasting value than the transcription alone.
Presenting to tribal members, faculty, and grant administrators taught me to pitch the same findings three different ways for three audiences.
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