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The Chana linguistic project reaches a new milestone: in the coming weeks it will inaugurate a field station, that is, a scientific laboratory, in Pucallpa, Ucayali. Thus, this collaborative project aims to contribute to the development of language sciences in Peru, based on an interdisciplinary and high-impact approach. This will also be a space for scientific work that will promote encounters between researchers and indigenous peoples.
"There is an interest in deepening the knowledge and documentation of Amazonian languages. We want members of the communities to find a space and the necessary resources: both computers and technology experts for research," says Dr. Roberto Zariquiey Biondi, who leads this project. For the expert, the goal is to work on projects such as an app or a memory game for children to learn words in the Iskonawa language.
How did the idea of building the Chana field station come about?
Chana is a research collective that includes linguistics professors, computer engineering, undergraduate and graduate students from PUCP Linguistics. Based on their research and conversations with their international allies from the University of Zurich and the Max Planck Institute, the idea of having a field station in the Amazon was born. These institutions committed to financing this.
"They saw the work we were doing in Peru and bet on this line that not many people work on in Latin America. There are other field stations associated with language sciences in the world, in places of high linguistic diversity, such as Southeast Asia or Papua New Guinea," Zariquiey explains.
This project generated a lot of international expectations because the Amazon is the region with the highest number of linguistic lineages in the world. The approximately 350 Amazonian languages are classified into 75 linguistic lineages. In this sense, it is important for researchers to answer questions about the nature of the human faculty to learn and use languages from a Latin American perspective with a focus on Peru, since most studies to understand these mechanisms have had a weird bias.
And what does this bias mean? Zariquiey explains that much of what we know about the human mind, such as language processing or fundamental cognitive processes, comes from studies focused on populations that are white, northern, democratic, and wealthy. "This population has led cognitive sciences and language sciences," he adds.
A strategic ally for indigenous peoples
The choice of locating the Chana station in the jungle also implies great responsibility, says the project spokesperson. They aim for the work done here to have an impact on the linguistic life of Amazonian peoples.
"We hope to contribute to the training of research groups of indigenous peoples, with young members who can lead projects, apply for research grants, and obtain funds. To make it possible, specialists will transfer knowledge through training processes. On the other hand, we are interested in developing tools for the survival of languages of linguistic diversity in Peru. This is a small seed," he says.
For Zariquiey, having a presence and representation in language technologies can make indigenous languages visible as full-fledged languages, with the same potential as other languages. "For example, with indigenous communities we have worked on a prototype of a Shipibo-Spanish automatic translator, spelling correctors, and educational apps for endangered languages, such as Iskonawa. Now, children who thought their grandparents' language was dead have their ancestors' language on their mother's cell phone. It's incredible to see how they engage with the applications," he comments.
Arturo Oncevay Marcos, a master's student in Computer Science and a fundamental member of the project, explained the importance of language technologies in the context of the Chana station. "For years we have been researching and promoting the development of language technologies as a tool for visibility and also for strengthening Amazonian languages. In this way, native speakers can see that their language does not lag behind modernity," he says.
Chana Project will close gaps
Excited, the researchers say that everything is almost ready to start work. For a year, they cleared the land located in a semi-urban area of Pucallpa and managed to meet all legal requirements, with the support of the National Intercultural University of the Amazon. They are currently in the final stage of logistics.
"When people see an automatic Shipibo translator like Google Translator, many who had prejudices about these languages can change their minds. In other countries, such as the United States and Canada, there has been a setback in the processes of reducing linguistic diversity with this type of project. With this work, it will be possible for children from schools in Lima to learn that in a particular Peruvian language there are 7 different ways to say 'sachavaca'. That will be a strong line at Chana," says Dr. Zariquiey.
Among their plans is to build next year two specialized rooms: a psychology laboratory and a recording room. This will always be done respectfully with indigenous peoples and the environment.