Information access in indigenous languages: a case study in Zulu
نویسندگان
چکیده
This study focuses on the intellectual accessibility of information in indigenous languages, using Zulu, one of the main indigenous languages in South Africa, as a test case. Both Cross-Lingual Information Retrieval (CLIR) and metadata are discussed as possible means of facilitating access and a bilateral approach combining these two methods is proposed. Popular CLIR approaches and their resource requirements are analysed and the dictionary-based approach combined with approximate string-matching for query translation from Zulu to English are discussed in detail. Metadata formats for knowledge representation from the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) viewpoint are discussed, in particular the advantages and limitations of the Dublin Core (DC) metadata format.
منابع مشابه
Cross-lingual information access in indigenous languages: a case study in Zulu
We review the applicability of dictionary-based Cross-Language Information Retrieval (CLIR) from Zulu to English. Due to the lack of electronic resources and in particular tools for morphological analysis, novel approaches had to be found to deal with the processes of CLIR. Approximate string matching, combined with a monolingual Zulu word list was used. The results suggest that the disparate v...
متن کاملUkwabelana - An open-source morphological Zulu corpus
Zulu is an indigenous language of South Africa, and one of the eleven official languages of that country. It is spoken by about 11 million speakers. Although it is similar in size to some Western languages, e.g. Swedish, it is considerably under-resourced. This paper presents a new open-source morphological corpus for Zulu named Ukwabelana corpus. We describe the agglutinating morphology of Zul...
متن کاملThe Study of graduate Students’ Model Measuring Access and Use of Electronic Information
Abstract Background and Aim: Research was carried out as a survey utilizing a researcher made questionnaire. 1149 postgraduate students were selected to fill in the research questionnaire, and 837 questionnaires were sent back. Along with descriptive statistics, independent samples t test was used to examine the difference between groups and Pearson co-efficient to measure correlations of vari...
متن کاملUser-friendly Dictionaries for Zulu: An Exercise in Complexicography
In this paper the main features of Bantu lexicography are analysed through several case studies of Zulu dictionary features. Examples from both existing dictionaries as well as a forthcoming reference work are used in the analysis, which develops from verbs and nouns, gradually including more word classes, and ending with a detailed study of possessive pronouns. The latter serves as one example...
متن کاملA Study of the Application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Children Access to Pharmacies: A Case Study of Kermanshah, West of Iran
Background Adequate access to health services has tremendous effects on the usefulness and efficiency of health care. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the access of girls under the age of 14 years old to pharmacies in Kermanshah, Iran. Materials and Methods In this cross-sectional study, the access of Results In terms of access to 25 pharmacies through walking, the findings revealed ...
متن کامل