[nativestudies-l] [Fwd: IBM Gives Voice to the Stories and Lives of Alaskans]

Tue Aug 19 10:59:17 EDT 2008

IBM

Aug 18, 2008 07:01 ET

IBM Gives Voice to the Stories and Lives of Alaskans

LitSite Alaska Applies IBM Speech Technology to the Ancient Oral Tradition of 
Storytelling, Helping Preserve Native Alaskan Language and Culture

ARMONK, NY and ANCHORAGE, AK--(Marketwire - August 18, 2008) - LitSite Alaska 
(www.litsite.org) -- an interactive Web site with a wealth of information, 
insights and stories about the history, diversity, culture and traditions of 
Alaskans -- is bringing native language and stories to life using IBM (NYSE: IBM) 
cutting-edge speech technology. Over 1,000 pages of text have been enhanced 
with audio files, using IBM WebSphere Voice Server text-to-speech software. 
These audio files even include uncommon pronunciations of Alaskan native names 
and words such as KwaashKiKwaan, Tlingit, and Inupiaq.

LitSite Alaska (http://www.litsite.org/), a project of the University of 
Alaska Anchorage and the Alaska Literary Consortium, funded in part by grants from 
the National Endowment for the Arts and the Rasmuson Foundation, is working 
to "teach" the software proper pronunciation. One of the challenges of using 
text-to-speech software is the uncommon pronunciations of Alaska Native names 
and words. The oral tradition, an integral part of the lives of Alaska Natives, 
is essential to learning and to passing on cultural knowledge and life skills. 
Taking advantage of IBM WebSphere Voice Server's flexibility and easy to use 
tools to create custom pronunciations is helping to preserve Alaska Native 
words and making them available to the world on the Web.

"LitSite Alaska uses narrative to inspire learning and community building," 
said Ronald Spatz, professor and Dean of the University Honors College at the 
University of Alaska Anchorage. "We bring people together through storytelling 
and are using IBM's technology to give voice to hundreds of stories about 
Alaska and the lives of Alaskans contained within our vast and growing archive."

"If we had to record all of the stories ourselves, the process would be too 
costly and time consuming," said Spatz. "But with WebSphere Voice Server, we 
can convert a page of text quickly and efficiently. For a not-for-profit site, 
the savings in time and resources are enormous. LitSite Alaska is leveraging 
IBM's technology to produce more audio content than its small staff of 
freelancers and contract workers could do on its own."

"Alaskan storytelling is an art form and LitSite is playing a critical role 
in continuing the tradition of preserving Alaskan culture," said Kareem Yusuf, 
IBM Director of Product Management, WebSphere Software. "As a leader in speech 
technology, IBM is pleased to be playing a role in bringing Alaskan tradition 
to life on the Web through vocalizing traditional stories and native 
language."

LitSite Alaska features narratives illustrating many aspects of life in 
Alaska from past to present. It also features a tele-health resource, Narrative and 
Healing, focusing on the therapeutic properties of writing and storytelling, 
and providing examples of how people of all ages face life's challenges by 
telling their stories. As an on-line learning tool, LitSite Alaska showcases a 
living archive of lesson plans used in Alaskan classrooms and an extensive 
collection of peer work by Alaskan students.

ABOUT IBM

For more information, please visit www.ibm.com

ABOUT LITSITE ALASKA

LitSite Alaska, a site building community and inspiring learning through 
storytelling, was founded in 1999 and received seed funding from the National 
Endowment for the Arts. The site features historical content about Alaska through 
a partnership with the Alaska Digital Archives. The site also contains a 
living archive of lesson plans used in Alaskan classrooms and an extensive 
collection of peer work by Alaskan students. It also features a tele-health resource, 
Narrative and Healing. The current site expansion is made possible by a grant 
from Rasmuson Foundation. LitSite Alaska received a Chancellor's Award for 
Excellence and has garnered praise from The Chronicle of Higher Education, 
Education World, School Library Journal, First Lady Laura Bush, and the Anchorage 
Daily News.

Litsite has been awarded Education World's highest rating: A+.

Visit: http://www.litsite.org
Contacts:
Steven Tomasco
IBM Media Relations
914-945-1655
cell - 917-687-4588
stomasc at us.ibm.com

Ronald Spatz
University of Alaska Anchorage
907-333-4799
907-786-4361
spatz at alaska.net    </HTML>

-- 

Alyssa Mt. Pleasant, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

American Studies Program

Yale University

P.O. Box 208236
New Haven, CT 06520-8236

203-436-8169

Department of History

Yale University
P.O. Box 208324
New Haven, CT 06520-8324

alyssa.mt.pleasant at yale.edu <mailto:alyssa.mt.pleasant at yale.edu>

*/Neka ne ne hera teh/*

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