Nyingarn makes manuscript sources of Australian Indigenous languages
available as searchable and reusable text documents
to support language revitalisation
Manuscript Access ↗
The Nyingarn Team are locating early language manuscripts spread across Australia and often housed far from language speakers.
Conversion & Transcripton ↗
The Nyingarn Workspace converts digital images to text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), making them readable and searchable.
Community Permission ↗
With appropriate permissions, language manuscripts can be accessed, reviewed and enhanced.
Living Archive ↗
Nyingarn is a living platform where documents can be continually added, each with appropriate permissions from the relevant language authority.
Community Use ↗
Words found in manuscript sources can then be used in dictionaries and other materials for language learning.
Training and Workshops ↗
The Nyingarn Team are here to help. We have funding for transcription projects and community training sessions. Please get in touch.
The Nyingarn Team strongly believe in and supports the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Article 13 states: “Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons“.
We are working hard to assert the right to access language material on community terms, support language revitalisation efforts by reducing the transcription burden and build technology to protect and transmit this knowledge for future generations. Work with us!
Nyingarn is funded by Australian Research Council Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment, and Facilities grant # LE200100006
Nyingarn has human ethics approval from the University of Melbourne Office of Research Ethics and Integrity (Ref: 2021-22088-20773-6)
We are guided by the Australia Council for the Arts Protocols for using First Nations Cultural & Intellectual Property in the Arts