[[!meta title="Lakota Language and Emacs"]] [[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2020 Grant Shangreaux"]] Back to the [[schedule]] Previous: A tour of vterm Next: Object Oriented Code in the Gnus Newsreader # Lakota Language and Emacs Sunday, Nov 29 2020, 2:58 PM - 3:08 PM Grant Shangreaux When I began learning Lakota, the language of my ancestors, there was no way for me to type it on a computer without using non-free software. Additionally, the only software I could find supported just one of the proposed orthographies for the language. As an Emacs user, I knew that free software offered the ability for many types of languages to co-exist in the same program and went looking for how to enable an input mode for Lakota in Emacs. This talk will discuss how Emacs enabled me to define input modes for multiple Lakota orthographies using the Quail multilingual input package. I will also discuss some of the ethical and cultural considerations I went through when publishing the package. Lakota and many other indigenous languages were actively suppressed for many years, and are in danger of extinction. The language is being recovered now, but much of the available educational material comes from non-indian people. Before publishing an input mode for Emacs, I wanted to ensure that I included an orthography developed by Lakota people, not only the suggested orthography present in most of my educational material. Additionally, the choice of where to publish the source as an Emacs package was important, since some corporations have been known to support ongoing oppression against indigenous descended peoples. Back to the [[schedule]] Previous: A tour of vterm Next: Object Oriented Code in the Gnus Newsreader All times are approximate, and we might shuffle talks around as needed. Please check a few days before the start of the conference for instructions on how to watch and participate. See you then!