Phonemica: Americans mapping and preserving Chinese dialects

Phonemica, or xiangyinyuan, is an innovative project that documents China’s myriad dialects and languages. Founders Kellen Parker and Steve Hansen started the open-archive, ethnographic project in 2009. Both worry that the strong presence of the official language of mainland China, Mandarin, will speed up the disappearance of Chinese dialects. The website officially launched in April 2013.

Each Phonemica entry includes a story excerpted from a long dialogue. This method allows for a natural presentation of the interviewee's speech. Phonemica presents the recordings as well as ethnographic information about the interviewees by way of an interactive map. A story told by a Sichuanese girl about her negative impressions of Shanghai can be accessed with one click, making Phonemica’s interface more accessible than most academic research on Chinese linguistics.

Phonemica could not have been possible without social media. The project encourages anyone to submit a story to the website. The team uses its blog to find volunteers and interviewees. Phonemica is also carried out fundraising for their project through the social media platform Indiegogo.

Highlight: Two linguists have developed an innovative new way to preserve Chinese languages, many of which are on the verge of becoming extinct. Fully taking advantage of social media, the program is more effective and accessible than a book or DVD.

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