CoRSAL is a joint project of IUB Linguistics and the University of North Texas Digital Library (PI Shobhana Chelliah, IUB and Mark Phillips, UNT). CoRSAL works with language communities to document, preserve, and develop open-access platforms on South Asian languages. CoRSAL offers free virtual and in-person workshops on language documentation and archiving through which Indian students and faculty gain the library and preservation skills necessary to advance language documentation in support of scientific understanding of language (its history, and structure) and the cultural and linguistic vitality of language use.  

       Since our first annual meeting at UNT in November 2017, CoRSAL has held a yearly symposium to explore the intersection of language doucmentation and digital archiving with our depositors and  institutional partners.  You can view the programs, presentation videos, and powerpoints throught the links below.

CoRSAL IX - 2025

Creating a network of scholars on the digital study of South Asian Languages and Linguistics at IU and India 

11th-12thDecember 2025

2025 Symposium program

Registration link

CoRSAL IX will be held  at the Indiana University, Bloomington (IUB) India Gateway in Delhi.  Virtual attendance is available with registration.  This symposium is to bring together students and faculty collaborators with Indian colleagues, students, and cultural leaders to uncover common issues, needs, and strategies for creating and accessing resources on South Asian languages.  A precursor to these conversations was the 8th symposium .  At CoRSAL IX, participants will explore

1) language documentation and archival practices in India

2) content-sharing among users in the region

3) digital technologies for access to South Asian cultural and linguistic heritage materials and

4) shared and differing metadata and archiving standards for language documentation.  

A second day  will be a “mini-classroom” for students and faculty specializing in languages of northeast India which is an area of focus for CoRSAL. 

CoRSAL VIII - 2024

Building a Digital Network for Language and Culture in South and Southeast Asia

4 October 2024, 8:30am -6:00pm at the Wells Library, Hazelbaker Lecture Hall 159, IUB and via Zoom

The short-term goals of the symposium were to  investigate possible partnerships across IU Bloomington and other universities with CoRSAL and to contextualize the CoRSAL archive within the South and Southeast Asian library space.  The long term goal are to explore mechanisms to improve discoverability of existing resources on South Asian languages.  

CoRSAL VIII was funded by generous support of IUB’s Dhar India Studies. We are also grateful to additional sponsors who provided matching funds for an IUB Research and Creative Activity Conference grant (2024-25): Center for the Study of Global Change, College of Arts and Humanities Initiative, College of Arts and Sciences, Dean’s Office, Middle East Studies Program, Islamic Studies Program, Linguistics Department, University Libraries.  The Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies and the Wells Library provided their conference spaces.

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CoRSAL VII - 2023

Developing Infrastructure for the Computational Resource for South Asian Languages

October 26, 2023 (via ZOOM)

In 2023, keynotes Mark Post and Yankee Modi (University of Sydney) presented a model for supporting language community documentation developed by the Centre for Cultural-Linguistic Diversity (Eastern Himalaya), and a panel of depositors showcased their recent additions to the CoRSAL archive.

CoRSAL VI - 2022

Collecting, Organizing, and Archiving Materials for Dictionaries

September 30, 2022 (via ZOOM)

2022's symposium focused on practical considerations for dictionary-making. Dr. Alexander Coupe of Nanyang Technical University (NTU) Singapore shared his experience in lexicography, and we heard field reports from communities in Northeast India working to create dictionaries for their languages including Boro, Thadou, Uipo, Lamkang, Liangmai, and more.

CoRSAL V - 2021

Increasing Engagement with CoRSAL through Social Media

October 1, 2021 (via ZOOM)

Social media plays a significant role in language revitalization efforts. We learned more about this through our keynote address by Brook Danielle Lillehaugen. Then, CoRSAL depositors shared how they are using social media to increase engagement with their collections. We introduced the CoRSAL Excellence Fund and shared news of our new collections and future plans.

CoRSAL IV - 2020

Archiving Legacy Material for ICSTLL Languages

October 2, 2020 (via ZOOM)

Held in conjunction with the 53rd International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics (ICSTLL53). With the goal of raising awareness on the state of language collections for ICSTLL languages, key field researchers in Sino-Tibetan languages (aka Trans-Himalayan) shared stories of field studies in the language groups they study. They reviewed all manner of field notes, cassette tapes, minidisk recordings, unpublished manuscripts, and publications with small print runs that need curation and archiving. Where these materials will be 50 years from now? Is this material safe and accessible, and, if not, what do we need to do to make it so? Are there speaker communities who need this data and are we able to bring it to them? What kind of training in data management and metadata creation do we need to provide our students so that their work can be easily archived? Discussion was led by Kristine Hildebrandt.

CoRSAL III - 2019

Developing Infrastructure for a Computational Resource for South Asian Languages

October 29, 2019

UNT Union, Room 385, UNT MAIN CAMPUS

CoRSAL II - 2018

Developing Infrastructure for a Computational Resource for South Asian Languages

November 1, 2018

UNT GATEWAY CENTER, Room 51, UNT MAIN CAMPUS

Funded by a University of North Texas  Charn Uswachoke International Development Fund (PI Chelliah).

CoRSAL I - 2017

Developing Infrastructure for a Computational Resource for South Asian Languages

November 17, 2017

WILLIS LIBRARY, Room 250H, UNT MAIN CAMPUS

Funded by a University of North Texas  Charn Uswachoke International Development Fund (PI Chelliah).