Center for Austronesian Language Archiving, Revitalization, AI and Digital Learning (ALARAD Center)

Along an island chain of languages, we connect archiving, revitalization, and AI-enhanced learning.

Principal Investigator 何德華 / Der-Hwa Victoria Rau (Professor, Graduate Institute of Linguistics, National Chung Cheng University; Vice President for International Affairs)

Project Researcher 張惠環 / Hui-Huan Chang (PhD in Linguistics)

Mission

We preserve and revitalize Austronesian language knowledge to support research, teaching, and community transmission. By linking Indigenous languages in Taiwan with Austronesian language contexts across Southeast Asia and Oceania, we integrate archiving—revitalization—learning to build a sustainable knowledge network.

Island-Chain Information Architecture

Island

Language/dialect homepages and database nodes: audio, texts, and lexicons.

Route

Relations across languages: cognacy, borrowings, sound correspondences, and typological similarity.

Voyage

“Island-hopping” learning paths composed of micro-lessons.

Early Priorities (AY 2025, Semester 1)

Rebuilding the Tao language archive: migrating from Providence University servers, cleaning and rebuilding data, and deploying on the CCU platform.
Courses & training: offering “Austronesian Language Archiving, Revitalization, and Digital Learning” with field-based capacity building.
Core platform functions: search, upload/publishing, licensing & access control, accessibility, and information security.
International symposium & publication: assisting the College of Humanities in hosting the “Mountain · Sea · Island Chain” International Forum (Dec 15–16, 2025, College of Humanities International Conference Hall, National Chung Cheng University), featuring talks by Academician Jen-kuei Li and other scholars; followed by an edited volume.

Launch Islands · Resources

Pre-Launch Prep: Austronesian Language & Culture
Tao (Yami): Supplementary teaching videos for An Introduction to Tao Grammar (2024)
- Orthography & Phonology · Lexicon & Word Formation · Grammar
Filipino: Demystifying Filipino
Indonesian: Indonesian Prefabricated Learning · Indonesian Travel Frog CALLed

Collaboration & Audience

Collaboration network: Foundation for the Research and Development of Indigenous Languages, the Lanyu (Orchid Island) Language Promotion Center, and (invited) Academia Sinica and scholars in Taiwan and abroad.

Audience: local communities and elders, researchers and students, teachers and material developers, and general learners.