Outside Alaska Rosetta Stone continues to expand into the endangered language domain. Season 3, episode 6 of Finding Our Talk features the Chitimacha, a language isolate once spoken in Louisiana. Currently, Chitimacha is being revived using archival documentation, including wax cylinder recordings made with some of the last fluent speakers made by Morris Swadesh in the 1930's.
Over the last few years Chitimacha language activists have worked with Rosetta Stone to develop a language learning product which incorporates these archival recordings. The product was released last month. While I have some doubts about the effectiveness of computer assisted language learning products such RS (see previous post), this is certainly an innovative use of archival recordings.
