LangSci Talk: Throughlines of Technology Implementation in Language Revitalization Work
October 8, 2026, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm
Language Sciences is pleased to invite Dr. PT Anderson, founder of Revitalization Technology, to give a talk on his experiences working with communities to revive languages with technology.
Since 2023, Dr. PT Anderson has collaborated with more than a dozen language projects across three continents, each working with endangered, minority, or Indigenous languages. From Thangmi in Nepal to Tunica in the United States, Rusiténe in Italy to Híɫzaqvḷa in British Columbia, these collaborations span a wide range of technical and community-driven tasks: migrating lexical data from spreadsheets into dictionary platforms, training language workers to properly size photographs of speakers for recognition on their department website, evaluating emerging language technologies for security and data sovereignty, supporting teams in editing speaker audio for online resources, and more.
Across these varied contexts, a set of shared patterns begins to emerge. Communities often articulate similar needs, raise similar concerns, and return to similar values when navigating the intersection of language, technology, and cultural stewardship. Anderson’s work offers a vantage point from which these through-lines become visible: the protocols that matter, the recurring challenges that shape project timelines, and the commitments that make collaboration genuinely ethical rather than merely efficient.
This talk reflects on those experiences and the lessons they surface. It explores what it means to approach language technology work with humility, care, and accountability, and how a value-centered, community-driven orientation can support Indigenous partners in ways that honor their priorities, protect their data, and strengthen long-term sustainability.
About the speaker
Dr. PT Anderson is a linguistic anthropologist by training and a software engineer by trade who has collaborated with various Indigenous language revitalization efforts since 2011. Their interdisciplinary background informs a practice grounded in both technical expertise and community-centered collaboration. Anderson is the founder of Revitalization Technology, a consulting firm dedicated to empowering community use of language
technology. They strive to build confidence, autonomy, and long-term sustainability in community language technology projects, ensuring that tools serve community priorities rather than constrain them.
Anderson is the founder of Revitalization Technology, a technology consulting company that seeks to make communities feel empowered in their language technology rather than at the whims of it.
Talk Details
Date: Thursday, October 8th, 2026
Time: 12:30 -1:30 pm
Venue: Room 2240, MacIssac Health Building, 5955 University Blvd, Vancouver, UBC Point Grey, BC V6T 1Z1
This is a hybrid talk. Lunch will be served. RSVP required.