Project Supervisor: Dr Gianna Leoni

Partner: Te Hiku Media

Project Summary: Papa Reo is a multilingual language research platform grounded in indigenous knowledge and ways of thinking and powered by cutting edge data science. Te Reo Irirangi o Te Hiku o Te Ika (Te Hiku Media) have been trusted gatherers and kaitiaki of te reo Māori data for over 30 years. The overall objective of the summer internship was to investigate the linguistic features of te reo Māori in tautohetohe, formal debates, broadcast in the mid 1990s.

The intern will be working under the supervision of Dr Gianna Leoni, a Data Specialist in te reo Māori at Te Hiku Media and a member of the Papa Reo project team. The intern will be supported by the wider project team, which includes experts in te reo Māori, linguistics, computer science and research.

The intern may be situated in a location of their choice with regular support and engagement provided digitally. Some travel may be organised for the intern to meet with kaimahi from Te Hiku Media and the Papa Reo team, depending on COVID-19 restrictions.

The intern will undertake the following activities:

• Archival search and analysis

• Audio transcription

• Parts of speech tagging

• Analysing and reporting data

• Report writing

Proficiency in te reo Māori is a requirement for this internship in order to engage with the archives. Ideally the intern will be a Māori Studies major, but this is not a requirement. Interest in computer science would also be beneficial.

The intern will develop a working knowledge of the latest natural language processing tools for te reo Māori. They will also develop in depth knowledge of te reo Māori linguistic parts of speech. Other skills include: analysing and reporting on archival data, report writing and working as part of a wider project team.