Frequently Asked Questions

What are the SEAlang Projects? A collection of multi-year projects that focus on Southeast Asian texts and languages.  All of the projects deal with complex, non-roman scripts, and all have a high component of computational linguistics and specialized software development.

Geographically, SEAlang projects are centered in mainland Southeast Asia, including modern Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia.  Historically, the projects extend from the earliest written records (roughly the fifth century) to the present.

Who funds the SEAlang Projects? All initial project development is funded by the Center for Research in Computational Linguistics, an informal study center that was formally reorganized as CRCL Inc. in 2003.  CRCL is registered in California as a US 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.

We seek outside funding to carry through on the projects.  We apply on our own when we can, or in collaboration when funding is restricted to particular kinds of applicants (e.g. educational institutions).  The TICFIA-supported SEAlang Library project was handled in this way, with the University of Wisconsin-Madison as applicant, and UW-Madison Prof. Robert Bickner as PI.

Is this approach difficult? Yes.  Preparing a funding request takes about 4 - 6 weeks, and has no guarantee of success (so far, we're batting .500).   The preliminary work required to attract collaboration and cooperation, and the amount of advance development needed to help ensure that a request is taken seriously, takes months.

On the other hand, the very aspects that make progress so difficult - having to do innovative and highly technical work with languages that have limited resources - make the effort highly rewarding.

In addition, as difficult as competition for US funding is, it is contested on a reasonably level playing field.  While some aspects of the process are imperfect, the accessibility of program directors and the open availability of reviewers' criteria are enormously helpful.

Why isn't SEAlang part of a university research center?   We can't afford the overhead.  In effect, SEAlang is a university research center that has completely outsourced and off-shored itself in order to work in as efficient and focused a manner as possible.   This is enabled partly by a) the Internet, b) cheap computer hardware, and c) very high productivity in software development.  But a variety of other factors, including increasingly open and democratic access to opportunities for both funding and publication, as well as the obvious low cost of living, and accessibility of primary research resources within Southeast Asia, come to bear as well.

Why aren't the SEAlang Projects being initiated by Western universities?   Western interest in Southeast Asian studies peaked in the 1960's and 1970's, and has been in decline since then.  Practitioners have either been redistibuted to other departments, or relegated to service status in language instruction.  The SEAlang projects require a critical mass of interest and expertise in SEA languages, linguistics, and computer science that are not easily found in typical SEA Studies programs.

Why aren't the SEAlang Projects being pursued by Southeast Asian universities?   There is certainly plenty of local expertise in linguistics, computer science, epigraphy, and so on, and the projects we propose could be initiated and pursued here.  However, a variety of reasons appear to block any such effort.  These include a lack of a) funding, b) cooperation between institutions, c) interdisciplinary collaboration within institutions, and d) interest in framing regional (as opposed to national) research priorities.

What is the relationship between CRCL and the University of Wisconsin-Madison? CRCL collaborates with faculty at UW-Madison in preparing and submitting project proposals.  Arrangements are flexible.  For example, in the TICFIA project, UW is the applicant, while CRCL is both co-funder and UW subcontractor.  In the SEAlang Lab project, CRCL was eligible to apply, and has hired consultants and staff who also have UW jobs.  We feel that the ease with which we are able to make such arrangements is one of the great strengths of American academia.

CRCL sought out this arrangment because UW-Madison's Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), host of the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI), is America's strongest SEA language program, providing both regular year and summer intensive programs in a broad range of languages.   We work closely with CSEAS and SEASSI faculty, including SEASSI Director Prof. Michael Cullinane, Language Director Prof. Robert Bickner, and Heritage Programs Director Frank Smith.

How long will the SEAlang Projects take to complete? We estimate 10 years (to 2015, give or take) at our present rate.