6. Publication Plan

Publication Plan

The publication process can be viewed as an essential part of one’s Ph.D. solidification in the field. While publications before graduation from a program can at times be difficult, it may be advantageous to attempt this as part of one’s ultimate success in the field. A publication plan allows one to market their results to places that are more apt to appreciate one’s works; this allows one to ensure that their contributions are better recognized by industry professionals. Some have viewed such publications as providing a powerful and significant indicator for ‘scientific career advancement’ (Giebel, 2019); this is particularly important in a highly competitive field.

To summarize, my works will focus on natural language processing (NLP) with low-resource languages, with a focus on creoles (particularly Saint Lucian Kwéyòl). Chapter One will serve as an introduction to the NLP setting, scope, and foundational surveys. However, in terms of publication, I hope to publish the overall methodology of these foundational linguistic research surveys; the survey reports, that are presented to local Saint Lucian authorities, assist with understanding the setting of the subsequent computational works. The major computational works will be published and noted as Chapters Two through Four (with the inclusion of a publication of the complied language data of the dissertation).

The Association for Computational Linguistics will be targeted as the main publisher of my works as the theme for the upcoming 60th Annual Meeting suitably supports most, if not all, of my research efforts; “Language Diversity: from Low-Resource to Endangered Languages.

Relevant submission topics for the conference include, but are not limited to, ‘Computational Social Science and Cultural Analytics’; ‘Machine Translation and Multilinguality’, ‘NLP Applications’; ‘Information Extraction’; ‘Information Retrieval and Text Mining’; ‘Phonology, Morphology, and Word Segmentation’; and ‘Syntax: Tagging, Chunking and Parsing’.

This publisher is currently seeking papers that ‘discuss and reflect on the “role of the speech and language technologies in sustaining language use” .. for the large variety of world languages with focus on under-resourced, indigenous, and/or endangered languages. What are the challenges for developing and scaling up the current NLP technologies for the rich diversity of human languages and what are the ethical, cultural and policy implications of such technologies for the local communities? This publisher invites researchers to ‘submit position, opinion, modelling, and resource papers’ on topics that are indeed explored in my works thus far. All areas of calls for papers appear to apply to my works; the following descriptions are indeed apt (ACL, 2021; ACL, 2021).

-Reflecting on the NLP community’s current progress on building speech and language technologies for under-resourced, indigenous and/or endangered languages and how we can make meaningful advances in the future.

-Quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods to assess the impact of NLP research for sustaining language maintenance and use for the large diversity of world languages.

-Ways in which NLP practitioners can partner with language communities to develop impactful research (including data collection) and applications that can help sustain language use for indigenous and/or endangered languages, including such impacts as the development of teaching and learning materials for both children and adults.

The conference occurs from May 22nd to 27th 2022, in Dublin. The paper submission deadline is November 15, 2021, and Notification of acceptance is February 20, 2022 (ACL, 2021).

However, this does not mean that other publishers will be ignored. My dissertation has involved foundational surveys as means of creating unique quantifiable data on the environment in which the rest of my works are based. These explore the status of a sample subject language through studying various critical members of that society’s labor force. The work of teachers, medical workers (in the realms of both physical and mental health), lawyers, and law enforcement, typically encompasses frequent interactions with people of varying backgrounds in that environment. The 2021 publication of Dr. Sandra Evans in Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, ‘Ou ni right-la pou remain silans’ The case for a standard Kwéyòl translation of the pre-trial right to silence’, supports the academic merit of conducting surveys on language and law enforcement in Saint Lucia (Evans, 2021). That publication is right in line with a similar foundational survey within this dissertation that focuses on linguistics and the justice system in Saint Lucia. More specifically, this was a linguistic survey of the current multilingual capacities of the island’s lawyers, in an effort to assess legal language services with the hopes of avoiding miscarriages of justice due to miscommunication between lawyers and clients. Interested entities such as the Bar Association of Saint Lucia, The Central Statistical Office of Saint Lucia, and the Saint Lucia Folk Research Center, are currently awaiting the results of this IRB-approved work.

I also have an upcoming law enforcement survey. It will focus on law enforcement as they (like lawyers) are all employed in critical services that require effective communication in an increasingly multilingual setting. Dr. Sandra Evans paper appears to have focused on the potential for miscarriages of justice due to miscommunication (Evans, 2021). My upcoming works focus on avoiding miscarriages of justice due to miscommunication. The work will simultaneously bolster the vitality (and recognition) of Kwéyòl, by encouraging mandatory education and monitoring of the local heritage language in critical institutions.

Ultimately, it is hoped that the results of these surveys can also published in the Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages (JPCL) (missing reference). While there are other linguistic journals available, this one seems to be the best aligned with my subject matter; it appears to accept various linguistic works including sociolinguistics, and computational linguistics. However, the Society for Caribbean Linguistics (SCL) will serve as an additional possible publisher of all facets of the work being conducted in this dissertation, via its SCL Occasional Papers (OP) Series, and the SCL Popular Papers (PP) Series. (SCL, 2021; SCL, 2021). The surveys will be conducted on as many of these professions as possible, before December 2021. These surveys have been slated for distribution while I continue to complete my other major coded/ data model papers.

The bulk of work regarding computational linguistics will be published in other academic journals. For example, another main target is a recently created publication geared towards data science papers - Patterns. It is said to publish

‘…original research in data science, particularly focusing on solutions to the cross-disciplinary problems that all researchers face when dealing with data, and articles about datasets, software code, algorithms, infrastructures, etc., with permanent links to these research outputs’. Patterns also promotes cross-community conversation by publishing opinion pieces and review articles (“Patterns,” 2020). Since I do intend to discuss matters related to computational linguistics, frameworks, and my dissertation’s societal value to low-resource languages (biocultural diversity topics), I do believe that this is an appropriate target.

Additionally, Easychair claims to support “a large number of conference models and, judging by our Web traffic, is the world’s largest conference management system” (EasyChair, 2020).

Ultimately, in addition to publishing survey reports, and computational papers, I also hope to publish my collection of complied Kwéyòl language samples. Currently, I am in discussions with several committees of the Saint Lucian government that are considering hosting and publishing the reports, as well as the complied Kwéyòl text data. However, I publishers of this data may also include the aforementioned JPCL and the SCL.

I am indeed collecting multilingual corpora for a low-resource language as part of my ongoing dissertation work. These range from national documents such as the Saint Lucian national anthem (“Kwéyòl National Anthem approved,” 2016), speeches from government officials’ published press releases bearing Kwéyòl dialogue (Louisy, 2004; “Saint Lucia Throne Speeches,” 2021), (Louisy, 2004; “Saint Lucia Throne Speeches,” 2021), Kwéyòl financial document excerpts from the Saint Lucian National Bank’s annual reports (“Financial Reports,” 2020), poems from national poetry competitions, and local folktales published through collaborative efforts of the local government and SIL International (SIL, 1985; SIL, 1989). The collection also includes public data on open forum Kwéyòl mentions on social media; particularly the postings by verified fluent Saint Lucian Kwéyòl writers (missing reference).

I believe this data would be a unique submission as I would compiling all these far-flung works of differing semantic domains and converting them from their various publication formats into analyzable text files.

Please see below for details on publications currently being considered:

  • The Association for Computational Linguistics:

https://www.2022.aclweb.org/callpapers

  • Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages:

https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/15699870

  • Patterns:

https://www.cell.com/patterns/home

  • Easychair:

https://easychair.org/

  • Applied Corpus Linguistics:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-corpus-linguistics

  • MDPI or Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute:

https://www.mdpi.com/

  • Language & Communication: An Interdisciplinary Journal:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/language-and-communication

  • Sustainability — Open Access Journal:

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability

  • Lingua: An International Review of General Linguistics:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/lingua

  • Ampersand: An International Journal of General and Applied Linguistics:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ampersand

  • Journal of Memory and Language:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-memory-and-language

  • Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/linguistics-and-education

  • Journal of Second Language Writing: An international journal on second and foreign language writing and writing instruction:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-second-language-writing

  • Language Sciences:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/language-sciences

  • Modern Journal of Language Teaching Methods (MJLTM):

https://mjltm.org/

  • Elsevier Journals in Linguistics and Language:

https://www.elsevier.com/social-sciences-and-humanities/linguistics-and-language/journals

  • Journal of Marine and Island Cultures:

https://jmic.online/

References:

  1. Giebel, M. (2019). Is it a good idea to publish during your PhD? Yes, but ... In Nature News. Nature Publishing Group. https://socialsciences.nature.com/posts/53143-is-it-publish-or-perish-for-phd-students-it-depends
  2. ACL. (2021). ACL 2022 THEME Track: "Language Diversity: FROM Low-Resource to Endangered Languages". In ACL. Association for Computational Linguistics. https://www.2022.aclweb.org/post/acl-2022-theme-track-language-diversity-from-low-resource-to-endangered-languages
  3. ACL. (2021). The 60th annual meeting of the Association for computational linguistics. In The 60th Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics | ACL Member Portal. Association for Computational Linguistics . https://www.aclweb.org/portal/content/60th-annual-meeting-association-computational-linguistics
  4. Evans, R. S. (2021). ‘Ou ni right-la pou remain silans’: The case for a standard Kwéyòl translation of the pre-trial right to silence. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages, 36(1), 175–200. https://doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.00072.eva
  5. SCL. (2021). Welcome! bonbini! Byenveni! Waa gwaan! In SCL - Society for Caribbean Linguistics. Society for Caribbean Linguistics. http://www.scl-online.net/
  6. SCL. (2021). Publications. In SCL - Society for Caribbean Linguistics. Society for Caribbean Linguistics. http://www.scl-online.net/publications/index.htm
  7. Patterns. (2020). In journals.elsevier.com/patterns. Elsevier.com. https://www.journals.elsevier.com/patterns/#: :text=Patterns is a premium open,scope, regardless of original domain.
  8. EasyChair. (2020). Create virtual and hybrid conferences that feel like real. In EasyChair. EasyChair. https://easychair.org/
  9. Kwéyòl National Anthem approved. (2016). In Saint Lucia - Access Government. Office of the Prime Minister. http://www.govt.lc/news/kw-y-l-national-anthem-approved
  10. Louisy, D. C. P. L. (2004). "Facing Opportunity and Taking Responsibility for Our Country’s Development". In Throne Speech. Governor General Dame Calliopa Pearlette Louisy. http://caribbeanelections.com/eDocs/articles/lc/lc_Throne_Speech_2004.pdf
  11. Saint Lucia Throne Speeches. (2021). In KnowledgeWalk Institute. caribbeanelections.com. http://caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/speeches/lc_speeches/lc_throne_speeches.asp
  12. Financial Reports. (2020). In 1st National Bank St. Lucia. 1st National Bank St. Lucia. https://www.1stnationalbankonline.com/financial-reports/
  13. SIL. (1985). Konpé Lapen Mandé on Favè (Konpé Lapen Asks a Favor) : A Saint Lucian Folk Tale Told by Evans Leon. In Summer Institute of Linguistics. SIL International. https://tinyurl.com/25ht3paj
  14. SIL. (1989). Sé Kon Sal Fèt - A reading book in Saint Lucian Creole. In Summer Institute of Linguistics. SIL International. https://tinyurl.com/yeajwe8b