Professor Michael Flynn (Linguistics) and Professor Jeff Ondich (Computer Science) teamed up with the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Dakotah Language Institute (SWODLI) at Lake Traverse to learn about and document particular elements of the grammar and vocabulary of the endangered Dakota language. The project provided opportunities for students to visit Lake Traverse, interview first-language speakers of Dakota, and analyze some properties of the language. Students and faculty also collaborated on creating a database of Dakota words, phrases, and sentences that had been collected by staff at SWODLI over many years. Further, Professor Ondich developed an online Dakota-English dictionary based on public domain and SWODLI dictionary data.
