Linguistic Analysis, Ethical Practice, and Quality Assurance in Anonymizing Recordings of Spoken Language for Deposit in Digital Archives

Abstract

This report considers linguistic analyses as matters of ethical practice and quality assurance in the anonymization of recordings of spoken language for deposit in a digital language archive. Ethically, researchers must be committed to protecting the identities of primary data providers. Accordingly, conducting pragmatic analyses before initiating technical anonymization procedures can aid in determining exactly what discourse, in what contexts, might constitute identifying information in need of anonymization. Qualitatively, one of the main goals of language documentation is to preserve as much primary data as possible for future research. Accordingly, conducting phonotactic analyses with the help of computer software can aid in determining precise chronometer readings for each tonal insertion to excise as little primary data as possible during anonymizations. These findings warrant further research on anonymization protocols in digital language archive projects.