Job Details

CherokeeDictionary.net is a widely used online resource for the Cherokee language. The site is partially maintained by Dr. Benjamin Frey and serves language learners, researchers, and community members. As part of an ongoing collaboration, we are working to integrate select features of CherokeeDictionary.net into AI-based language models to support improved linguistic analysis, educational tools, and machine translation for Cherokee.

To support this effort, we are seeking assistance from students who are interested or skilled in Computer Science to help address outstanding technical tasks on the CherokeeDictionary.net platform.

Scope of Work

• Reviewing and addressing open issues listed at:
  https://github.com/CherokeeLanguage/cherokeedictionary/issues

• Front-end and/or back-end development support

• Improving site functionality, performance, or maintainability

• Assisting with feature integration relevant to AI and language technology workflows

• Collaborating to document solutions and improvements

Who Should Apply

• Undergraduate or graduate students seeking:

  • Research experience

  • Independent study 

  • Open-source contribution experience

Benefits

• Hands-on experience with a live, widely used open-source project

• Opportunity to contribute to Indigenous language preservation and technology

• Collaboration with an interdisciplinary team working at the intersection of linguistics, AI, and computer science

Desired Qualifications

• Coursework or experience in Computer Science

• Familiarity with web development technologies (e.g., JavaScript, HTML/CSS, frameworks as relevant)

• Experience with GitHub and version control

• Interest in language technology, AI, digital humanities, or Indigenous language support is a plus

• Ability to work collaboratively and communicate progress clearly