The VLACH commission in collaboration with the Institute for Romance Studies (University of Vienna) and the Institute of Slavistics and Caucasus Studies (University of Jena) has commited to support documentation, annotation and publication activities of Oirat varieties with a special focus on the Kalmyk language spoken in Kalmykia (Russian Federation). The following activities and measures are being carried out during VLACH commission’s first activity period (2016-2021):
- processing and editing of existing research materials:
- incorporation of audio, photo and video collections provided by Ioana Aminian and Thede Kahl, collected 2012-2016 from many regions in Kalmykia, partially stored at LaZAR repository
- incorporation of audio, photo and video collections provided by Ioana Aminian, Chingis Azydov and Thede Kahl, collected 2015 and 2016 in Xinjiang (China) and Western Mongolia
- incorporation of audio collection, collected in 2010-2019 by Chingis Azydov
- interview with Elena Remilev-Schlüter (second generation of Kalmyk immigrants in Europe), about the history, life and activities of the Kalmyk immigrants in former Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Germany, conducted in 2019 by Chingis Azydov
- production of video clips from the named collections for a broader public, including transcriptions, translations into English and scientific descriptions
- intensification of cooperation with Kalmykia; invitation of Kalmyk scholars to Vienna
- publication and popularization of audio tracks, photo collection and video clips within the VLACH Oirat collection until 2021