One of the activities bundled in the WBÖ – Project Cluster (Dictionary of Historical Bavarian Dialects in Austria and South Tyrol) is the task area Science Communication. This task area aims at making research results available not only to the scientific community via traditional dissemination formats (lectures, publications, etc.), but also to the media and the interested public in an appropriate manner.
The team of the WBÖ – Project Cluster therefore regularly takes part in science communication events such as the Long Night of Research, European Researchers' Night and Children's University (see the explanatory video on the topic of How is a dialect dictionary created?). In cooperation with the Vienna Children's University, the Day of Multilingualism was organized in September 2023 for invited school classes.
The WBÖ team is also regularly present in the (Austrian) media with interviews, print, audio and video contributions (see News & Events).
Via the Mastodon and Bluesky-channels of the ACDH institute, there is a series #LIÖ #Wörtertag on Tuesdays (on the Institute's LinkedIn on Wednesdays) with news and interesting facts from the project context. The #Wörtertag is currently paused.
One of the particular highlights of this task area is the Top Citizen Science project The ABC(s) of Dialects: Exploring Historical Notes Digitally (FWF TCS134), which aims at working with interested citizens to transcribe the handwriting on the WBÖ paper slips, which are over 100 years old. Interested persons are trained for this purpose, and citizen experts and researchers work together to ensure the quality of the transcriptions. The results of the collaboration are available here. The ABC(s) of Dialects was represented at the Citizen Science Award in 2023 and 2024.
As part of the program FÄKT! Science Communication for the Next Generation, the video Dialect Alert! How threatended is the 'Austrian' of the future was created for various social media platforms. The target group is 10 to 14-year-olds; the video packages and further information can also be used by teachers in the classroom.
FÄKT! on YouTube
FÄKT! on Instagram
FÄKT! on TikTok
Edutube
#FÄKT