Friends and supporters of HUF nationwide gathered in Austin this week to celebrate the launch of a major new website focused on documenting and teaching the specialized language of healthcare in South Asia. Language for Health (hindiurduhealth.org) is the product of three years of substantial collaboration between HUF, The University of Texas at Austin, Columbia University, and New York University. Many of the project’s contributors were present for the launch, as were many HUF students, alumni, university faculty and administrators, and representatives from HUF’s parent organization The Language Flagship.
HUF director Rupert Snell gave a brief speech about the project as did Sam Eisen (Director of The Language Flagship), Richard Flores (Senior Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts), Martha Selby (Chair of the Department of Asian Studies), and Carl Blyth (Director of the Center for Open Educational Resources & Language Learning). The highlight of the event, however, proved to be Jishnu Shankar—Senior Lecturer in Hindi and Director of Language for Health—who provided a detailed walk-through of the new site, showcasing the project’s wealth of unique, high-quality, authentic video material and innovative side-by-side Hindi and Urdu supplemental textual materials. Currently, the site houses over 150 videos covering diverse topics ranging from the language of conventional doctor visits to the specialized terminology of Ayurvedic and Unnani medicine. New material will continue to be added with the total video content of the website expected to double over the next few years.
Watch our recording of the entire launch event:
Watch a brief introduction to the Language for Health project: