Free & open-source software for language documentation
A curated catalog of practical tools for linguistic fieldwork—what each tool does and where to get it. Most run right in your browser; the rest install on Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Ready to use
Each card links to the tool’s website or GitHub page, with downloads and instructions.
Hand the data collection to the people who know the language best. Community members transcribe, gloss, free-translate, and record texts in a friendly offline web app on any phone or computer—then send the results back to you. Import the finished .flextext files straight into FLEx (FieldWorks) and pick up your analysis where they left off.
Record responses to video and image prompts and automatically export a single audio file with clearly separated entries—ready for ELAN or SayMore.
Open website (opens in a new tab)Convert a Dekereke Phonology database directly to a Toolbox .db file for SIL Phonology Assistant—no FLEx round-trip needed. Ships with sensible default field mappings or accepts a custom CSV. Portable app for Windows and macOS.
Convert FLEx interlinear text, Phonology Assistant exports, and custom tab-separated data to LaTeX—instantly, from anywhere on your computer or in any online editor. Desktop app (macOS & Windows) and browser extension (Chrome & Firefox).
Open website (opens in a new tab)View and export FLEx Discourse Charts in a clean, readable format with options like show/hide markers, color-coded salience, printable layouts, and more. Works in your browser or as a desktop app.
Open web app (opens in a new tab)Batch process many audio clips at once. Quickly raise volume, trim silence with padding, or normalize loudness for human listening—no need to edit files one by one.
Open website (opens in a new tab)Combine multiple audio files into a single file—right in your browser. Drag in your clips, reorder them, and download one merged audio file. No software to install.
Open website (opens in a new tab)Collect text by letting native speakers transcribe and back-translate in Excel. Converts Excel directly to FLEx-ready FlexText.
Open website (opens in a new tab)Open simple FLEx XML exports (especially various lists) and view or share them in a clear, user-friendly format.
Open web app (opens in a new tab)Generate FLEx Interlinear Text from the Greek New Testament so you can analyze discourse structure with the FLEx text charting tool and FDAT. Includes a template FLEx project with text chart templates.
Open web app (opens in a new tab)Extract interlinear texts from a OneStory Editor project and view or export them as HTML, XLingPaper, or FLExText.
Open website (opens in a new tab)In active development
Usable today, but still rough around the edges—expect some gaps and changes.
Export a subset of words and recordings (with or without frames) from a Dekereke database for easy, graphical sorting by surface tone melody on Android or desktop—by an outside researcher or participatory, with native speakers.
Open website (opens in a new tab)Create interactive pivot tables from your Dekereke database—filter, sort, and analyze your linguistic data in a spreadsheet-like interface right in your browser.
Open website (opens in a new tab)Record native texts right in a web browser, including audio prompts for consent and metadata—handy for quick field collection.
View on GitHub (opens in a new tab)Bulk copy with filename prefixes/suffixes and format conversion (in progress). Useful for organizing large media collections.
View on GitHub (opens in a new tab)Direct downloads
Ready to use, but not yet published as full GitHub repositories. Provided as portable downloads, as is.
What’s next
The project
FLET (Field Linguistics Extension Tools) is a community-driven catalog of practical tools that make fieldwork easier—from recording and organizing audio to preparing readable charts and exports. Many tools run in your browser; others provide installers for Windows, macOS, or Linux.
Each tool has its own page with instructions and downloads. If you’re unsure where to start, browse the tools above and pick the one that matches your task.
