Innovative approaches to speech and language technologies for Oceania, the world’s most linguistically diverse region
Where: Flinders University, Bedford Park campus, Adelaide, Australia and online
When: 25-26 July 2024
Today, we routinely use online platforms and apps to learn a language, and learners of languages rich in resources like English and French have easy access to native speaker pronunciations. But the vast majority of the world’s approximately 7000 languages are “under-resourced”: they lack online dictionaries, courseware (didacticiels), text-to-speech synthesis, multimedia e-books, and smartphone apps... Nowhere is this truer than in Oceania (including the Pacific islands, Australia, and New Zealand), the most linguistically diverse region in the world, home to less than 1% of the world’s people, but 11% of its languages.
Languages technologies can be important tools in promoting language use, in revitalizing endangered or vulnerable languages, and in lending social prestige, particularly among young people. They are also essential to allow people who are blind or non-verbal to participate more fully in their communities. How to build a vibrant network of linguists, computer scientists, language teachers, and community members to develop speech and language technologies for the languages of Oceania?
This workshop will offer an opportunity to present and learn about ongoing research and development of resources and to discuss the potential and challenges of such technologies in the context of indigenous languages. For some participants, it will be an introduction to the greater community of researchers working on under-resourced languages and to the various resources available.
Meeting ID: 863 4821 5304
password: 980964
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