Breaking down digital barriers to Gaelic
£600,000 awarded to spoken language project.
A new digital platform for recording, transcribing and translating spoken Gaelic has been awarded £600,000 through the CivTech innovation programme.
AITEAL – which means “ray of light” – will help in developing advanced technologies, including AI, for Gaelic speakers.
The project will initially create four jobs including three fieldworker posts in rural and island communities and a dedicated Project Manager. Over 18 months, the team will record up to 500 hours of high-quality spoken Gaelic in the Western Isles and Skye.
This data can then be used to improve existing technologies like speech-to-text software or develop new ones such as Gaelic AI chatbots. It could also be used to make educational resources or automated transcription and subtitling services.
AITEAL has been created by the Gaelic arts organisation Fèisean nan Gàidheal alongside the charity Community Enterprise and digital technology partner Northcode Digital. It is one of the successful projects to benefits from Round 11 of the Scottish Government’s CivTech programme, which provides critical support to some of Scotland’s most promising and growing tech start-ups, harnessing their creative talent and innovation to improve public services.
Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic Màiri McAllan said:
“The lack of data on Scottish Gaelic presents a significant barrier in developing technologies for Gaelic speakers. AITEAL aims to overcome this, ensuring Gaelic language and culture thrive.
“This exciting project will enrich communities, safeguard cultural heritage and unlock economic opportunities, providing lasting benefits for Gaelic speakers.
“AITEAL has the potential to be of international significance as it can provide a model which other languages can follow to overcome digital inequality.”
CEO of Fèisean nan Gàidheal and Director of AITEAL Limited Calum Alex Macmillan said:
"We look forward to working directly with Gaelic speakers in their communities, recording the language as it is naturally spoken and capturing the richness of its dialects and idioms in everyday use.
“AITEAL presents exciting opportunities to make Gaelic more accessible and usable across all aspects of community life, from education and healthcare to public services, workplaces and everyday interactions in our communities.
“The company’s ambition extends beyond the initial 18-month development and data collection phase. Established to provide long-term stewardship of both the project’s linguistic resources and supporting technology, AITEAL will oversee the management, governance and future development of the data. It also creates potential opportunities for future specialist roles as the initiative grows and evolves.”
Background
CivTech is the Scottish Government's innovation programme. It brings public sector organisations together with businesses to develop new products and services which tackle public sector challenges. Since launching in 2016, CivTech has supported innovative solutions across a wide range of areas and created new opportunities for businesses while improving outcomes for people and communities across Scotland.
https://www.civtech.scot/demo-day-11-aiteal
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A’ lùghdachadh chnapan-starra didseatach na Gàidhlig
£600,000 air a bhuileachadh do phròiseact chainnte.
Chaidh £600,000 a bhuileachadh air goireas didseatach ùr tron tèid còmhradh na Gàidhlig a chlàradh, a thar-sgrìobhadh agus eadar-theangachadh. ’S ann tro phrògram CivTech an Riaghaltais a chaidh am maoineachadh a thoirt seachad.
Bidh AITEAL na chuideachadh ann a bhith a’ leasachadh ghoireasan teicneòlais adhartach, leithid AI, airson luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig.
Aig tùs, bidh am pròiseact a’ cruthachadh ceithir obraichean ann an sgìrean dùthchail is eileanach. Nam measg bidh trì dreuchdan do luchd-rannsachaidh agus aon dhreuchd fa leth airson Manaidsear don Phròiseact. Thairis air 18 mìos clàraidh an sgioba suas ri 500 uair a thìde de shàr-chòmhraidhean gnàthsach na Gàidhlig anns na h-Eileanan Siar agus an Eilean Sgitheanach.
’S urrainnear an uair sin an dàta seo a chleachdadh gus teicneòlas a th’ againn an-dràsta fhèin – leithid goireasan labhairt-gu-teacsa – a dhèanamh nas iomchaidh don Ghàidhlig. B’ urrainn cuideachd a chleachdadh gus teicneòlas gu tur às ùr a thogail – mar eisimpleir, botaichean-còmhraidh AI don Ghàidhlig. Bidh e cuideachd gu feum ann a bhith a’ cruthachadh ghoireasan foghlaim no seirbheisean airson tar-sgrìobhadh no fo-thiotalan ullachadh sa bhad.
Chaidh AITEAL a thogail leis a’ bhuidhinn ealain Ghàidhlig, Fèisean nan Gàidheal, ann an com-pàirteachas còmhla ris a’ charthannas Community Enterprise agus an com-pàirtiche aca airson teicneòlas didseatach, Northcode Digital. ’S e AITEAL aon de na pròiseactan a shoirbhich san 11mh Cuairt den phrògram CivTech a th’ aig Riaghaltas na h-Alba. Bidh CivTech a’ toirt taic riatanach do chuid de na companaidhean teicneòlais ùra as misneachaile agus torraich ann an Alba, ’s e a’ brosnachadh an tàlaint chruthachail agus nan smuaintean ùra aca gus piseach a thoirt air seirbheisean poblach na dùthcha.
Thuirt Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Foghlam, Cultar agus Gàidhlig, Màiri NicAilein:
“Tha cho gann ’s a tha dàta na Gàidhlig a’ fàgail gu bheil cnap-starra sònraichte mu choinneamh a bhith ag ullachadh theicneòlasan do luchd-labhairt a’ chànain. Tha AITEAL an dùil seo a lùghdachadh gus dèanamh cinnteach gun soirbhich a’ Ghàidhlig agus a cultar.
“Bidh am pròiseact misneachail seo a’ cur ri math choimhearsnachdan, a’ fàgail dualchas na Gàidhlig nas tèarainte agus a’ piobrachadh chothroman eaconamach – rudan a bhios uile gu lèir a’ toirt seachad bhuannachdan maireannach do Ghàidheil.
“Tha cothrom ann gum bi cudromachd eadar-nàiseanta aig AITEAL leis gun urrainn dha eisimpleir a thabhann a dh’fhaodas cànanan eile a leantainn is iad fhèin a’ strì an aghaidh no-ionannachd dhidseatach.”
Thuirt Ceannard Fèisean nan Gàidheal, a tha cuideachd na Stiùiriche aig AITEAL, Calum Ailig Mac a’ Mhaoilein:
“Tha sinn a’ dèanamh fiughair ri bhith ag obair còmhla ri luchd-labhairt na Gàidhlig anns na coimhearsnachdan aca, a’ clàradh a’ chànain mar a thèid a bruidhinn gu nàdarra is a’ glacadh beartas a dualchainntean agus a gnàthsan is iad gan cleachdadh sa bheatha làitheil aca.
"An lùib AITEAL tha comasan fìor mhisneachail gus cothrom a thoirt do bharrachd dhaoine a’ Ghàidhlig a chleachdadh thar beatha na coimhearsnachd air fad, bho foghlam gu cùram-slàinte gu seirbheisean poblach, àitichean-obrach agus mar a tha daoine a’ coinneachadh ri chèile gach latha anns na coimhearsnachdan againn.
“Tha lèirsinn na companaidh a’ coimhead seachad air a’ chiad 18 mìos de leasachadh agus cruinneachadh dàta. Chaidh AITEAL a stèidheachadh le sùil air a bhith a’ glèidheadh goireasan cànain a’ phròiseict agus an teicneòlais leis an tèid iad sin a chruinneachadh thairis air an ùine-fhada. Bidh AITEAL cuideachd a’ stiùireadh mar a thèid an dàta a mhanaidseadh, a riaghladh agus a leasachadh san àm ri teachd. Tha an comas cuideachd aige gus a bhith a’ cruthachadh chothroman do dhreuchdan speisealach ùra aon uair is gu bheil an iomairt a’ fàs agus ag atharrachadh.”
Cùl-fhiosrachadh
’S e CivTech prògram ùr-ghnathachaidh Riaghaltas na h-Alba. Bidh e a’ cur buidhnean bhon roinn phoblaich agus gnìomhachasan mu choinneamh a chèile gus bathar agus seirbheisean ùra a leasachadh agus an tèid fuasgladh fhaighinn air dùbhlain leis a bheil an roinn phoblach a’ strì. Bhon thòisich CivTech ann an 2016, chuir e taic ri fuasglaidhean ùr-ghnathach thairis air measgachadh farsaing de raointean-obrach. Tha e air cothroman ùra a chruthachadh do ghnìomhachasan agus aig an aon àm air cur ri toraidhean do dhaoine agus choimhearsnachdan air feadh na h-Alba.