An ethnic language in Turkey called Laz is fading, and activists aim to do something about it:
As Laz gradually retreated from daily life, activists sought new ways to preserve it, and the Laz Institute has been at the forefront of these efforts for more than a decade.
The institute’s most recent initiative is turning to AI to create digital archives of the language. The initiative has been working for two years to integrate Laz into Mozilla’s Common Voice program, an open-source platform that trains voice recognition technology using recordings submitted by ordinary speakers.
“This project is important not only for increasing Laz’s visibility and raising awareness about the language,” Ismail Avci, the director of the Laz Institute, told Al-Monitor, “but also for building a serious repository of data.” [AL-Monitor, and not paywalled when I read the article]
I do hope it works out. While I’m not entirely convinced that saving dying languages is a critical activity for humanity, when the resources are available it’s worth doing. Notably, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s hometown has many Laz speakers, but the article does not state that Laz is a special interest of Erdogan.
