Preserving and Revitalizing Dene Languages

Using artificial intelligence to support Dene language preservation, education, and revitalization.

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About the Project

Technology has played an ever-increasing role in Dene language projects over the past few decades. That trend will accelerate with the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI). Our project will take advantage of these advances and build a Dene Voice AI built on three complementary technologies: "Speech to Text", "Text to Speech" and "Chat".

Our goal is to create a comprehensive suite of AI tools that support Dene language preservation, education, and revitalization. By combining cutting-edge technology with traditional knowledge, we aim to create resources that will benefit Dene communities for generations to come.

Dene Language Map

Our Technologies

Speech to Text

Also known as Automatic Speech Recognition, this technology can take a digital recording or a live stream of Dene language speakers and transcribe it into text automatically.

Our goal for this project is to produce 100 hours of transcribed audio (per unique dialect) over 3 years.

Benefits:

  • Enables conversational AI for language learners
  • Indexes and makes searchable existing audio archives
  • Saves interpreters time by creating rough transcriptions

Text to Speech

Also known as Voice Synthesis, this technology creates a program that can "read" Dene text and immediately "speak" it with the proper pronunciation and accent.

We need 10 or more hours (per dialect) of transcribed audio from speakers of the same sex.

Benefits:

  • Reads unrecorded text with proper pronunciation
  • Creates read-along books for language learners
  • Powers conversational AI that speaks Dene languages

Chat

We are making a conversational text AI that answers questions about Dene languages, provides translations and links to relevant voice recordings in the DVL.

We will provide an audio interface once the TTS and STT models are functional.

Benefits:

  • Answers questions about Dene languages
  • Provides translations for language learners
  • Links to relevant voice recordings in the library

Dene Voice Library (DVL)

Dene Voice Library

We will gather existing digital Dene language documents (dictionaries, phrase books, stories, place names databases, etc.) and record an interpreter reading these resources. This is the largest and most important part of this project.

We want to gather as many written Dene language documents as possible, as it is the most economical way to obtain the transcribed audio required by the AI models.

The Dene Voice Library stands alone as a product and may prove to be a more useful tool than the AI in the short term.

Features:

  • Educational resource for schools and language learners
  • Public access for speakers and learners
  • Contribution portal for adding new documentation
  • Foundation for AI model training

Translation Services

We need to make a huge change in the nature of the translation industry. The percentage of speakers who can read Dene language is very small, yet virtually all English to Dene translation is written.

Going forward, customers of translation services will be encouraged to pay for an audio version of their written materials. They will also be asked to contribute to the Dene Voice Library (DVL).

We are creating a portal for translators to help advertise and manage the incoming service requests in this new way.

Translation Services

Recording Speakers

Because of the high value of the audio we are creating, the recording will ideally take place in a proper studio with an audio/language technician. We budget for a minimum of 10:1 ratio in the recording time vs the amount of audio files produced.

We will require expert interpreters to read the Dene language documentation into the Dene Voice Library in a systematic way. We are creating our own version of Mozilla's CommonVoice platform that will automatically plug into the DVL workflow.

Contact Us

Get in Touch

For more information about the Dene Voice Project, please contact Mike.

mike@dene.ca

+1 (416) 731-9366