Irish Language in Danger of Digital Extinction New European
research shows that the Irish language is in danger of digital
extinction due to the lack of critical mass of digitised Irish
language content. A new White Paper, The Irish Language in the
Digital Age, published by academics from the Centre for Next
Generation Localisation, Centre for Speech and Language
Technology for Irish (TCD), NUIG and Saint Louis University,
reveals, however, that the application of language technology in
Ireland can not only reverse this decline, but has considerable
job creation potential in the wider language technology and
localisation sector. Language technology produces software that
can process spoken or written human language. Well-known
examples of language technology software include spell and
grammar checkers, interactive personal assistants on smartphones
eg iPhone Siri, web search engines and synthetic speech devices
used in car navigations systems. These all rely on statistical
methods that require incredibly larg