Dehradun, Oct 22 (PTI) Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched a voice collection portal on Thursday for the Garhwali, Kumaoni, and Jaunsari folk languages, aiming to integrate Uttarakhand’s folk languages with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to preserve, promote, and use them across digital platforms, officials said.
The chief minister inaugurated the campaign with his voice clip recorded in the Kumaoni language. “Our languages and dialects are the essence of our identity. Leveraging modern technology is crucial for preserving this identity, as well as safeguarding our folk arts, culture, and traditions,” said Dhami.
The chief minister said the state government aims to ensure that people in even the most remote villages and regions can access information about government schemes and communicate their concerns to the authorities in their own native languages. For this to work, AI must accurately understand our local languages, the chief minister said.
He highlighted the importance of building an extensive repository of words from these regional languages, while also integrating their specific pronunciations and speaking styles into AI systems.
Dhami noted that in different regions of Uttarakhand, the same word is often pronounced differently. He said uploading information through the portal will help AI better understand local languages’ vocabulary, pronunciation, and diverse speaking styles.
Speaking on the occasion, Padma Shri folk singer Pritam Bharatwan said our local languages embody a rich heritage of folk life, traditional songs, ‘Jagar’ (ritual folk singing), and cultural customs. The ‘Jagar Academy’ will support this initiative by ensuring accurate pronunciation and preserving the authentic essence of these local languages.
The portal is part of the ‘Bhasha AI’ initiative developed by the AI Strategic Engineering (AiSE) Foundation.
Sachidanand Semwal, founder of the AISE Foundation, explained that the ‘Bhasha AI’ initiative involves compiling a collection of words and audio samples from the Garhwali, Kumaoni, and Jaunsari languages.
He said the objective is to enable AI-based technology to communicate in these local languages eventually. PTI SPY ASD
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