AI could help save a threatened language by adding it to your phone

The future of a language may be decided by whether or not it's integrated into everyday tech.
By Teodosia Dobriyanova  on 
A yellow soundwave is placed on an archive photo from the mass deportations in 1944, which shows a group of Crimean Tatars gathered at a train station with a pile of modest belongings.
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For centuries, the now-endangered Crimean Tatar language (traditionally spoken in Crimea) has been threatened by a series of Russian invasions — first, by the Russian empire in the 18th and 19th centuries; then, by the forced deportations of Crimean tatars in 1944, ordered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. In 2014, Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea brought a new wave of repression for Crimean Tatars, worsened by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Convinced that a language's future is nowadays largely decided by its integration into everyday tech, Ukrainian AI company Respeecher decided to help the fight to preserve Crimean Tatar by integrating it into various voice recognition softwares.

Picture of Teodosia
Teodosia Dobriyanova
Video Producer

Teodosia is a video producer at Mashable UK, focussing on stories about climate resilience, urban development, and social good.


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