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Gaelic Award
November 17, 2021
Congratulations to the Gaelic Algorithmic Research Group GARG at the University of Edinburgh on their Gaelic Award for the work they’ve done on Gaelic Speech Recognition!
The Innovation Award is for someone who showed the most innovation and creativity using the Gaelic language or contribution to the growth or development of the language.
Well done to the winners…the Gaelic Algorithmic Research Group!@UilleamUan #GaelicAwards #DuaiseanGàidhlig pic.twitter.com/tGrVCmlxC4— Reach Scotland Events (@ReachScotEvents) November 16, 2021
Agency and Participation Factors: the Gaelic Vernacular Community
August 24, 2021
“This research study builds on the legacy of the Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community research (GCVC)[1] through exploring community agency and participation factors relevant to how Gaelic development interventions engage with the Gaelic vernacular community.”
More here:
Gaelic Crisis Discussion Recorded
July 5, 2021
This is the recording of “One Year On: ‘The Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community’”, delivered on 2nd July 2021, in which a panel of island residents discussed the impact of the book. This was followed by an open forum for follow-up questions and comments.
Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin’s opening Powerpoint presentation can be viewed here.
The written contributions submitted to the Chat function during the discussion are collected here.
The full series of recordings of UHI’s “The Edge” online seminars is available here.
UHI Debate: ‘One Year On’
June 18, 2021
Friday 2nd July, 11-12.30pm Free, open to all. Register tinyurl.com/knt6jzjk
Workshop on “Urras na Gàidhlig”
April 29, 2021
Another online workshop was held on the recommendation in the Gaelic Crisis publication for the establishment of “Urras na Gàidhlig”. Iain Campbell from the Language Sciences Institute at the University of the Highlands and Islands spoke on the topic “Building Resilience in Gaelic-speaking Communities: Governance, Agency, Participation“.
The presentation is written in English, but Iain spoke to it in Gaelic, and in the debate that followed all those in attendance who raised questions and comments also used Gaelic, with island residents from Skye, Lewis, Uist and Barra in attendance, as well as representatives from universities in the Soillse network.
Here is a PDF of the presentation.
ASR project final report
April 16, 2021
Here is the final report on the Gaelic speech recognition project funded by Soillse. As can be seen, although the Soillse seed-funding has come to an end, the development work continues with a growing team.
Spring Sale
April 1, 2021
Special 40% discount price of £15 on this important book throughout April.
From the Gaelic Books Council here:
https://gaelicbooks.org/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1688&search=gaelic+crisis
New insights
March 22, 2021
Soillse held an online workshop on “New Insights on the Vernacular Gaelic Communities in the Islands” for members and associates on 04/03/21, led by Professor Conchúr Ó Giollagáin. There was university representation from a cross-section of the network, as well as from a range of scholars outwith Scotland. Significantly, a number of Gaelic-speaking community members from within the study area also attended.
A recording was made of Professor Ó Giollagáin’s presentation, which is now made available for general viewing here:
A decision was made not to record the following discussion, in order to encourage a free exchange of views and comments, during which university-affiliated scholars raised points and questions, and lay community members made some notable contributions. However, following the event, members of the Guth nan Siarach group who took part in the seminar separately recorded their own reactions to the study. The group, formed in response to the Gaelic Crisis publication, will shortly be launching its own website. Meanwhile, the recording can be accessed in full on the Guthan nan Eilean website.
The following short clip has also been released on social media, to give a taste of the discussion. (This version has English translation subtitles “burned in”, for the benefit of non-Gaelic speakers. CC Gaelic subtitles, enabled through the Gaelic Speech Recognition project, are also available via the Guthan nan Eilean link.)
International Mother Language Day event recorded
March 3, 2021
International Mother Language Day was celebrated across the globe on 21/02/21. Among the many online events, the Digital Museum held a series of sessions with a focus from South Asia to North America.
Gaelic was featured in Session 3, alongside Jamaican. Soillse Director, Conchúr Ó Giollagáin delivered the opening presentation (at 00.12.50), summarising the key findings and recommendations of the “Gaelic Crisis” publication. This was followed by a range of contributions in conversation, poetry and song, with further input on Gaelic from Gordon Wells (00.31.50) and Meg Hyland (01.09.50), beside Jamaican contributions from Audrey West (00.50.45) and Yvonne Blake (01.35.35). The full recording can be accessed, following free registration, via this link: https://tinyurl.com/HebrideanCaribbean
Gaelic Speech Recognition Update
January 29, 2021
Lucy Evans, working on the Edinburgh-led Gaelic Speech Recognition project, has produced a comprehensive report on progress so far for the Gaelic Algorithmic Research Group blog. This is supplemented with some early examples of how their work is already yielding results in relation to automatic video-subtitling.
You can read it here.
While the Soillse start-up funding for this work will shortly come to an end, Will Lamb and colleagues have already secured funding from other sources to continue this valuable work.