SABHAL MÒR OSTAIG PAIRS UP WITH GOOGLE ARTS & CULTURE TO PRESERVE ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, has collaborated with Google Arts & Culture to add Gaelic to Woolaroo, an AI experiment aimed at preserving endangered languages. Woolaroo is an open-source experiment from Google Arts & Culture that allows people to take a photo and learn the words for their surroundings in 30 endangered languages, now including Gaelic.
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig played a key role in developing the Gaelic element of the project, providing curated translation data and audio recordings to help make the experiment accurate and interactive.
Iain Finlay MacLeod, Business Development Manager at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, said:
“It’s exciting to see technology being used to open new doors for Gaelic speakers and learners. Woolaroo helps people connect with their surroundings through Gaelic, making the language visible and usable in everyday life. It lets people discover Gaelic in their everyday surroundings while connecting with other minority languages around the world.”
Chance Coughenour, Senior Program Manager, Google Arts & Culture, said:
“This project began in 2021 as an online experiment to help people learn words from their surroundings in 10 endangered languages. This year, we’re thrilled to expand it further, adding 10 new languages from Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, and Scotland. Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has been instrumental in shaping the Gaelic element of the project, and we hope it inspires even more people to connect with and celebrate the Gaelic language.”
More information on Woolaroo can be found here: Woolaroo — Google Arts & Culture
Woolaroo — Google: Ealain is Cultar
