A new effort at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is using artificial intelligence to help secure the future of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). The Lauleo project is gathering Hawaiian speech data to create AI tools that can convert voice to text.
The project is a collaboration between UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language, Kanaeokana, Awaiaulu and Te Hiku Media, a Māori language group from New Zealand. Their goal is to speed up the painstaking process of transcribing Hawaiian audio recordings.
Right now, manually transcribing an hour of speech takes about 30 hours of work. AI could change that.
“Through this effort of Lauleo, the technology of speech to text will help to expedite the importance of audio information to promote the life of Hawaiian,” said Kumu Larry Kimura, a Hawaiian language and Hawaiian studies professor at UH Hilo and a foremost authority on the audio archives of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.
Participation needed
The team emphasizes that community participation is crucial. Their motto, ““Bringing our voices together for the future of our language,” reflects the need for many voices—I lau nā leo—to make this project a success.
Anyone who speaks ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi can help. The Lauleo app, available on Apple and Google Play, allows users to record themselves reading specific sentences in Hawaiian. This data will help train AI to recognize and convert Hawaiian speech into text.
Hawaiian language Siri
Once developed, the technology could power text messaging in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, an ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi Siri, or even an app to help learners with pronunciation.
Speakers of all levels, from beginners to native speakers, are encouraged to participate. Organizers say all voices are valuable, emphasizing that computers need to recognize a diverse range of speech to effectively serve the broader community of speakers and learners.
Competition prize giveaways
For those looking for a challenge, teams can compete for cash prizes by submitting recordings through March 2.
—By Susan Enright
For more go to UH Hilo Stories.
