Digital fund from Welsh Government provides backing for 10 projects to promote use of the language
A bunch of technology projects aimed at boosting the use of the Welsh tongue have received funds from the country's government under its Welsh Language Technology and Digital Media Grant.
The Welsh Government has announced it will provide £269,981 over 2015-16 to 10 projects to develop apps. They will include an online route to the University of Wales dictionary, an app to help people with their mutations in the language, and a streaming service for Welsh language music.
First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "Technology is an integral part of our daily lives. That is why it is so important that the latest technology and digital media are available in the Welsh language.
"The Welsh Language Technology and Digital Media Grant aims to achieve this by promoting and encouraging the use of Welsh through technology."
The 10 organisations and new projects to receive backing are:
- Canolfan Peniarth - Ap Treiglo (£15,795), an app to help people with Welsh language mutations;
- Moilin Cyf. - Tocyn Cymru (£35,000), a bilingual event management and ticketing service;
- Speech and Language Technology Unit, Canolfan Bedwyr, Bangor University - Welsh communications infrastructure (£45,000). This is aimed at laying the foundations for a range of Welsh language free and open source communications technologies, including transcription, voice command and control, question answering, and speech to speech translation;
- University of South Wales Hypermedia Research Unit - Welsh natural language toolkit (£32,000), a package analysing the natural Welsh language;
- Gwe Cambrian Web - Bilingual WordPress Themes (£11,392), to develop new bilingual WordPress themes;
- Sain Records - ApSain (£30,000), a music streaming service by the Welsh-language music label Sain;
- Prifysgol Cymru - Ap Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (£40,500), Android and Apple apps for the historical dictionary;
- Cwmni Da - GêmTube (£25,000), a training project for young YouTubers to learn to produce and publish Welsh commentary game walkthroughs;
- Coleg Meirion Dwyfor - Android app building training (£15,294), where students at the further education college learn to make and publish an Android app and then go on to teach younger students in local schools to do the same thing; and
- Applingua Ltd - Mass Welsh App Translation (£20,000), which adds Welsh interfaces to popular international multilingual apps.
Jones claimed the programme has been a success since it was launched in 2013. From the last round of funding, the Welsh Government highlighted the O Glust I Glust project that involved the creation of an app for simultaneous translations using recycled mobile phones.
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