#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The developer of the world’s first Russian-Evenki robotic voice media platform-translator AYANA, working on the basis of artificial intelligence, was Nikolay Aprosimov, an Evenk by nationality. On its basis, he prepared the same applications for the indigenous peoples of Taimyr, including the Dolgans, Nenets, Enets and Nganasans.
The main goal of such mobile translators is to preserve the languages of the Taimyr indigenous peoples in the conditions of modern globalization. All Taimyr indigenous peoples’ representatives were involved in their creation. They, under the guidance of curators, began filling consoles for their languages in November 2023. Now the application for Nganasan already contains 7.5 thousand words. Next come the Dolgans and Nenets – they have more than 5.5 thousand words, the Enets – almost five thousand.
“Every word that is entered into the console by a native speaker becomes immortal. This is important for the indigenous peoples themselves, and even more so for young people, who in urban environments lose touch with loved ones and gradually lose their native language”, shared Nikolay Aprosimov.
Those interested can download from the Internet mobile applications for all ethnic groups of Taimyr: DIRICHU – for the Enets, YALYAKOKO – for the Nenets, BUO – for the Nganasans, ELDEN – for the Dolgans, AYANA – for the Evenks. The applications are easy to use and can work anywhere in the world, even in the absence of the Internet, which is very important for nomadic peoples who live in the tundra.
Nornickel provided financial support for the development and content of these applications in the amount of 1.5 million rubles. As Anfisa Nikiforova, head of the Nornickel’s department for work with indigenous peoples of the North, said, the company has created the basis for ensuring that the languages of the Taimyr indigenous peoples are eternal, so that they are heard throughout the world. At the moment, there are no analogues to these applications.
“This is just the beginning of a long journey. Work on applications may take several years, because a new generation is growing and new modern challenges are emerging. And these five mobile applications are the history of the indigenous peoples of Taimyr; it is very important to preserve their cultural code, primarily for the indigenous peoples themselves”, said Anfisa Nikiforova.
Next, information about the Taimyr ethnic groups’ culture, clothing and traditions will be entered into the console. There will also be a radio station where you can listen to popular national songs.
Previously, Russian programmers created keyboard layouts for indigenous languages – the development will contribute to the digitalization of indigenous languages, their study and preservation.
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Text: Irina Chernyshova, Photo: Nornickel Polar Division’s press service
