Link: Saltmil - Aims of ISCA SIG: "Speech And Language Technology for Minority Languages".
"Motivation
"By definition, a minority language has a smaller resource base than the major languages. For some minority languages (those that are fighting for survival), there are not sufficient resources to support research and development in speech and language technology. This means that, in time, the language will fall even further behind the major languages and will be viewed as second-class and pre-technological, (((hmmmm)))) since all interaction with computers will need to take place in a major language.
"This is a critical factor in the survival of some languages. If minority languages die, then a valuable part of the world's cultural diversity will have been lost.
"Therefore support is necessary for research in speech and language technology for minority languages. It is probable that advances can be made by acting together that could not be made by any one language acting alone. In the case of certain minority languages, the state Government is not particularly sympathetic to their existence, and support must be found from outside or private agencies. ((("The Club of Crippled, Pre-Technological, Second-Class Languages." Who'll be first to sign up?))))
