Murmur

…yn fyw erbyn hyn - www.saltcymru.org. Ffurflen gofrestru yn unig sydd yno ar hyn o bryd: os gwnewch chi ei llenwi, fe wnewn ni anfon negeseuon e-bost atoch chi’n achlysurol i adrodd hynt y project. Ac fe fyddwn ni’n ychwanegu at y wefan yn rheolaidd.

…is now live at www.saltcymru.org. Just a registration form for now: if you fill it in, we’ll email you with updates. And we’ll add to the website regularly.

Tua phedair wythnos yn ol, fe wnaethon ni gychwyn ar broject newydd sbon i ni fel Uned. Project tra gwahanol i’n rhai arferol ni, hefyd. Fydd ddim rhaid i ni sgrifennu’r un llinell o god cyfrifiadurol, a dyw’r project ddim chwaith yn ymchwil academaidd fel y cyfryw.

SALT Cymru yw enw’r project. Speech and Language Technologies yw ystyr SALT - dyma’r acronym a ddefnyddir yn aml i gyfeirio at waith unedau fel ein un ni. Nod project SALT Cymru yw tynnu ynghyd bawb sydd â diddordeb yn natblygiad technoleg lleferydd ac iaith yng Nghymru. Fe fydd o ddiddordeb pennaf i’r busnesau bach a canolig eu maint fedrai elwa fwyaf o ddatblygiadau ym myd SALT, ac i’r rhai o fewn prifysgolion a sefydliadau addysg uwch sy’n datblygu’r dechnoleg. Ond mae croeso i bawb dderbyn gwybodaeth am y cynllun wrth iddo ddatblygu, ac fe fyddwn ni wrth gwrs yn adrodd unrhyw beth perthnasol ar y blog.

Pam ydyn ni’n gwneud hyn, felly? Wel yn gyson, rydyn ni’n derbyn ymholiadau o fusnesau ac unigolion. “Oes ‘na help ar gael i’m merch ddyslecsig fedru darllen Cymraeg ar ei chyfrifiadur?” (Oes, mae ‘na). “Oes ‘na rywbeth ar gael ar y cyfrifiadur fedr gywiro fy nhreiglo?” (Oes, a mwy na hynny hefyd). Un o’n gobeithion ni yn ystod y project yw codi ymwybyddiaeth y cyhoedd o’r dechnoleg berthnasol a gynhyrchir yng Nghymru.

Ond mae hi ‘run mor bwysig i’r rhai sy’n datblygu’r dechnoleg ddod at ei gilydd. Rydyn ni’n gryf o’r farn bod potensial enfawr i economi Cymru wrth i dechnoleg SALT ddatblygu ac aeddfedu. Ein gobaith ni, o ganlyniad i’r project, yw y bydd mwy o fusnesau a chyrff eraill yn gwneud defnydd effeithiol o SALT o fewn y Gymru ddwyieithog. Ac fe fyddan nhw ar eu hennill yn fawr wedyn, pan ddaw hi’n bryd i droi eu golygon at y byd amlieithog. Dyna un o’r rhesymau pam mae KEF wedi ariannu’r project am y chwe mis nesaf.

Felly faint o alw sydd am SALT yng Nghymru? Sut fedr y rhai sydd â diddordeb yn SALT weithio gyda’i gilydd yn dda? Pa dechnoleg SALT newydd sydd angen ar Gymru er mwyn iddi ffynnu, a beth yw’r ffordd orau i ddatblygu’r technolegau hynny? Dydyn ni ddim yn siŵr eto - ond y gobaith yw, o ganlyniad i’r project newydd hwn, y bydd syniad llawer gwell gyda ni o fewn y misoedd i ddod.

Am fod yn rhan o’r project felly? Bydd modd i chi gofrestru ar wefan SALT Cymru ddydd Llun (y 12fed). Ond os na allwch chi aros tan hynny, croeso i chi ychwanegu sylw, neu gysylltu â fi’n uniongyrchol, os oes diddordeb gyda chi. Ac fe fydd y diweddaraf ar Murmur hefyd, wrth gwrs.

Some four weeks ago, our Unit started on a brand new project. A very different project from our usual ones, too. It doesn’t involve writing a single line of computer code, and it’s not academic research either, as such.

The project is SALT Cymru. SALT stands for Speech and Language Technologies - it’s a common acronym to describe what’s done in units such as ours. The aim of the SALT Cymru project is to bring together everyone who’s interested in the development of speech and language technology in Wales. It’ll be of greatest interest to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) which would gain the most from SALT developments, and we hope it’ll also prove beneficial to those in universities and other higher education institutions that are developing the technologies. But everyone’s welcome to receive information on the project as it develops, and we’ll report anything relevant on this blog, of course.

So why are we doing this? Mainly because we often receive requests for help from businesses and individuals. “Is there any technological help for my dyslexic daughter to read Welsh on her computer?” (Yes, there is.) “Is there anything for my computer that’ll correct my Welsh mutations?” (Yes, there is, and much more than that). One of our hopes for the project is that it’ll raise public awareness of the relevant technological work that’s done in Wales.

But it’s just as important that those who develop the technology should come together. We’re strongly of the opinion that there’s enormous potential for the Welsh economy as SALT work develops and matures. Our hope, as a result of the project, is that more businesses and other bodies will make use of SALT within a bilingual Wales. They’ll benefit greatly, then, when they have to turn their outlook towards a multilingual world. That’s one of the reasons why KEF has financed the project for the next six months.

So how much call is there for SALT in Wales? How can those who are interested in SALT work together well? Which new SALT technologies does Wales need in order to prosper and flourish, and what are the best ways to develop such technologies? We don’t know yet - but our hope is that soon, we’ll know how to answer those questions far better than we do right now.

So, you want to be a part of the project? There’ll be a registration form on the new SALT Cymru website from Monday (the 12th). But if you can’t wait over the weekend, you’re welcome to comment below, or email me directly, if you’re interested in SALT Cymru. And we’ll use Murmur to keep everyone posted too.