Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has launched a voice collection portal to support the preservation and development of Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari, the state’s 3 folk languages. The initiative began with a Kumaoni voice clip recorded by the chief minister.
The portal has been introduced under the ‘Bhasha AI’ initiative of the AI Strategic Engineering (AiSE) Foundation. It will collect words, spoken recordings and pronunciation patterns from the 3 languages.
The material is intended to create a digital repository that can help future artificial intelligence systems understand and communicate in these languages. The project also seeks to record the different ways words are spoken across Uttarakhand’s regions.
Why the voice collection matters
Dhami said dialects and languages are central to Uttarakhand’s identity. He said modern technology should be used for their preservation and promotion as artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important.
According to the chief minister, regional languages must also be connected with AI so Uttarakhand’s linguistic heritage can gain wider recognition. He said the technology should eventually help people in remote villages receive information about government schemes in their own language.
The system would also need to understand local words and accurate pronunciations so people can communicate with the government in their familiar dialects. Dhami noted that the same word may be pronounced differently in different parts of the state.
He said recordings and language information uploaded through the portal would help AI recognise these variations. The stated aim is to support more accurate information in local languages.
Cultural knowledge included in the initiative
Padma Shri folk singer Pritam Bhartwan said Uttarakhand’s folk languages carry a rich heritage of community life, folk songs, jagar traditions and cultural practices.
The Jagar Academy will support the initiative by helping maintain accurate pronunciation and the originality of the local languages, according to Bhartwan.
Sachidanand Semwal, founder of the AiSE Foundation, said the Bhasha AI programme is collecting words and voice recordings from Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari.
Shakti Prasad Bhatt, Gajendra Nautiyal, Anirudh Raithwan, Nidhi Semwal, Anil Godiyal, Dr J.K. Pandey and Dev Raturi were among those present at the programme.
Conclusion
The portal marks the beginning of a voice and vocabulary collection effort for Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari. Its stated purpose is to preserve regional language variations and help develop AI-based communication and public information in these languages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Which languages are included in the portal?
The portal covers Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari.
Q. Who launched the voice collection portal?
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami launched it in Dehradun.
Q. Which organisation is running the initiative?
The initiative is being conducted under the Bhasha AI programme of the AI Strategic Engineering (AiSE) Foundation.
Q. What information will the portal collect?
It will collect words, voice recordings and different pronunciation patterns from the 3 languages.
Q. How could the project help people in Uttarakhand?
The stated aim is to help future AI systems provide government-scheme information in local languages and understand residents’ communication.
Q. Who will support pronunciation and cultural accuracy?
The Jagar Academy will support the effort in maintaining correct pronunciation and the originality of the languages.
