The Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility is in the process of developing a Maltese speech engine which will enable computers and other ICT devices to produce and process spoken Maltese.
This will allow a more natural interaction between Maltese speakers and technology devices. Users can input information verbally instead of using a keyboard or mouse with the added benefit that information can be obtained in audio speech format, and not only via graphics and text on a display screen.
This technology already exists today for a number of languages, including English. Up until now, Maltese speakers, including schoolchildren, illiterate persons and disabled persons, have had to rely on these alternative languages, whenever they needed to avail of speech-enabled technology.
This means that all information services and media relying on Maltese electronic text remain inaccessible to all these individuals.
Unlike many other EU languages, for which speech engines have been available for a number of years, the Maltese language, albeit officially recognised by the EU, still lags behind in this regard.
Hopefully this is due to change, thanks to a project, part-financed by the European Union, entitled Maltese Text to Speech Synthesis.
It is project 114 of the European Regional Development Fund and falls under the EU's Cohesion Policy 2007-2013, Investing In Competitiveness For A Better Quality Of Life.
i-Tech spoke to blind persons who use computers on a regular basis and they confirmed that the two of the most common programmes they use are Window Eyes which is in English and Zoom Text which is text magnification.
Audio output from the computer is, again, in English. Both these applications have the significant shortcoming that they cannot successfully pronounce written Maltese.
The Maltese Speech Synthesis project, being co-financed via an 85 per cent grant by ERDF and 15 per cent from the Maltese government, aims to produce three software modules, namely speech synthesis, speech recognition and a lexicon.
Last month FITA carried out a preliminary qualitative survey, targeting 40 entities, each representative of their sector.
Results suggest that speech-enabled technology has many applications for diverse markets.
Anyone may be faced with e-accessibility challenges, that is, challenges in the effective use of ICT products or services that relate to functional requirements arising from physical, sensory or cognitive difficulties.
For some people, these requirements may be enduring ones (e.g. because of enduring physical, sensory or cognitive impairment, because of being left-handed and so on).
For others, they may be temporary (e.g. because of having a broken wrist) or circumstantial (e.g. because of being in a noisy environment, outdoors, driving and so on). Although disabled persons remain a core target group for FITA, this particular project exhibits much wider, direct benefits for other user groups.
"Speech synthesis and recognition core modules have a more direct implementation together with assistive ICT and educational software," explained Stanley Debono, executive co-ordinator of FITA.
"The lexicon, which in itself includes the functionality of a dictionary, has also vast potential by providing the basis for storing linguistic data necessary for future projects in Maltese. Software currently used to access online information and services via a speech interface, can be used to access resources that use Maltese text. Such online resources include e-services and online Maltese language newspapers."
Apart from leading this project and seeking the necessary funding sources, FITA sought the direct support of the Malta Information Technology Agency, Microsoft (Malta), the Education Division and blind persons NGOs in addressing the different aspects of this project.
"While working on people's actual needs in order to define the project's deliverables, we encountered different ideas for its application from entities from various fields.
"The project therefore, does not focus on producing a close-ended, stand-alone product," added Mr Debono.
This support is needed to face some important challenges.
"The Maltese language along with its pronunciation and grammar rules is a challenge in itself," explained Roger Davies-Barrett, an executive at FITA responsible for the EU-sponsored project.
"Add to this the need to get a quality of pronunciation, especially using a 'non-robotic' voice, produced from a speech synthesiser is quite a good challenge to a serious developer."
Local expertise will be gauged by the response to the tender for the Maltese speech engine which has been published throughout the EU.
The main deliverables are the core speech engine modules, which will comply with industry standards. The Maltese language will join the list of languages currently supported by existing speech-enabled products, through the integration of these modules.
The project also includes a research exercise that aims to assess the number and nature of potential applications of the Maltese Speech Engine across different user groups, including business and research entities.
The final product is expected to be launched in the public domain in 2010.