Join Us for an Exciting Seminar on Code-Switched Translation for African Languages! - Dr Kayode Olaleye

🌍 Topic: Bridging the Language Gap: Exploring Code-Switched Translation for African Languages
🎤 Speaker: Dr. Kayode Olaleye
📅 Date: 12 March 2025
⏰ Time: 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM SAST

RSVP/Sign UP here https://forms.gle/hXdtkFA3bzcTKCwM8

🔎 About the Speaker
Dr. Kayode Olaleye is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Computer Science department at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He holds a PhD in Electronic Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch, where his research focused on using images to train speech models for low-resource African languages. Currently, his work explores speech and language processing for under-resourced African languages, aiming to make language technologies more accessible and inclusive. Kayode is driven by a commitment to supporting linguistic diversity and bridging gaps in technology for underserved communities.

📖 What to Expect
In many African communities, switching between multiple languages within the same conversation is simply part of everyday life. Yet, most translation tools overlook these fluid transitions, leading to gaps in communication. We’ll explore how we’re tackling that challenge by building a new, carefully vetted dataset that captures the real code-switching patterns found in everyday life across four African languages and English. By leveraging large language models and native speaker expertise, we’ll show how even small, high-quality training data can drive improvements for under-represented languages. We’ll also discuss the broader benefits of making speech and language technologies more inclusive and reflective of real-world usage, and touch on where this approach could lead in the future.

Join us as we explore:
✅ How code-switching impacts communication and technology adoption
✅ The process of building high-quality, real-world datasets for African languages
✅ The role of LLMs in enhancing multilingual speech and translation systems
✅ The broader implications for inclusive AI and the future of language technology

📍 Hosted by: The Data Science for Social Impact Research Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Pretoria

📩 How to Join
A Zoom link will be sent to registered attendees a day before the seminar. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research shaping the future of African language technology!

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