Artificial intelligence to help with Gaelic subtitles

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is being used to create a Gaelic subtitle service that could be used by the BBC. Linguists and AI researchers from Edinburgh and Glasgow universities have been awarded £225,000 by the Scottish Government to develop the system. The funding will also help the team to begin creating a “large language model” –…

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BBC Alba marks Hebrides migration centenary

A SERIES of dramatic monologues recorded by BBC Alba to mark the centenary of major migrations from the Outer Hebrides comes to an end tomorrow. The eight-part series, entitled Marloch is Metagama: Guthan (Marloch and Metagama: Voices), will be available on the BBC iPlayer for 30 days. Nearly 600 islanders left the Outer Hebrides in…

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Loch Ness hosts world’s first rewilding centre

DUNDREGGAN, the world’s first rewilding centre, opens tomorrow at Glenmoriston near Loch Ness. The site will act as a visitors’ centre for the 10,000-acre Dundreggan estate, where conservation charity Trees for Life is restoring the Caledonian forest to help wildlife. The centre includes a café, a space for events, and 40 bedrooms. Steve Micklewright, Trees…

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Highland Book Prize shortleet unveiled

FOUR authors have made it onto the shortleet for the Highland Book Prize. A longlist of 12 was whittled down to Companion Piece by Ali Smith, Confessions of a Highland Art Dealer by Tony Davidson, Crann-Fìge by Duncan Gillies, and WAH! Things I Never Told My Mother by Cynthia Rogerson. The winner of the competition…

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Scots get ready for New York City Tartan Day Parade

SCOTTISH companies are getting ready to support the New York City Tartan Day Parade. It’s 25 years since the United States’ Senate declared 6 April to be “National Tartan Day”. Now, ScotlandShop and Bross Bagels are each supporting events in the Big Apple to mark the anniversary. This year, ScotlandShop – which is already the…

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Charts project names team to help Argyll islands

THE Culture, Heritage & Arts (Charts) Assembly has appointed a team to support Argyll & Bute’s 23 inhabited islands. Caitlin McNeill, who lives and works on her home island of Colonsay, is Charts’ new islands culture officer, and is working with some of the organisation’s 100-plus members to showcase their work. She is working with…

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Celebrating 100 years of broadcasting in Scotland

THE National Library of Scotland is marking 100 years of broadcasting in Scotland. Scotland’s first radio transmission was made from the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow on 24 January 1923 – two months before the BBC’s initial wireless broadcast. The national library will hold its “Festival of Broadcasting” between 28 March and 1 April at the…

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World Gaelic Week gets underway

EVENTS kick off today to mark the start of World Gaelic Week. Seachdain na Gàidhlig, which runs until Sunday, includes more than 100 events and projects, from football and films through to ceilidhs. This year’s World Gaelic Week includes education packs to help teachers deliver lessons about Gaelic in both primary and secondary schools. The…

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Joy Dunlop unveils Gaelic solo album

GAELIC singer Joy Dunlop is preparing to release her first solo album in a decade. Dunlop, who also presents the weather for BBC Scotland, will unveil Caoir on 24 March, featuring fresh recordings of traditional Gaelic songs. “I’ve always loved music that pushed the boundaries of what was considered ‘trad’, without losing the soul of…

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Gaelic specialist celebrates winter solstice

A GAELIC specialist is helping NatureScot to mark today’s winter solstice. The Scottish Government agency, known previously as Scottish Natural Heritage, asked broadcaster, storyteller, and writer Ruairidh Maclean to compile a Gaelic compendium that “celebrates the nature, land, and heritage of Scotland in the winter”. Maclean said: “As keepers of a unique language and culture,…

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