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Santiago Trillana Academy

Mabini St. San Sebastian, Hagonoy, Bulacan

A Concept Paper Submitted to the

Senior High School Department

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: A NEW WAY TO FACILITATE THE

REVITALIZATION OF ENDANGERED LANGUAGES
THROUGH NEURAL NETWORK TECHNOLOGY

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Inquiries, Investigations, and Immersion

Kosuke P. Miura

January 25, 2024

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Table of Contents

I. Rationale………………………………………………………………..………………....3
II. Statement of the Problem…………………………………………......…………….……..4
III. Conceptual Framework………………………………………......……………..…………4
IV. Scope and Delimitation…………………………………………………………...……….4
V. Initial Related Literature……………………………………………………………..
i. Foreign Literature……………………………………………………………………..
ii. Foreign Study…………………………………………………………………………….
iii.Local Literature………………………………………………………………………..
iv.Local Study……………………………………………………………………………..
VI. Methodology……………………………………………………………………………
VII. Proposed Title………………………………………………………………………
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I. Rationale
One of the most pressing issues in the world of linguistics today is the
endangerment of languages. Endangerment refers to a language that is heading
towards death, or is at risk of disappearing. Death and endangerment happen due to
many reasons. Tesch (2016) states that one of the most common is when the speakers
of a language stop speaking it in favor of another language which is associated with a
higher status or to avoid discrimination. Language revitalization is the opposite of
language death. It is concerned with reinstating a dead or endangered language and
preserving it for a community. Around the world, especially in the Philippines,
languages are heading towards death at a rapid rate which poses a threat to cultural
heritage and the preservation of culture. Language is an integral part of cultural
heritage as it is the way that members of a certain community transmit information
and communicate with each other. Thus, the revitalization of dying languages is very
important when it comes to preserving cultural heritage.
Previous attempts of language revitalization have seen only mild success, with
the only truly successful attempt being the revitalization of the Hebrew language. One
reason for this is that many of those languages that are being revitalized are poorly
understood and documented. The lack of proper documentation of a language makes
it hard to study and teach effectively to younger generations. Another reason is that
the community simply has no use for the language anymore as the younger
generations switch to another language. Kulick (2019), on the critically endangered
Tayap language of Papua New Guinea, observed that the younger generation were no
longer learning Tayap as a first language and were instead learning Tok Pisin, the
lingua franca of the country.
There is a notable lack of academic studies regarding the effectiveness of
using artificial intelligence to facilitate language revitalization. Artificial intelligence,
specifically neural networks, have been previously used in instant translation services
like Google Translate. Many language learning apps also make use of artificial
intelligence in order to effectively teach its users different languages. This research
paper intends to bridge the gap between artificial intelligence and language
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revitalization, and prove that it can be used to help dead and endangered languages be
revitalized for future generations.
This study will benefit not only future researchers, who can use the ideas in it
to help them study these dead and endangered languages more easily, but it will also
benefit the members of these communities as they can more easily preserve their
cultural heritage.

II. Statement of the Problem

This study aims to find an efficient way of easing the rehabilitation of dead
and endangered languages to preserve cultural heritage for future generations.
Furthermore, it seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What are endangered languages?
1.1. What causes the endangerment of a language?
2. What is artificial intelligence?
3. How can an artificial intelligence learn a language?
4. How can artificial intelligence help facilitate the rehabilitation of endangered
languages?

III. Conceptual Framework

IV. Scope And Delimitation

This study focuses on the use of artificial intelligence in facilitating the
rehabilitation of endangered languages. Specifically, it will focus on neural machine
translation. It will not include languages that are not dead or endangered.

V. Initial Related Literature

A. Foreign Literature
Zucchet, E. (2023, December 14). How artificial intelligence is revolutionizing
language learning. Berlitz. https://www.berlitz.com/blog/artificial-
intelligence-ai-language-learning
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Artificial intelligence is the newest innovation in the world of language learning. It

can be used as a tool to help learners study new languages. This new technology can
be incorporated into language revitalization efforts in order to improve its efficacy
and facilitate the process of teaching these endangered languages to newer
generations.

B. Foreign Study
Tan, Z., Wang, S., Yang, Z., Chen, G., Huang, X., Sun, M., & Liu, Y. (2020).
Neural machine translation: A review of methods, resources, and Tools.
AI Open, 1, 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiopen.2020.11.001

Neural machine translation is a type of artificial intelligence that is

specifically made for translating languages. Compared to statistical machine
translation, its outputs are more natural and correct. This is the artificial
intelligence that is used by Google in their translation services. This can help
language revitalization efforts as people looking to learn a language can have a
reliable translator. Being able to translate to and from an endangered language not
only helps learners but also can improve accessibility and boosts awareness of the
endangerment of the language.

C. Local Literature
Go, M. G. (2019, September 3). [opinion] our languages are in trouble, so what?.
RAPPLER. https://www.rappler.com/voices/thought-leaders/239109-
philippine-languages-in-trouble-so-what/

Local and native languages in the Philippines are at risk of dying out due
to the prevalence of Filipino and English. Many of these languages are only
spoken in an informal level and not in professional settings, and many speakers do
not teach their children these languages. This leads to less speakers and over time
it will lead to endangerment and language death. Using artificial intelligence,
these languages which are often only oral and not written can be expanded for use
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in professional and academic settings. Using artificial intelligence can also help
promote the use of these languages by making them more accessible to those who
want to learn it.

D. Local Study
Alejan, J., Ayop, J. I., Alojado, J., Abatayo, D. P., Abacahin, S. K., & Bonifacio,
R. (2021). Heritage Language Maintenance and Revitalization:
Evaluating the Language Endangerment among the Indigenous
Languages in Bukidnon, Philippines (report).

The Philippines is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the

world and conversely one of the most affected by language endangerment. Most
affected are indigenous languages spoken by the Negrito people, whose languages
are slowly dying out. Artificial intelligence can be incorporated into the current
revitalization efforts of these languages to halt their disappearance and to help
them thrive.

VI. Methodology
This study falls under the qualitative type of research which focuses more on
analysis and explanations rather than numerical calculations. The topic is better suited
for qualitative research as it deals with the experiences of people rather than statistical
measurements. Specifically, it falls under the ethnography type of qualitative research
as it is primarily concerned with certain cultural aspects such as language and
heritage.
Interviews will be the main method of data collection that will be used in this
study. Since the lived experiences of the speakers of endangered languages is an
important part of this research, interviews will be conducted in order to get a deeper
and more personal understanding of the respondents.
The samples for this research paper are people who speak certain endangered
languages and members of communities who want to learn these languages. Thus, it
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will make use of purposive sampling method where the samples are chosen because
of certain qualities that will benefit the research.
First, the researcher decided on a certain research topic and initially looked for
sources on the Internet to get a better understanding of it. After looking for
information from a variety of sources, the researcher then searched for various
literatures and studies that will serve as the foundation for the study, then analyzed
them and how they related to each other.
To prove the hypothesis, the researcher conducted interviews with the chosen
respondents in order to obtain information. The information gathered will then be
processed and analyzed as data that will be used in the study.

VII. Proposed Title

Artificial Intelligence: A New Tool to Facilitate the Revitalization of Endangered
Languages in the Philippines through Neural Network Technology
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RESEARCHER’S PROFILE
Miura, Kosuke P.
013 Tindalo St., San Sebastian, Hagonoy, Bulacan
09755951053
miurakosuke4@gmail.com

Ambition: To become a successful architect or a fiction writer

Personal Information:

Age: 17 Nationality: Filipino

Date of birth: September 8, 2006 Citizenship: Filipino
Sex: Male
Civil Status: Single
Educational Background:

Pre-Elementary: Junior High School:

Santiago Trillana Academy Santiago Trillana Academy
San Sebastian, Hagonoy, Bulacan San Sebastian, Hagonoy,
Bulacan 2011-2012 2018-2022

Elementary: Senior High School:

Santiago Trillana Academy Santiago Trillana Academy
San Sebastian, Hagonoy, Bulacan San Sebastian, Hagonoy,
Bulacan 2012-2018 2022-present

Achievements and Awards:

- Finished Grade 11 with High Honors
Skills/Interest:
-Reading and Writing
-Listening to and making music
-Socializing
-Playing badminton

I hereby certify that all information contained in this application is true and correct to the
Best of my knowledge and belief.
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Kosuke P. Miura
Researcher