The Maltese language in the digital age : white paper series

Abstract

This white paper is part of a series that promotes knowledge about language technology and its potential. It addresses journalists, politicians, language communities, educators and others. The availability and use of language technology in Europe varies between languages. Consequently, the actions that are required to further support research and development of language technologies also differs. The required actions depend on many factors, such as the complexity of a given language and the size of its community. META-NET, a Network of Excellence funded by the European Commission, has conducted an analysis of current language resources and technologies in this white paper series (p. 91). The analysis focused on the 23 official European languages as well as other important national and regional languages in Europe. The results of this analysis suggest that there are tremendous deficits in technology support and significant research gaps for each language. The given detailed expert analysis and assessment of the current situation will help maximise the impact of additional research. META-NET consists of 54 research centres from 33 European countries (p. 87). META-NET is working with stakeholders from economy (software companies, technology providers, users), government agencies, research organisations, non-governmental organisations, language communities and European universities. Together with these communities, META-NET is creating a common technology vision and strategic research agenda for multilingual Europe 2020.