ICT Update Issue 40: Language technology

The ICT Update has two interesting articles on the use of speech technology for advancing IT use in Africa:

Getting up to date agricultural information to farmers has always been problematic, whether due to language, literacy or distance. A new system that can read out text in any language via mobile phone could enable many more rural communities to access the information they need.
http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/feature_articles/accessing_information_by_voice

The traditional Yoruba 'talking drums' of Nigeria provided inspiration for a unique approach to speech recognition technology. The technique could be applied to other African languages and used in literacy programmes.
http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/feature_articles/hitting_the_right_tone

RAEM