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META-NET White Paper Series: All Quotes and Testimonials

Basque

  • Iñaki Goirizelaia (Rector of the Universidad del País Vasco): “The Language White Paper Series is an excellent initiative of META-NET, in keeping with our motto ‘Give and spread knowledge’. We hope that it will further foster investment in Language Technology solutions for less resourced languages like Basque.”
  • Blanca Urgell (Eusko Jaurlaritzako Kultura Sailburua): “Europa eleanitzaren testuinguruan, Informazioaren eta Komunikazioaren Teknologiak (IKT) arlo estrategikoa dira hizkuntza guztientzat baina, bereziki, hizkuntza minoritarioentzat. Egun, teknologia horien kontsumitzaileek, Interneti esker, muga geografikoak eta linguistikoak gaindituta, aukera paregabea dute IKT produktuak nahi duten hizkuntzan eskuratzeko. Baina horretarako, gure hizkuntza txikiek, ezinbestez, merkatu horretan sartu behar dute. META-NET plataforma egokia da helburu hori erdiesteko.”

Bulgarian

  • Емил Стоянов (член на Европейския парламент): “META-NET работи за преодоляването на езиковите бариери при ежедневното общуване на европейските граждани, бизнес партньори и политици.”
  • Запрян Козлуджов (ректор на Пловдивкия университет): “Езиковите технологии могат да допринесат съществено за запазването на културното и езиково многообразие в Европа.”
  • Анелия Белогай (CEO, Tetracom): “Надявам се нашите политици в Брюксел и София да обърнат внимание на този задълбочен и реалистичен анализ на състоянието на езиковите технологии за български, тъй като е ясно, че има необходимост от бързи действия.”

Croatian

Czech

Danish

  • Kim Escherich (IBM Executive Innovation Architect, Sensor Solutions): “Symbiosen af sprog og teknologi er i dag i voldsom udvikling, og det at kunne bruge, forstå og kommunikere med teknologien via vore lokale sprog, stiller store krav til dansk forskning og udvikling af sprogteknologi.”
  • Kim Escherich (IBM Executive Innovation Architect, Sensor Solutions): “The symbiosis of language and technology is in rapid growth today. Being able to use, understand, and communicate with the technology through our local languages imposes high demands on Danish research and development in language technology.”
  • Sabine Kirchmeier-Andersen (Direktør for Dansk Sprognævn): “Hvis vi har ambitioner om at bruge det danske sprog i fremtidens teknologiske univers, skal der gøres en indsats nu for at fastholde ekspertise og udbygge den viden vi har. Det viser META-NET rapporten med stor tydelighed. Ellers risikerer vi at kun folk der taler flydende engelsk, vil få glæde af de nye generationer af web-, tele- og robotteknologi der er på vej.”
  • Sabine Kirchmeier-Andersen (Manager Dansk Sprognævn): “If we have the ambition to use the Danish language in the technological universe of the future, an effort must be made now to maintain and further develop the knowledge and expertise that we already have. This emerges from the META-NET report with great clarity. Otherwise we run the risk that only people who are fluent in English, will profit from the new generations of web, mobile and robot technology which are up and coming.”

Dutch

  • Debbie Kenyon-Jackson (Voorzitter van NOTaS): “Als NOTaS zijn wij zeer enthousiast over dit indrukwekkende boek. Het laat duidelijk zien dat we nog een lange maar wel een begaanbare weg voor ons hebben.”
  • Prof. Dr. Dirk Van Compernolle (KU Leuven): “Taaltechnologie is een onmisbaar wapen als een kleinere taal zoals het Nederlands zich wil handhaven in de oorlog tegen de hegemonie van het Engels. Er zijn nog maar een paar veldslagen gestreden - weliswaar zonder duidelijke winnaar - maar de komende jaren worden we in elk geval onophoudelijk verder bestookt.”
  • Linde van den Bosch (General Secretary of the Dutch Language Union, 2004-2012): “There is a large increase in the number of applications and services that are supposed to make our lives easier. Most of them unfortunately do not speak Dutch. To sustain the position of the Dutch language, HLT research and development for Dutch needs continued support.”

English

  • Rafael Sidi (Vice President, Product Management for ScienceDirect, Elsevier): “As an information solution provider and academic publisher, we at Elsevier appreciate the great benefits that integrating language technology solutions into our platforms such as SciVerse can bring to researchers in allowing them to improve their research outcome and to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily. We hope that the META-NET initiative, and in particular this white paper, will allow people working in different areas to gain an understanding of the significant potential of language technology solutions, and help to drive further research into this area.”
  • Douglas B. Kell (Research Chair in Bioanalytical Science, University of Manchester): “Language technology has the potential to add enormous value to the UK economy. Without language technology, and in particular text mining, there is a real risk that we will miss discoveries that could have significant social and economic impact.”
  • David Willetts (Minister of State for Universities and Science, Department for Business, Innovation & Skills): “Language is a fundamental part of society. Research into Language Technology has already led to the development of software that many people are familiar with, when searching the web, checking spelling in a word processor or booking cinema tickets over the telephone. The work of META-NET is an important step towards a future in which Language Technology will be all around us, allowing us to collaborate, conduct business and share knowledge with friends and colleagues, whether or not we speak the same language.”

Estonian

  • Eesti keele arengukava 2011 – 2017: “Kui me ei täida keeletehnoloogia arengukava ega tegutse koostöös teiste riikidega samas suunas, ei toimi eesti keel tulevikus selles keskkonnas ja marginaliseerub infoühiskonnas.”
  • Development Plan of the Estonian Language 2011 – 2017: “If we do not implement the development plan for language technology or do not cooperate with other countries in the same direction, in future Estonian will […] be marginalized in information society.”
  • Tõnis Lukas (haridus- ja teadusminister 2007–2011, EV90 raames korraldatud Keeletalgutel): “Kas eesti keelt on võimalik kasutada kõige moodsamas tehnoloogias ja kas arvuti on võimeline suhtlema kujundlikus eesti keeles — see määrab meie keele säilimise tuleviku maailmas.”
  • Tõnis Lukas (Estonian minister of Education and Research in 2007-2011, in occasion of Language Initiative held in the year of 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia): “Whether or not it will be possible to use Estonian with the most advanced technologies and whether or not the computer will be able to speak figuratively in Estonian is what determines the preservation of our language in the future world.”

French

  • Xavier North (Délégué Général à la Langue Française et aux Langues de France): “Le réseau d'excellence META-NET apporte une contribution inestimable à l'élaboration d'une véritable stratégie européenne en faveur du multilinguisme, qui s'appuie sur les technologies existantes tout en encourageant le développement de technologies futures. Cette démarche va dans le sens d'une meilleure compréhension entre les citoyens et les administrations communautaires, et facilite la prise en compte de la diversité linguistique, au niveau national comme au niveau régional, par exemple dans les territoires de l'Outre-mer français.”
  • Xavier North (Délégué Général à la Langue Française et aux Langues de France): “The META-NET Network of Excellence provides an invaluable contribution to the development of a genuine European strategy in support to multilingualism, based on existing technologies while encouraging the development of new innovative technologies. This approach aims at a better understanding between citizens and community administrations, and will facilitate the recognition of linguistic diversity, at the national and regional levels, including in the overseas French territories.”

Finnish

  • Alexander Stubb (Eurooppa- ja ulkomaankauppaministeri): “Ilman kieliä emme voisi viestiä. META-NET-verkosto on arvokas tuki monikieliselle Euroopalle.”
  • Alexander Stubb (Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade of Finland): “Without languages we could not communicate. The META-NET network is a valuable support for a multilingual Europe.”
  • Fred Karlsson (yleisen kielitieteen professori, Helsingin yliopisto): “Kieli- ja puheteknologian sovelluksia käytetään päivittäin kääntämisessä, oikoluvussa, sanakirjojen teossa ja matkapuhelimissa. Globaalistuvassa maailmassa, jossa englantia käytetään laajalti, on äärimmäisen tärkeää, että myös pienempien kansalliskielten kuten suomen ja ruotsin kieliteknologiaa kehitetään täysipainoisesti.”
  • Fred Karlsson (Professor of General Linguistics, University of Helsinki): “Language and speech technology applications are used on a daily basis on mobile phones, for translations and proofreading and for compiling dictionaries. In a globalizing world where English is widely used, it is extremely important that also smaller national languages ​​such as Finnish and Swedish have a fully developed language technology.”
  • Pauli Kuosmanen (CTO (Tieto- ja viestintäteollisuuden tutkimus TIVIT Oy), Prof., Dr. Tech., eMBA): “Perustellusti on sanottu, että äidinkieli on sydämen kieli. Suomalaisten yritysten on otettava tämä huomioon kansainvälistäessääntuotteitaan ja palvelujaan. Suomen kieli digitaalisella aikakaudella on erinomainen yhteenveto kieliteknologian nykytilanteesta. Toivoisinkin sen löytävän tiensä suomalaisten yritysten, päättäjien ja toteuttajien käsiin.”
  • Pauli Kuosmanen (CTO (Tieto- ja viestintäteollisuuden tutkimus TIVIT Oy), Prof., Dr. Tech., eMBA): “Our mother tongue is a matter of the heart. Finnish companies should take this into account when internationalizing their products and services. This book is an excellent round-up of the current situation of language technology. I hope it will find its way into the hands of Finnish companies, policy makers and implementers.”

German

  • Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan (Bundesministerin für Bildung und Forschung): “Europas Mehrsprachigkeit und unsere wissenschaftliche Kompetenz prädestinieren dazu, die Sprachtechnologie als informationstechnologische Herausforderung voranzutreiben. META-NET eröffnet Wege für die Entwicklung überall einsatzfähiger multilingualer Sprachtechnologie.”
  • Prof. Dr. Annette Schavan (German Minister of Education and Research): “Europe's inherent multilingualism and our scientific expertise are the perfect prerequisites for significantly advancing the challenge that language technology poses. META-NET opens up new opportunities for the development of ubiquitous multilingual technologies.”
  • Jörg Porsiel (Projektmanager Maschinelle Übersetzung, Volkswagen AG): “Bei Volkswagen sehen wir innovative Sprachtechnologien als unerlässlich an, um in einem vereinten Europa die gesamte Bandbreite von Potenzialen zum Nutzen aller voll auszuschöpfen. Dieses Buch gibt umfassende Einblicke in das Thema.”
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Wahlster (CEO DFKI): “Nur durch innovative Sprachtechnologien kann die Mehrsprachigkeit Europas zum globalen Wettbewerbsvorteil für die Exportwirtschaft werden. META-NET ist die wichtigste Initiative, um aus der Mehrsprachigkeit auch wirtschaftliche Vorteile zu erzielen.”
  • Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Wolfgang Wahlster (CEO DFKI): “Only through innovative language technologies can the multilingualism of Europe become an advantage in realising the global export market. META-NET is the most important initiative to turn multilingualism into economic benefits.”
  • Johannes Bursch (Head of Corporate Language Management, Daimler AG): “Global communications are a significant success factor for a globally active company. Accordingly, their importance is steadily increasing with the increased globalization and growing complexity of international business. In this context, the design of effective and efficient language management processes makes an important contribution. The development of language technologies already plays a decisive role today and will continue to do so in the future. In this environment, META-NET makes a pivotal contribution in the area of reseach and maintenance of networks with developers and users of language technologies.”

Greek

  • Γεώργιος Μπαμπινιώτης (Καθηγητής Γλωσσολογίας, Υπουργός Παιδείας, Δια Βίου Μάθησης και Θρησκευμάτων): “H ενίσχυση της γλωσσικής τεχνολογίας διασφαλίζει τη θέση της ελληνικής γλώσσας και του ελληνικού πολιτισμού στον ψηφιακό κόσμο, ενισχύοντας ταυτόχρονα τόσο την ανάπτυξη όσο και την επικοινωνία των πολιτών στην Κοινωνία της Πληροφορίας.”
  • George Babiniotis (Prof. of Linguistics, Minister of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs): “Further support to language technologies safeguards the presence of Greek language and culture in the digital environment, while at the same time promoting development and fostering communication among citizens within the Information Society.”

Hungarian

  • Csépe Valéria (főtitkárhelyettes, MTA): “A META-NET jelentős mértékben hozzájárul az innovációhoz és a kutatás-fejlesztéshez, valamint az európai eszme hatékony megvalósításához.”
  • Valéria Csépe (Deputy General Secretary of Hungarian Academy of Sciences): “META-NET is making a significant contribution to innovation, research and development in Europe and to an effective implementation of the European idea.”
  • Podhorányi László (ügyfélkapcsolati vezérigazgató-helyettes, Vodafone Magyarország): “Kiváló áttekintés a magyar nyelvtechnológia jelenlegi helyzetéről.”
  • László Podhorányi (Vice Director General, Vodafone Hungary): “An excellent overview on the current state of the technological support for Hungarian language.”
  • Vámos Tibor (akadémikus): “A nyelvtechnológia születését a beszéd, az írás, a nyomtatás és az elektronikus közlés mérföldköveinek sorában fogják jegyezni. Ez utóbbi ugyanis a kulturális örökségek megőrzését a világot átfogó közmegértés távlatával egyesíti.”
  • Tibor Vámos (Academician): “The birth of language technology will be remembered as a milestone equal to the birth of speech, writing, printing and electronic communication. It combines the prospect of preservation of mankind's cultural heritage and global language understanding.”

Icelandic

  • Dr. Guðrún Kvaran (prófessor, formaður Íslenskrar málnefndar): “Máltækni er afar mikilvægur stuðningur við alls kyns málrannsóknir og styrkur við þá viðleitni að íslensk tunga verði notuð á öllum sviðum þjóðfélagsins í samræmi við opinbera íslenska málstefnu.”
  • Dr. Guðrún Kvaran (Chair of the Icelandic Language Council): “Language technology is an essential tool in a variety of linguistic research, and supports the official Icelandic policy of promoting the national language in all aspects of communication.”
  • Helga Waage (stofnandi og tæknilegur framkvæmdastjóri Mobilitus): “Þetta er frábært yfirlit um núverandi stöðu máltækni í Evrópu. Þetta er ákall um aðgerðir, beint til áhrifamanna í löndum sem vilja að landsmenn taki þátt í 21. öldinni á jafnréttisgrundvelli við þá sem eiga ensku að móðurmáli.”
  • Helga Waage (co-founder and CTO of Mobilitus): “This is an excellent overview of the current state of language technology in Europe. This is a call to action for decision makers in countries that want their citizens to participate in the 21st century on equal footing with native English speakers.”
  • Hannes Högni Vilhjálmsson, Ph.D. (dósent í tölvunarfræði við Háskólann í Reykjavík): “Að geta tekið þátt í stafrænu samfélagi án þess að afsala sér eigin tungumáli eru sjálfsögð mannréttindi sem einungis þróun máltækni getur tryggt. Þetta, ásamt greinagóðri úttekt á veikri stöðu íslenskrar máltækni gagnvart öðrum Evrópumálum, er ákall skýrslunnar um víðtækar aðgerðir á þessu sviði.”
  • Hannes Högni Vilhjálmsson, Ph.D. (Associate Professor of Computer Science, Reykjavik University): “To be able to participate in the digital society without giving up one's language is a human right which can only be secured by the development of language technology. This, together with a comprehensive overview of the weak status of language technology for Icelandic compared to other European languages, is the basis for the report's call to action in this field.”

Irish

  • Donnchadh Mac Fhionnlaoich T.D. (Aire Stáit na Gaeltachta): “Mar Aire Stáit, is cúis áthais agus bhróid dom an páipéar seo a fheiceáil faoin nGaeilge agus teicneolaíocht teanga. Cuireann sé dúshlán nach beag romhainn maidir leis an mbéim a leagann sé ar theicneolaíocht teanga atá saor, ar fáil agus atá fite fuaite le comhthéacsanna bogearra atá níos mó. Léiríonn suíomhanna ar nós logainm.ie agus focal.ie a thábhachtaí is atá an cheist seo i.e. go mbeadh an Ghaeilge agus teangacha eile i lár mhargadh na teicneolaíochta. Braitheann an nuálaíocht ar éagsúlacht, ar dhifríocht agus ar chumarsáid – feictear dom mar sin go bhfuil teangacha fíorthábhachtach sa réimse seo. Mar sin, is léir gur fiú a bhfuil sa pháipéar seo a léamh go cúramach agus machnamh ceart a dhéanamh air.”
  • Dinny McGinley T.D. (Minister of State for the Gaeltacht): “As Minister of State, it is a source of joy and pride for me to see this paper on Irish and language technologies. It confronts us with a significant challenge in the emphasis which it places on language technology that is cheap, available and that is integrated with larger software environments. Sites such as logainm.ie and focal.ie show how important this question is i.e. that Irish and other languages would be in the heart of the technology market place. Innovation depends on diversity, on difference and on communication – it appears to me therefore that languages are of critical importance in this area. This is why it is worthwhile to read this paper carefully and reflect on its contents.”
  • Ferdie Mac an Fhailigh (Príomhfheidhmeannach, Foras na Gaeilge): “Ní rud roghnach í an teangeolaíocht teanga i gcas fhormhór na dteangacha Eorpacha - tá sé lánriachtanach dóibh má tá siad le teacht slán mar mheáin chumarsáide sna réimsí saoil ar fad ón ngnó go dtí na healaíona, agus ní haon eisceacht í an Ghaeilge thar aon teanga Eorpach eile.”
  • Ferdie Mac an Fhailigh (CEO, Foras na Gaeilge): “Language technology is no longer a luxury for most European languages - it is now essential to their survival as viable means of expression across the whole range of areas from business to the arts, and this is as much the case for Irish as any other European language.”
  • Julian De Spainn (Ardrunaí, Conradh na Gaeilge): “Tá teicneolaíochtaí ilteangacha fíorthábhachtach agus beidh siad níos tábhachtaí fós sa todhchaí. Is iontach an tionchar a bhí ag teicneolaíochtaí Idirlín chun daoine óga go háirithe a spreagadh chun an Ghaeilge a úsáid níos minice.”
  • Julian De Spainn (Ardrunaí, Conradh na Gaeilge): “Multilingual technologies are very important and will become more so in the future. It's amazing the impact internet technologies have had to motivate, young people especially, to use the Irish language more.”
  • Julian De Spainn (Ardrunaí, Conradh na Gaeilge): “Is gréasán iontach atá in META-SHARE chun teangacha a chur chun cinn agus a áireamh i gcroílár teicneolaíochtaí nua agus dá bhrí sin cuidíonn siad le claonadh daoine dul i dtreo mórtheangacha na hEorpa, go háirithe an Béarla, a stopadh.”
  • Julian De Spainn (Ardrunaí, Conradh na Gaeilge): “META-SHARE is a great network to promote and include languages in the heart of new technologies and in so doing help fight the tendency of people to gravitate towards the major and dominant European languages, especially English.”
  • Julian De Spainn (Ardrunaí, Conradh na Gaeilge): “Bheadh sé dochreidte dá bhféadfaí ardán ilteangach a fhorbairt, a éascódh úsáid gach teanga Eorpach, trí úsáid a bhaint as teicneolaíocht.”
  • Julian De Spainn (Ardrunaí, Conradh na Gaeilge): “It would be amazing if through the use of technology a multilingual platform can be developed that can facilitate the use of all European languages.”

Italian

  • Prof. Giordano Bruno Guerri (Presidente, Fondazione Il Vittoriale degli Italiani): “E non ci si rende abbastanza conto che, se in Italia non verranno sviluppate le ricerche sulle tecnologie sulla lingua – soprattutto il Trattamento Automatico del Linguaggio – la lingua italiana è destinata a diventare sempre più marginale, fin quasi a scomparire. Se questa è la cattiva notizia, la buona notizia è che il TAL, nel mondo della ricerca italiano, gode di molte attenzioni.”
  • Prof. Giordano Bruno Guerri (President, Fondazione Il Vittoriale degli Italiani): “The field of humanities and journalism is strongly debating, at times improperly, the need to defend Italian against often unavoidable Anglicisms and against the threat deriving from the use of new technologies, such as SMSs. The community doesn't realize that the Italian language is destined to become ever more marginal, and finally disappear if research in new language technologies - in particular, research in Natural Language Processing - is not pursued. This is the bad news. The good news is that Italian research in Natural Language Processing enjoys considerable attention, as this White Paper shows.”

Latvian

  • Valdis Dombrovskis (Prime Minister of Latvia): “Diversity of cultures, traditions and languages is one of the most important treasures of Europe and it is our duty to preserve this heritage for generations to come. For such small languages like Latvian keeping up with the ever increasing pace of time and technological development is crucial. The only way to ensure future existence of our language is to provide its users with equal opportunities as the users of larger languages enjoy. Therefore being on the forefront of modern technologies is our opportunity.”
  • Dr. Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga (President of Latvia 1999-2007): “This overview of the status of research on automated processing in the Latvian language contributes to the overall picture of EU capacity in a fast growing communication technologies area with vast potential for practical applications, much needed to further its policy of multilingualism and the growth of an information society.”

Lithuanian

  • Andrius Kubilius (Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania): “Having preserved a close link with the old Indo-European parent languages, the Lithuanian language today satisfies the needs of the modern society perfectly well. However, active users of the Lithuanian language only amount to several million. Conserving it for future generations is a responsibility of the whole of the European Union. How we proceed with developing information technology will pretty much determine the future of the Lithuanian language.”

Maltese

  • His Excellency Dr. George Abela (President of Malta): “The Maltese language traces its roots to the arrival of the Arabs in Malta over 1000 years ago. Originally Siculo-Arabic, Maltese later followed its own path to linguistics development, evolving and adapting itself in response to political events in our islands that left their mark not only on the language but also on the Maltese People. In our language, we can perceive a reflection of our history and a confirmation of the tenacity of our People to hold on to their own identity in spite of having been ruled by different foreign powers. Today, Maltese is more alive than ever before and will again adapt itself, this time in response to the technological developments of the present. In this way, it will guarantee its own survival in the future.”
  • L-Onor. Dolores Cristina (Ministru tal-Edukazzjoni u x-Xogħol): “Tkun verament ħasra jekk ma nisfruttawx l-iżviluppi fit-teknoloġija biex napplikawhom għall-qasam lingwistiku. Is-sinerġija bejn dawn iż-żewġ xjenzi għandha titpoġġa għas-servizz tal-bniedem biex jiffaċilitalna ħajjitna u jgħinha nkissru l-barrieri f’dinja globalizzata. Għalhekk l-appoġġ tat-teknoloġija lingwistika għall-Malti għandu jservi biex ilsienna jibqa’ jkun kultivat, użat u mpoġġi fuq l-istess livell ta’ lingwi oħra.”
  • The Hon. Dolores Cristina (Minister for Education and Employment): “It will be really unfortunate if we do not exploit the developments in technology to apply them to the linguistic field. The synergy between these two sciences has to be brought to the service of the people so that it makes our life easier and helps to break the barriers in a globalised world. Thus the technology support for the Maltese language should serve our language to be continuously cultivated, used and placed on the same level as other languages.”
  • Prof. Ray Fabri (Ċermen tal-Institut tal-Lingwistika, Università ta' Malta): “Lejn mappa tal-Malti fl-era diġitali.”
  • Prof. Ray Fabri (Chairman of the Institute of Linguistics, University of Malta): “Mapping out the territory of Maltese in a digital age.”

Norwegian (Bokmål, Nynorsk)

  • Torbjørn Nordgård (Utviklingsdirektør Lingit AS): “Skal man lage gode språkteknologiske løsninger for norsk, må det eksistere språklige ressurser av høy kvalitet som industrien kan benytte. Jeg håper at denne rapporten kan bidra til at slike ressurser etableres raskt.”
  • Trond Trosterud (Professor Universitetet i Tromsø): “Skal vi kommunisere med maskinene rundt oss treng vi språkteknologi. Denne rapporten presenterer status quo og vegen framover for språkteknologi i Noreg.”

Polish

  • Prof. Michał Kleiber (President of the Polish Academy of Sciences): “Wyzwania naukowe stojące przed inżynierią lingwistyczną uważam za niezwykle obiecujący i atrakcyjny intelektualnie obszar badawczy, na którym spotykają się odległe pozornie narzędzia i metodologie lingwistyki i informatyki. Technologie przetwarzania języka, jako rezultat tych badań, będą miały coraz większy wpływ na możliwości i modele komunikacyjne współczesnego świata oraz na udział w tych procesach języków narodowych, a więc także języka polskiego. Analiza danych tekstowych, synteza mowy i jej rozpoznawanie, automatyczne tłumaczenie i streszczanie są coraz powszechniej obecne w naszym życiu. Aby ta obecność była racjonalna i funkcjonalna, aby dobrze służyła gospodarce, życiu społecznemu i kulturalnemu, potrzebne są, na szeroką skalę prowadzone, dalsze prace w tym zakresie.”
  • Prof. Michał Kleiber (President of the Polish Academy of Sciences): “I consider the scientific challenges that linguistic engineering faces as extremely promising and intellectually attractive research area, where apparently different methodologies and tools of linguistics and computer science meet. Language technologies, as a result of this research, will have a growing influence on capabilities and communication models of the contemporary world as well as on the way human natural languages, such as the Polish language, take part in this process. The text data analysis, speech synthesis and speech recognition, machine translation and text summarisation are more and more present in our everyday life. For their presence to be rational and functional, for it to serve the needs of the economy, as well as the social and cultural life well, further large-scale work in this area is needed.”

Portuguese

  • Prof. Doutor Miguel Filgueiras (Professor Catedrático aposentado (Universidade do Porto)): “Este livro contém uma excelente panorâmica da área das tecnologias da linguagem com ênfase no tratamento do português. Embora escrito em termos acessíveis ao grande público, os conceitos mais técnicos são descritos com o rigor adequado, como seria de esperar de um grupo de autores que inclui os investigadores desta área em Portugal com maior reconhecimento internacional. Um livro a ler por quem queira compreender a importância desta área.”
  • Prof. Doutor Miguel Filgueiras (Emeritus Professor (University of Oporto)): “This book presents an overview of the language technology area with a focus on the Portuguese language. Although written for a non-technical audience, the presentation is sound, what comes as no surprise from a set of authors where the most internationally recognized researchers in this area in Portugal are to be found. This is a must-read book for anyone wishing to understand the importance of this area.”
  • Dra. Daniela Braga (International Program Manager (Microsoft, Redmond WA, USA)): “O processamento das línguas faladas e escritas é uma área fundamental para as novas modalidades de interação natural homem-máquina. Este livro consegue, de uma forma acessível mas científica e rigorosa, apresentar o estado da arte do processamento do português na era digital, uma das línguas com mais rápida expansão e importância económico-tecnológica do mundo ocidental.”
  • Dra. Daniela Braga (International Program Manager (Microsoft, Redmond WA, USA)): “The processing of written and spoken languages is a crucial area for the new modalities of human-computer natural interaction. In an accessible yet scientific and rigorous way, this book presents the state of the art in the digital age of the computational processing of the Portuguese language, one of the languages with more rapid expansion and more economic-technological importance in the western world.”
  • Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho (Primeiro-Ministro de Portugal): “É da maior importância a investigação realizada na área da tecnologia da linguagem para a consolidação do português como língua de comunicação global na sociedade da informação.”
  • Dr. Pedro Passos Coelho (Prime-Minister of Portugal): “The research carried out in the area of language technology is of utmost importance for the consolidation of Portuguese as a language of global communication in the information society.”

Romanian

  • Leonard Orban (fost Comisar European pentru Multilingvism): “Scriem un mesaj pe telefonul mobil şi nici măcar nu suntem conştienţi de tehnologia care anticipează ce cuvinte vrem să scriem. Suntem obişnuiţi să trăim într-o lume în care dispozitivul GPS ne poate arăta drumul spre casă spunându-ne când să facem la stângă sau la dreapta. Numeroase tehnologii dezvoltate în ultimii ani au implicaţii foarte concrete în viaţa de zi cu zi a cetăţenilor din Uniunea Europeană. Tehnologiile lingvistice reprezintă un element central al Uniunii Europene întrucât limbile înseşi ocupă un loc central în modul de funcţionare a UE.”
  • Acad. Ionel Haiduc (Preşedintele Academiei Romane): “Europa Unită se confruntă cu o aparentă contradicţie dintre nevoia de largă comunicare internaţională şi imperativul păstrării culturilor şi limbilor naţionale. Aici apar probleme serioase impuse de traducerea dintr-o limbă în alta, învăţarea cel puţin a unei limbi de circulaţie internaţională şi a punerii în concordanţă a tehnologiilor şi metodelor de traducere. Importanţa folosirii noilor tehnologii este evidentă dacă menţionăm doar că o combinaţie de cate două a celor 23 de limbi oficiale este de 253 de perechi de limbi”

Slovak

  • Jozef Ivanecký (European Media Laboratory): “S prehlbujúcou sa európskou integráciou rastie aj potreba kvalitatívneho posunu jazykových technológií v slovenčine, čoho dôkazom je aj táto publikácia.”
  • Jozef Ivanecký (European Media Laboratory): “This book is proof of deeper European integration increasing with the need for qualitative progress in LT for Slovak.”
  • Viera Rosová (podpredsedníčka Slovenskej akadémie vied pre ekonomiku): “Aktuálne globalizačné procesy, mnohojazyčná Európa a existencia jazykových technológií vytvárajú podmienky pre vývoj nástrojov uľahčujúcich komunikáciu v rôznych oblastiach. Interdisciplinárny projekt META-NET predstavuje cestu, ktorou sa bude uberať ďalší rozvoj jazykových technológií v podmienkach jazykovej plurality zohľadňujúc potreby nositeľov väčších aj menších jazykov.”
  • Viera Rosová (Vice President SAS for Economy): “The current state of globalization, multilingual Europe, and the presence of language technologies create conditions for development of tools facilitating communication in diverse environments. The interdisciplinary project META-NET is expected to provide further development of language technologies considering the needs of language users.”

Slovene

  • Dr. Danilo Türk (predsednik Republike Slovenije): “Jezikovne tehnologije za slovenski jezik je treba načrtno podpirati, da se bo slovenščina lahko uspešno razvijala tudi v prihajajočem digitalnem svetu.”
  • Dr. Danilo Türk (President of the Republic of Slovenia): “It is imperative that language technologies for Slovene are developed systematically if we want Slovene to flourish also in the future digital world.”

Swedish

  • Lena Ekberg (chef för Språkrådet): “Högkvalitativ språkteknologi är kanske det mest effektiva medlet för att bevara Europas språkliga mångfald. Att alla språk ska kunna användas fullt ut i det moderna samhällslivet är en demokratisk fråga. Här fyller META-NET en viktig, för att inte säga avgörande, funktion.”
  • Lena Ekberg (head of the Swedish Language Council): “High-quality language technology may be the most effective means of preserving the linguistic diversity of Europe. Being able to use all languages fully in modern society is a question of democracy. In this connection META-NET fulfils a central, even crucial, function.”
  • Magnus Merkel (vd, Fodina Language Technology): “Boken ger en tydlig bild av var vi står i Europa idag när det gäller möjligheter att tackla utmaningar kring globalisering och språkbarriärer med hjälp av dagens och framtidens språkteknologi.”
  • Magnus Merkel (CEO, Fodina Language Technology): “This book gives a clear account of the state of language technology in Europe and how to approach challenges for globalisation using current and future language technology solutions.”

Welsh

  • Meri Huws (Comisiynydd y Gymraeg): “Er mwyn hwyluso’r prosesau llunio polisi yn y Gymru ddwyieithog, rhaid wrth ymchwil wreiddiol, o’r safon uchaf, gyda’r dystiolaeth a’r dadansoddiad gorau ar gyfer cynllunwyr ieithyddol. A’r Gymraeg bellach yn iaith swyddogol yng Nghymru, mae angen is-strwythur cadarn er mwyn sicrhau ei lle yn y dirwedd ieithyddol. Mae technoleg iaith yn rhan hanfodol o hynny ac mae cyfres papurau gwyn META-NET yn gyfraniad hollbwysig i’r maes.”
  • Meri Huws (Welsh Language Commissioner): “In order to facilitate policy formulation in a bilingual Wales, high quality, and original research is needed, which contains the best evidence and analysis for Language planners. In Wales, Welsh is now an official language and in order to ensure its place in the linguistic landscape, we need a robust infrastructure. Language technology is an essential element of this and the META-NET series of white papers is an extremely important contribution to the field.”
  • Carwyn Jones (Prif Weinidog Cymru): “Er mwyn sicrhau bod y Gymraeg yn ffynnu yn yr 21ain ganrif, rhaid i dechnoleg a chyfryngau digidol fod ar gael yn hawdd yn y Gymraeg. O’r herwydd, croesawaf y cyhoeddiad hwn gan Ysgol y Gymraeg, Prifysgol Caerdydd yng nghyfres papurau gwyn META-NET, sy’n darparu gwybodaeth werthfawr i ni ynghylch technoleg iaith Gymraeg.Mae’r papur yn gyfraniad pwysig i’r maes ac yn darparu dadansoddiad gwerthfawr o’r sefyllfa sydd ohoni. Da nodi bod y Gymraeg wedi ei chynnwys yn y gyfres hon o Bapurau Gwyn Ewropeaidd ac rwyf yn ddiolchgar i Ysgol y Gymraeg, Prifysgol Caerdydd am eu cyfraniad. Yn ddiweddar, cyhoeddodd Llywodraeth Cymru gynllun gweithredu er mwyn annog creu a defnyddio technoleg iaith Gymraeg. Edrychwn ymlaen at arwain datblygiadau yn y maes pwysig hwn.”
  • Carwyn Jones (First Minister of Wales): “In order to ensure that the Welsh language thrives in the 21st century, Welsh language technology and digital media must be readily available. I therefore welcome this publication by Cardiff University’s School of Welsh in the META-NET White Paper Series, which provides us with valuable knowledge with regards to Welsh language technology. This paper is an important contribution to the field and provides a valuable analysis of the current situation. It is encouraging to see that the Welsh language is being included in this series of Europe-wide White Papers and I am grateful to Cardiff University’s School of Welsh for their contribution. The Welsh Government has recently published an action plan to encourage the consumption, creation and use of Welsh-language technology. We look forward to leading developments in this important area.”
  • Meirion Prys Jones (Prif Weithredwr, Network for the Promotion of Linguistic Diversity): “A ninnau’n rhwydwaith sy’n gweithio gydag ieithoedd “llai eu defnydd”, mae’n hanfodol inni fod yn ffynhonnell o gyngor ac arweiniad i’n haelodau ynghylch potensial technoleg iaith. Mae’r cymorth rydym wedi ei dderbyn gan META-NET wedi bod yn amhrisiadwy gan fod ein haelodau’n sylweddoli oni bai eu bod yn cofleidio’r potensial y mae technoleg yn ei gynnig iddynt, ac yn manteisio arno, ni fydd eu hieithoedd yn goroesi. Ar hyn o bryd, datblygiad technoleg yw’r bygythiad mwyaf iddynt, ond hefyd eu cyfle gorau i ffynnu yn y dyfodol. Mae papurau gwyn META-NET yn amhrisiadwy, mae’r wybodaeth a’r cyngor arbenigol maent yn eu darparu yn gymorth mawr i droi damcaniaeth yn weithgarwch gefnogaeth ymarferol i’n hieithoedd.”
  • Meirion Prys Jones (CEO, Network for the Promotion of Linguistic Diversity): “As a network that works with “lesser-used” languages, it’s vital that we’re able to act as a conduit for advice and guidance to our members on the potential of language technology. The support we’ve had from META-NET has been invaluable as our members realise that unless they embrace and take advantage of the potential that technology offers then their languages won’t survive. At present the development of technology is their biggest threat but their best opportunity to flourish in the future. The META-NET White Papers are invaluable, the detailed and practical expert advice they provide greatly helps in turning theory into practical support for our languages.”
  • Rhodri Williams (Cyfarwyddwr Cymru, OFCOM): “Yn rhy aml o lawer, poeni am gadw’r gorffennol y mae ymdrechion i ddiogelu a chynnal y Gymraeg. Mae’r papur hwn yn edrych tua’r dyfodol ac yn dangos sut y gall technoleg gynorthwyo’r iaith a’i siaradwyr i feddu ar safle haeddiannol yn y byd digidol. Mae’n tynnu sylw at faint sydd eto i’w wneud os yw’r Gymraeg i fanteisio’n llawn ar yr hyn sydd gan dechnoleg i’w gynnig, gan mai gwan yw’r gefnogaeth a gaiff yr iaith ymhob un o’r categorïau a gaiff eu mesur – os caiff gefnogaeth o gwbl. Darllen hanfodol i bawb sy’n llunio polisi ac yn cynllunio iaith.”
  • Rhodri Williams (Director, OFCOM): “All too often efforts to safeguard and sustain the Welsh language are concerned with trying to preserve the past. This paper looks to the future and demonstrates how technology can assist the language and its speakers occupy their rightful space in the digital world. It draws attention to how much has yet to be done if Welsh is to take full advantage of what technology has to offer, since the language receives weak or no support at best in each of the measured categories. Essential reading for policy makers and language planners.”
  • Emyr Lewis (Aelod, Pwyllgor Arbenigwyr Siartr Ewrop ar gyfer Ieithoedd Lleiafrifol neu Ranbarthol 2001-2013): “Mewn byd sy’n gynyddol gysylltiedig, mae llawer o bŵer gan y sawl sy’n berchen ar y dechnoleg sydd yn ein cysylltu, yn ei rheoli neu yn ei siapio. Yn y cyd-destun hwn, ieithoedd lleiafrifol yw’r rhan fwyaf o ieithoedd y byd, yn brwydro am gydnabyddiaeth yn y lle cyntaf, ac wedyn am adnoddau a’r offer i hwyluso eu defnydd. Wrth adolygu’r datblygiadau hyn i’r Gymraeg, ac yn eu rhoi mewn cyd-destun byd-eang, mae’r papur gwyn META-NET hwn yn cynnig adolygiad deallus a huawdl o’r materion a wynebir, a’r strategaethau sydd ar gael i’r holl ieithoedd yn y sefyllfa hon, ac nid dim ond y rheini a ystyrid yn rhai ‘lleiafrifol’ yn draddodiadol. Dylai cynllunwyr iaith proffesiynol ac eraill sy’n pryderu am gadw hawliau iaith ac sydd am hybu amrywiaeth diwylliannol ei ddarllen.”
  • Emyr Lewis (Member, Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages 2001-2013): “In an increasingly connected world, much power vests in those who own, control or shape the technology that connects us. In this context, most languages are minority languages, struggling in the first place for recognition, and then for resources and tools to facilitate their free use. In reviewing these developments for Welsh, and putting them in a global context, this META-NET white paper offers an intelligent and articulate review of the issues faced, and strategies available to all languages in this position, not only those traditionally considered to be in the category of "minority". It is required reading for professional language planners and others concerned to preserve language rights and promote linguistic diversity.”