Cúis mór áthais dúinn a fhógairt go bhfuil maoiniú €220,000 bronnta ag Taighde Éireann ar thionscadal Canúint.ie trí scéim COALESCE (Collaborative Alliances for Societal Challenges) 2025. Thar thréimhse dhá bhliain, beidh grúpa taighde Gaois in ann comhoibriú le hIonad Anailísíochta Sonraí Taighde Éireann, Insight, chun saineolas canúineolaíochta a nascadh le teicneolaíocht úrscothach. Is í Úna Bhreathnach an príomhthaighdeoir ar thaobh Gaois, agus is é an tOllamh Tomás Ward (sa phictúir) ó Léargas an comhthaighdeoir ó thaobh ETIM (Eolaíocht, Teicneolaíocht, Innealtóireacht agus Matamaitic). Bunaíodh Taighde Éireann i 2024, nuair a rinneadh cónascadh idir Fondúireacht Eolaíochta Éireann (SFI) agus an Chomhairle um Thaighde in Éirinn (IRC).Bunchloch an taighde seo go bhfuil canúintí traidisiúnta na Gaeilge tábhachtach, agus gur fiú iad a thaispeáint is a chur os comhair an phobail.
Rinne muid é sin cheana le suíomh Canúint, ag úsáid taifeadtaí ó Chartlann RTÉ. Ach tá foinsí saibhre eile ar fáil don té a chuireann spéis sa Ghaeilge thraidisiúnta, foinsí a chlúdaíonn tréimhsí, réimsí saoil, agus ceantair eile. Beidh muid ag obair leis an Acadamh Ríoga, le hInstitiúid Ard-Léinn Bhaile Átha Cliath, le Cnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann agus le dreamanna eile chun ábhar fuaime d’ardchaighdeán a chur ar fáil in aon áit amháin. Beifear in ann focail, frásaí, fuaimeanna agus miondifríochtaí caolchúiseacha a chuardach is a mhapáil ó bhreis agus leath de chontaetha na hÉireann – rud a thabharfaidh léargas níos iomláine dár n-úsáideoirí ar sheanchanúintí dúchasacha na tíre agus ar an gceangal stairiúil atá ag ceantracha lena chéile.
Tá sé i gceist againn freisin tógáil ar a bhfuil déanta againn le Meitheal Dúchas agus Meitheal Logainm, agus cuireadh a thabhairt don phobal dul i mbun tras-scríbhneoireachta ar an suíomh. Beidh muid ag tarraingt ar shaineolas áitiúil agus teaghlaigh, agus ar an spéis a chuireann lucht labhartha na Gaeilge sa teanga. Tionscadal don taighdeoir agus don fhoghlaimeoir é seo, go cinnte, ach is tionscadal do phobail na Gaeltachta é chomh maith céanna a thabharfaidh deis dóibh glórtha a muintire a aithint agus a chaomhnú don chéad ghlúin eile. Tríd an saineolas teicniúil a chuirfidh Tomás agus Insight ar fáil, agus trí úsáid thomhaiste na hintleachta saorga, feabhsóidh muid cuardach Canúint go suntasach.
Beidh muid ag súil leis an obair seo a chur i láthair an phobail ag Teangeolaíocht na Gaeilge (Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann, 12 Meán Fómhair), ag Comhdháil na Gaillimhe (3 Deireadh Fómhair), ag Oireachtas na Samhna (1 Samhain), ag ár gcomhdháil féin ar an Teangeolaíocht Chorpais (DCU, 14 Samhain) agus ag ócáidí eile.
Research Ireland funding awarded to Canúint.ie
We are delighted to announce that Research Ireland has awarded €220,000 in funding to the Canúint.ie Repository of Irish Dialects project through the COALESCE (Collaborative Alliances for Societal Challenges) 2025 scheme. Over a two-year period, the Gaois research group will collaborate with the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics to combine dialectology expertise with cutting-edge technology. Úna Bhreathnach is the principal investigator on the Gaois side, and Professor Tomás Ward (pictured), Director of Insight at DCU, is the co-investigator on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) side. Research Ireland was established in 2024, when Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC) merged.
The basis of this research is that traditional Irish dialects are important, and that they are worth showcasing and bringing to the public. We have done this with the Canúint site, using recordings from RTÉ Archives. But there are other rich sources available to those interested in traditional Irish, sources covering other periods, walks of life, and areas. We will be working with the Royal Irish Academy, the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, the National Folklore Collection and others to provide high-quality audio material in one place. Words, phrases, sounds and subtle differences will be searchable and mapped from over half of
Ireland’s counties – giving our users a fuller picture of the country’s vernacular dialects and the historical connections between areas.
We also intend to build on what we have done with Meitheal Dúchas and Meitheal Logainm, and invite the public to participate in transcription through the site. We will draw on local and family expertise, and on the interest that many Irish speakers have in the language. This is a project for the researcher and the learner, certainly, but it is also a project for Gaeltacht communities, one that will give them the opportunity to identify and preserve the voices of their people for the next generation. Through the technical expertise that Tomás and Insight will provide, and through the considered use of artificial intelligence, we will significantly improve the search functionalities for Canúint.
We look forward to presenting this work to the public at Teangeolaíocht na Gaeilge (Royal Irish Academy, 12 September), at Comhdháil na Gaillimhe (3 October), at Oireachtas na Samhna (1 November), at our own conference on Corpus Linguistics (DCU, 14 November) and at other events.
Úna Bhreathnach agus Andrea Palandri
