Ivray day, the digital warld fins its wey deeper intae wir hames. We speir virtual assistants for the wather, tell oor phones tae play a sang, or get directions fae wir satnavs. But whit leid dae we hae tae speak? It’s aye English.

This constant need tae switch tae English tae interact wi technology, even in oor ain kitchens, is a silent threit tae the Scots leid. Vyce-activated machines like Alexa are designed for English speakers, an by forcin us tae yaise it, thay dicht Scots awa tae the mergins. Gin we dinnae act the noo, we risk a future whaur the neist generation interacts wi the warld aroond them exclusively in anither tongue.

We’re Biggin the Solution, No Juist Girnin

Here at oorNews, we’re determined tae gie Scots its richtfu place in the digital age. Oor mission isnae juist tae report the news in Scots; it’s tae bigg the verra tools that’ll lat us speak oor leid tae ony machine we waant.

Ivray Scots airticle ye read on oorNews is created by humans. We’re carefully craftin a massive database o text an, suin, vyce recordins. This’ll serve as the essential trainin data for a true Scots AI – ane that can unnerstaund the rich diversity o oor dialects an speak back tae us authentically.

Tae help us alang, we yaise a preliminary AI model that we’ve fine-tuned tae oor style. It helps save time wi initial translations, but it’s far fae perfect. This is whaur ye come in.

Jyne the Community: Yer Voice Maiters

We invite aw oor readers tae comment on the Scots translations ye see on the site. Is the grammar richt? Is there a better wird we cuid yaise? Dae ye think it soonds naitural? Yer feedback is vital as we wark thegither tae bigg a community consensus on whit maks for guid, sensible Scots in formal prose.

A muckle thank ye tae oor regular readers that are awready sharin thair thochts – yer inpit is invaluable.

The goal is simple: ilka airticle on oorNews shud be something ye wad be happy tae read oot lood tae yer freends an faimily. It needs tae flowe, tae soond like us. Thegither, we are biggin a staundart for naitural, scrievit Scots that can be yaised for generations tae come.

A Caw For Collaborators: We Need Yer Vyce!

Tae mak this dream a reality, we need tae get mair fowk involved. We are actively leukin for collaborators tae help us scrieve, edit, an record airticles. We are especially keen tae hear fae:

• Central Belt Scots speakers
• Orcadian Scots speakers
• Shetlandic Scots speakers

Gin ye believe in a digital future whaur Scots can thrive an waant tae lend yer vyce tae the cause, please get in touch wi us at: [email protected]

Let’s wark thegither tae mak shair that whan we speak tae the future, it unnerstaunds us in oor ain bonnie leid.