The Itzulinguru Project: The impact of neural machine translation on the use of the Basque language in regulated environments

The Itzulinguru project examined how the use of neural machine translation and other language technologies influences the use of the Basque language. The project studied the current use of neural machine translation by conducting interventions in 25 settings. The conclusions drawn from this study can be used to facilitate the revitalisation of the Basque language by helping institutions to function more effectively. The project analysed the distortions, conflicts, adaptations, and innovations that emerge in regulated language activities across businesses, public administration, the media, healthcare, Basque language schools, secondary education, and universities.

The project was carried out between 2023 and 2024 focused on neural machine translation, given its widespread use in everyday social contexts and its advanced level of technological development in Basque. The project was also conceived as a starting point for broader research, by enabling the anticipation of other linguistic effects of artificial intelligence. Additionally, this project aims to facilitate the increased monitoring of the use and impact of emerging language technologies as they continue to develop and become more embedded in society.

The Itzulinguru project had three main objectives:

(1) To identify the changes, uses, new capabilities, and innovations introduced by neural machine translation in the environments where it is applied;

(2) To explore alternative uses of neural translation systems through experimental interventions and assessing their outcomes; 

(3) To help to establish the necessary capabilities and criteria to be developed in order to support the revitalisation of the Basque language.

The full report can be found here