COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — The evolution of technology often raises questions about its role in the preservation of culture. A dynamic duo from Tennessee Tech University and the University of North Carolina at Asheville is tackling this exact issue by using artificial intelligence (AI) to protect the endangered Cherokee language.
Dr. Jesse Roberts, an assistant professor at Tennessee Tech, has dedicated himself to exploring how machine learning and AI can serve meaningful purposes beyond just convenience. According to Roberts, this venture is like "a puzzle we don't know the solution to, but it's a very rewarding puzzle to solve." The endeavor takes root not far from the university at Standing Stone State Park, historically significant for its ties to the Cherokee people dating back to the 1700s.
Joined by Ben Frey from UNC Asheville, who is also a citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, they are working on creating interactive tools aimed at teaching and preserving the Cherokee language. This mission is pushed by urgency, with only about 140 first-language speakers remaining within the Eastern Band as of March 13, 2025. Frey expressed the gravity of the situation, stating, "Languages die very frequently. It's really frightening in an existential way." This collaboration highlights the intersection of cutting-edge technology with deep-rooted cultural heritage.
The pair began their project by inputting the Cherokee language and recordings of fluent speakers but soon discovered it was more complex than anticipated. “It's linguistically very diverse,” Frey noted, emphasizing how the structure of Cherokee can baffle traditional AI systems. Unlike more commonly spoken languages such as English or Spanish, the intricacies of Cherokee mean each part of its words can carry substantial meaning. Consider one word, explained Frey: it encapsulates entire phrases such as “I'm going off to get a liquid object.” He contrasts this with how identifying terms like 'mother' is intricately tied to specifying whose mother it is — another challenge for AI parsing.
Roberts added insight to the unique challenges they face, noting, “We don't have the 40 years of internet data in Cherokee like we do for languages such as English.” This scarcity of data complicates the programming of AI tools, pushing the team to rethink how they introduce the Cherokee language to artificial intelligence technology.
Despite these challenges, the long-term vision for their project remains bright and ambitious. Frey envisions the creation of “a fully animated Cherokee speaker” able to reside on user devices. This digital character wouldn’t just teach the language but would also assist learners on pronunciation, share cultural stories, and elucidate grammatical points. "The pie-in-the-sky dream is to have this handy teaching tool available to everyone interested," he said.
Roberts frequently engages his classes at Tennessee Tech about the importance of language preservation and the re-evaluation of technology’s applications for education. Their findings and the work itself hold deep cultural and historical significance, driving the quest for additional research funding to continue their progress.
“Utilizing AI for such purposes can change the narrative around endangered languages,” Frey noted. With language extinction becoming alarmingly common, preserving foundational elements of culture is pressing and made even more relevant through the lenses of technology. They stress the importance of this tool not only to keep the Cherokee language alive but to keep the culture rooted and accessible.
Roberts and Frey’s work invites others to think critically about how technology can halt or at least slow the pace of cultural extinction. By blending the tools of machine learning with the wisdom of native languages, they aim to cultivate awareness and respect surrounding the Cherokee language.
For anyone interested or supportive of this initiative, Roberts encourages reaching out and contributing. He invites good news stories and positive engagements, signaling the necessity of community involvement to amplify their message.
Technology's role continues to evolve, and with projects like Roberts and Frey’s, there’s hope for languages spoken for centuries to be learned and cherished using modern innovation.