{"id":5548,"date":"2025-10-15T06:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/5548\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T06:55:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T06:55:10","slug":"humanities-student-learns-to-use-ai-to-preserve-ladino-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/5548\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanities Student Learns to Use AI to Preserve Ladino Language\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"CarlosStudent Michelle Ramirez is using computational tools for her Ladino language project, under the mentorship of Carlos Yebra L\u00f3pez, assistant professor of modern languages and literatures.\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

Humanities student Michelle Ramirez is using supercomputing and data tools to preserve the centuries-old Ladino language \u2014 with the help of a chatbot named \u201cEstreya Perez.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ladino, also called Judeo-Spanish, is an endangered language originally spoken by Jewish people from the Iberian Peninsula who were exiled in 1492.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is estimated that about 50,000 people \u2014 mostly older generations \u2014speak Ladino today, said Ramirez\u2019s faculty adviser Carlos Yebra L\u00f3pez, assistant professor of modern languages and literatures.<\/p>\n

Ramirez participated in the Titan Supercomputing Center\u2019s<\/a> student research program and learned about integrating high-powered computing, data science and artificial intelligence into her project to revitalize vanishing languages.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy stepping into high-performance computing, I hope to show that students from the humanities belong in the world of data just as much as anyone else,\u201d said Ramirez, a double major in Spanish and liberal studies.<\/p>\n

The Titan Supercomputing Center is expanding the role of computational tools at CSUF and is a resource to students and faculty <\/a>as they explore high-powered computing and data science, said Jessica Jaynes, center director and professor of mathematics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe summer research program allowed students across campus to work with their faculty mentors on cutting-edge computational research projects,\u201d added Andrew Petit, the center\u2019s associate director and associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"CarlosMichelle Ramirez and her faculty research adviser Carlos Yebra L\u00f3pez test the chatbot named \u2018Estreya Perez\u2019 to preserve the Ladino language.<\/p>\n

Yebra L\u00f3pez<\/a>, a Ladino cultural expert, turned to technology to develop the first AI-powered Ladino chatbot.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He and his collaborators, computational linguist Alp Oktem and romance language expert Alejandro Acero Ayuda, launched the \u201cEstreyika\u201d project, which translates to \u201clittle star\u201d in efforts to guide future generations of Ladino learners.<\/p>\n

\u201cEstreyika stands as a model for using supercomputing and Al to preserve endangered languages worldwide,\u201d Yebra L\u00f3pez said. \u201cBy intersecting technology, language, culture and education, the project keeps Ladino alive in the digital age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramirez wanted to be part of the project, \u201cRevitalizing Endangered Languages With AI: Estreyika, an Interactive Ladino Teacher,\u201d because of the impact the chatbot could make on the Ladino-speaking community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I learned how technology can be used for language revitalization, I realized there\u2019s a need for cultural and linguistic experts who can serve as mediators in training these models,\u201d said Ramirez, whose career goal is to become a state certified interpreter.<\/p>\n

Yebra L\u00f3pez said the Ladino-speaking chatbot is trained with religious and cultural references. \u201cEstreya Perez\u201d<\/a> engages in conversation with prompts in English and Spanish, and replies to questions about daily life and community dynamics. <\/p>\n

The chatbot is also coded with specific grammatical rules and adjustments that reflect Ladino\u2019s linguistic particularities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to think of Estreya Perez as a Ladino teacher that fits in your pocket,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cShe draws on conversational capabilities and is accessible through a user-friendly app.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yebra L\u00f3pez and his students are working on refining the chatbot for system optimization. They analyze chatlogs to understand how Estreyika responds to users, identify and correct grammatical errors and modify code to fix bugs or glitches that affect performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining computational analysis with cultural and linguistic expertise, we\u2019re able to shape Estreyika into more than just a chatbot,\u201d Ramirez said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope it becomes a model on how technology and the humanities can work together to preserve endangered languages with even more limited digital footprints. Most importantly, computation can be a powerful tool for preservation and accessibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

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