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Initial fieldwork for LWAZI: A telephone-based spoken dialog system for rural South Africa

Initial fieldwork for LWAZI: A telephone-based spoken dialog system for rural South Africa. Tebogo Gumede and Madelaine Plauché Human Language Technology CSIR. Outline. Introduction Project Lwazi Application selection Selected application Visited communities Source of information

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Initial fieldwork for LWAZI: A telephone-based spoken dialog system for rural South Africa

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  1. Initial fieldwork for LWAZI: A telephone-based spoken dialog system for rural South Africa Tebogo Gumede and Madelaine Plauché Human Language Technology CSIR

  2. Outline • Introduction • Project Lwazi • Application selection • Selected application • Visited communities • Source of information • Transport • Providers • Languages • Discussion • Challenges

  3. Introduction • Growing interest in deploying spoken dialog systems (SDSs) • South Africa is the leader in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Africa • Illiteracy • Population with no schooling stood at 10.3% in 2007 (StatSA)

  4. Introduction • Mobile phone use is widespread • Challenge of accessing government information – opting not to access • Introducing project Lwazi

  5. Project Lwazi • Lwazi IsiZulu for Knowledge • Three years funded by DAC • Telephone-based information system • In language of choice - 11 official languages

  6. Project Lwazi • Nationally available -Through a single number • Toll-free • Some key outputs • TTS in eleven languages • Quality ASR • MA and PHD • Application selection

  7. Application selection • Key Informant Interviews, • Focus group Discussions • Community survey • Household surveys and • Workshops • Morphological analysis • Application selection

  8. The selected application • Community Development Workers (CDW) • ‘Foot solders’ between government services and communities, especially the rural poor • Then follow up to ensure citizens successfully receive services. • CDWs at work • example

  9. Communities visited • Rural • High unemployment • Old and technically challenged • Suitability of Lwazi system • User expertise of telephony • Source of information

  10. Potential uptake • Two potential areas • Community and government (easy flow and cheaper and by-in) • Key is localised information • Within government officials (they were excited about L potential)

  11. Challenges • Diversity of end users will require investment in time and resource to gather accurate information • Ambitious (stakeholders, 11 languages) • Not everyone in our targeted group will be excited about Lwazi.

  12. THANK YOU www.meraka.org.za/lwazi

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