The unique project will help linguistics students in their research work. Rania Al Hussaini reports
A joint initiative aimed at developing Arabic linguistic research in the Middle East has been launched. The British University in Dubai's (BUiD) Institute of Informatics in cooperation with Fast Search and Transfer (FAST), has launched the project.
Basically intended for commercial use, it will also help linguistics students in their research work. Notes got more details.
What is the new project?
It is a pilot research project which will examine the feasibility of developing an Arabic search engine capable of scanning text pages and the internet to locate names.
Why the Arabic language?
"Arabic is the sixth most widely spoken language, over 250 million population, and it is a very important language," said Dr Habib Talhami, head of the Institute of Informatics, BUiD.
FAST has developed search tools for 80 languages, including Arabic. "This collaboration will provide further enhancement of advanced linguistic capabilities for Arabic," he added.
What is it called?
Named Entity Recognition in Arabic.
The collaborators
"The engine is an already existing one that FAST has provided and BUiD in its turn will provide the Arabic criteria with the help of Hafsa Raza, a UAE national studying at BUiD," said Talhami.
What is the Hafsa's role?
Hafsa is currently doing her masters degree at BUiD. An employee at FAST, she is working on the project as part of her masters thesis, supervised by her university professors, said Talhami.
University professors will discuss ideas with Hafsa; but the execution will be done by her. Her work will include working with software and coding programmes.
What Hafsa has to say?
"I am very happy that I am able to help in creating this engine as a student and employee. And it is satisfactory to have this position and experience in such a company and at this age," Hafsa Raza told Notes.
How students benefit from the project
"They can widen their research, it will help them in linguistics courses. Moreover, FAST is offering students scholarships," said Talhami. Details of the scholarships will be announced later.
When will it be used?
The project will be ready to be plugged in and installed next year.
