KBSU Launches Unique Language Preservation Project
KBSU has launched a large-scale project aimed at preserving and integrating the Kabardian and Balkar languages into the digital age. The initiative is based on the use of modern artificial intelligence technologies to create large-scale language models.
The ultimate goal of the project is to create a large-scale language model capable of generating texts and conducting dialogue in the Kabardian and Balkar languages.
KBSU Vice-Rector for Research Svetlana Khashirova discussed the development details at a meeting with the heads of key university departments.
«The world is on the threshold of widespread AI adoption,» Svetlana emphasized. «In just 3-5 years, artificial intelligence will reach a fundamentally new level of development, and our task is to teach it to work with the Kabardian and Balkar languages. The main problem is the insufficient volume of high-quality data for training neural networks. If this problem is not addressed now, our languages risk being marginalized by the global digital system, which poses a threat to their continued existence.»
At the direction of KBSU Rector Yuri Altudov, two special internal grants have been launched: one for the Department of Kabardino-Circassian Language and Literature and one for the Department of Karachay-Balkar Philology. Funding has already been allocated from the university’s own resources, allowing work to begin without delay.
Students from the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities have been recruited for the project, assisting in collecting and processing linguistic material.
«The main objective in the first stage is to create an extensive and diverse database,» explained Musadin Kardanov, Head of the Department of Kabardino-Circassian Language and Literature. «We need to collect not just texts of the same type, but the fullest possible spectrum of the language: fiction, newspapers, folklore, and colloquial speech.»
«Our key advantage is our scientific approach,» emphasized Mussa Ketenchiev, Head of the Karachay-Balkar Philology Department. «Unlike haphazardly collected data, we philologists are capable of creating a balanced and representative corpus of texts. We will ensure not only volume, but also quality and linguistic diversity—something that will allow us to train a truly literate and culturally sensitive artificial intelligence.»
All collected data—thousands of audio files and text fragments—will be fed into specialized AI training systems. To accomplish these tasks, the university plans to acquire a high-performance server, which will become one of the most powerful computing centers in the North Caucasus.
The project is interdisciplinary in nature. Philologists will collaborate with specialists from the Institute of Electronics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence, led by Zamir Shomakhov, and the Digital Department of KBSU, headed by Albert Shapsigov. They will be responsible for overseeing the technical aspects: AI training, testing, and refining models.