Ancient Sumerian NMT

November 2023 | Python, T5 Transformer, NLP, C, Perl

This is a research project that addresses the challenge of translating a low-resource, linguistic isolate like Ancient Sumerian into modern Turkish.

Technical Deep Dive

  • Transformer Architecture: Fine-tuned a T5 model using transfer learning to overcome sparse data.
  • Custom Tokenization: Developed a tokenizer specifically tailored to Sumerian transliteration.
  • Complex Data Pipeline: Engineered a multi-language pipeline (Python, C, Perl) to harmonize data from diverse academic sources (ORACC, CDLI, ETCSL).
  • Evaluation: Rigorous performance testing using BLEU, METEOR, and WER metrics.

This work combines digital humanities with (used to be) state-of-the-art AI to preserve and understand ancient knowledge.

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