LakotaBERT: A Transformer-based Model for Low Resource Lakota Language

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Hauptverfasser: Parankusham, Kanishka, Rizk, Rodrigue, Santosh, KC
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Parankusham, Kanishka
Rizk, Rodrigue
Santosh, KC
author_facet Parankusham, Kanishka
Rizk, Rodrigue
Santosh, KC
contents Lakota, a critically endangered language of the Sioux people in North America, faces significant challenges due to declining fluency among younger generations. This paper introduces LakotaBERT, the first large language model (LLM) tailored for Lakota, aiming to support language revitalization efforts. Our research has two primary objectives: (1) to create a comprehensive Lakota language corpus and (2) to develop a customized LLM for Lakota. We compiled a diverse corpus of 105K sentences in Lakota, English, and parallel texts from various sources, such as books and websites, emphasizing the cultural significance and historical context of the Lakota language. Utilizing the RoBERTa architecture, we pre-trained our model and conducted comparative evaluations against established models such as RoBERTa, BERT, and multilingual BERT. Initial results demonstrate a masked language modeling accuracy of 51% with a single ground truth assumption, showcasing performance comparable to that of English-based models. We also evaluated the model using additional metrics, such as precision and F1 score, to provide a comprehensive assessment of its capabilities. By integrating AI and linguistic methodologies, we aspire to enhance linguistic diversity and cultural resilience, setting a valuable precedent for leveraging technology in the revitalization of other endangered indigenous languages.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_18212
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle LakotaBERT: A Transformer-based Model for Low Resource Lakota Language
Parankusham, Kanishka
Rizk, Rodrigue
Santosh, KC
Computation and Language
Machine Learning
Lakota, a critically endangered language of the Sioux people in North America, faces significant challenges due to declining fluency among younger generations. This paper introduces LakotaBERT, the first large language model (LLM) tailored for Lakota, aiming to support language revitalization efforts. Our research has two primary objectives: (1) to create a comprehensive Lakota language corpus and (2) to develop a customized LLM for Lakota. We compiled a diverse corpus of 105K sentences in Lakota, English, and parallel texts from various sources, such as books and websites, emphasizing the cultural significance and historical context of the Lakota language. Utilizing the RoBERTa architecture, we pre-trained our model and conducted comparative evaluations against established models such as RoBERTa, BERT, and multilingual BERT. Initial results demonstrate a masked language modeling accuracy of 51% with a single ground truth assumption, showcasing performance comparable to that of English-based models. We also evaluated the model using additional metrics, such as precision and F1 score, to provide a comprehensive assessment of its capabilities. By integrating AI and linguistic methodologies, we aspire to enhance linguistic diversity and cultural resilience, setting a valuable precedent for leveraging technology in the revitalization of other endangered indigenous languages.
title LakotaBERT: A Transformer-based Model for Low Resource Lakota Language
topic Computation and Language
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.18212