Workshop Report on Part-of-Speech Tagging and Lemmatisation for the Somali Language

A capacity-building workshop on Part-of-Speech (POS) Tagging and Lemmatisation for the Somali language was successfully held at Jamhuriya University of Science and Technology. The session was conducted by the team associated with the Somali Fake News Identification Project, with technical assistance and training facilitated by the Academy of Science, Culture and Literature.

The training session was conducted by Mohamed Mohamud Guled (Daqarre), a member of the Somali Language Committee of the Academy of Science, Culture and Literature, and Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Grammar and Language Rules.

The workshop’s major aim was to improve participants’ comprehension of essential computational linguistics techniques employed in the analysis and processing of Somali text. The training concentrated on POS Tagging, which entails the allocation of grammatical categories to words, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, and other parts of speech. Participants were also introduced to Lemmatisation, a procedure that reduces words to their base or dictionary form.

The session was especially pertinent to the Somali Fake News Identification Project, as POS tagging and lemmatisation are fundamental elements in Natural Language Processing (NLP). These strategies facilitate the study of Somali textual data, enhance the recognition of linguistic patterns, and aid in the creation of automated systems proficient in identifying misleading or deceptive information in Somali-language content.

Participants acquired practical knowledge on the classification, analysis, and preparation of Somali words for computer applications. The workshop emphasised the necessity of creating high-quality digital linguistic resources for the Somali language, particularly in domains such as text categorisation, information retrieval, machine learning, and disinformation detection.

In conclusion, the workshop offered a significant learning opportunity to enhance understanding of Somali language technology and their application in digital research. Gratitude is expressed to the Somali Fake News Identification Project team for orchestrating the workshop, the Academy of Science, Culture and Literature for its technical support, Jamhuriya University of Science and Technology for providing the venue, and Mohamed Mohamud Guled (Daqarre) for conducting an enlightening and professionally beneficial training session.