Vernacularism in the AI Age: Iraqi Translators Association Hosts Groundbreaking Symposium on Language, Culture, and Technology

Vernacularism in the AI Age: Iraqi Translators Association Hosts Groundbreaking Symposium on Language, Culture, and Technology

Baghdad, May 3, 2025 
In a landmark intellectual gathering, the Iraqi Translators Association (ITA) held a symposium today that ignited rich discussion on Vernacularism as a paradigm for understanding language, identity, and cultural ethics in the AI age. Moderated by ITA President Dr. Kadhim Abdul Hassan, the event drew a diverse and engaged audience of linguists, translators, educators, and students eager to explore how local languages and cultural expressions – once marginalized – can shape the future of artificial intelligence, natural language processing (NLP), and human-centered technologies.

The symposium, led by Dr. Nasser Hajjaj, a pioneering scholar in Arabic linguistics and author of Arab Vernacularism (2024), introduced key concepts such as vernaculate (to translate into vernaculate), vernaculation (the act/process of integrating vernacular elements into broader discourses), and the newly coined term “Maḥlalah” –  مَحلَلةa morphological innovation that encapsulates the process of vernacular transformation in Arabic and global contexts.

Dr. Hajjaj, who’s also the editor-in-chief of Mesopotamian Journal of Arabic Language Studies MJALS, emphasized the urgency of embracing vernaculars not only as cultural artifacts but as living systems of thought that AI must learn to understand. “Vernaculars are not deviations from an idealized standard – they are the soul of a people’s lived experience. Ignoring them in NLP and AI design is both a technological failure and an ethical one,” he stated.

In a bold and forward-looking proposition, Dr. Hajjaj called for a shift beyond conventional Natural Language Processing (NLP) towards a more profound model he terms Deep Vernaculation Processing (DVP) – عملية المُحلَّلة العميقة. DVP aims to enable AI systems to go beyond surface-level language comprehension and dive into cultural nuances, symbolic associations, idiomatic richness, and contextual semantics that define human vernaculars. “DVP is not just a technical advancement -it’s a cultural awakening for AI,” he said. “Only through DVP can machines begin to understand not just what we say, but what we mean within our cultural worlds.”

The symposium tackled pressing questions in the intersection of language and technology, including:

• How can Cultural AI better represent diverse linguistic realities?
• What ethical frameworks can guide AI to avoid cultural erasure?
• Why do state institutions continue to suppress vernacular usage in education and media?
• Can Human-Centered AI (HCAI) be truly inclusive without embracing the local tongues of people?

Audience members posed powerful questions and offered insightful feedback, particularly on the political and psychological impact of suppressing vernaculars in Iraq and the broader Arab world. Many participants shared real-life challenges of translation and cultural mediation in the digital age, revealing gaps in AI systems trained only on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or globalized English.

The discussion culminated in a passionate call to action:

1. Encouragement of Iraqi linguists and translators to contribute to the development of AI systems – including machine translation, voice recognition, and chatbot technologies – that reflect Iraq’s rich vernacular landscape.
2. A proposal for Iraqi universities to establish new academic departments – such as the Department of Vernacularism or Department of Vernacular Studies – to institutionalize research in this emerging field and support the next generation of scholars and developers.
3. Investing in DVP research and application as the next frontier of AI capable of engaging with cultural, historical, and emotional depth – especially in contexts like Iraq where meaning is often carried in poetic, religious, and idiomatic vernaculars.

The symposium marked a turning point in recognizing Iraq not just as a cradle of linguistic heritage, but as a potential leader in global discourse on ethical and inclusive AI. As one audience member noted, “We’re not just translating words anymore – we’re translating worlds.”

With the success of this event, the Iraqi Translators Association reaffirmed its commitment to fostering innovative research and dialogue, standing at the frontier where language, technology, and cultural justice intersect. The seeds of Maḥlalah and Deep Vernaculation Processing have been planted – what grows from here may reshape how the world speaks, listens, and understands.