Google Translate Blog
The official source for news on Google's translation technologies
From Amharic to Xhosa, introducing Translate in 13 new languages -- now over 100 in total!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
In 2006, we started with machine learning-based translations between English and Arabic, Chinese and Russian. Almost 10 years later, with today’s update, we now offer
103 languages
that cover 99% of the online population.
The 13 new languages — Amharic, Corsican, Frisian, Kyrgyz, Hawaiian, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Luxembourgish, Samoan, Scots Gaelic, Shona, Sindhi, Pashto and Xhosa — help bring a combined 120 million new people to the billions who can already communicate with Translate all over the world.
So what goes into adding a new language? Beyond the basic criteria that it must be a written language, we also need a significant amount of translations in the new language to be available on the web. From there, we use a combination of machine learning,
licensed content
and
Translate Community
.
As we scan the Web for billions of already translated texts, we use machine learning to identify statistical patterns at enormous scale, so our machines can "learn" the language. But, as already existing documents can’t cover the breadth of a language, we also rely on people like you in Translate Community to help improve current Google Translate languages and add new ones, like Frisian and Kyrgyz. So far, over 3 million people have contributed approximately 200 million translated words.
Before you dive into translating, here are a few fun facts about the new languages:
Amharic (Ethiopia) is the second most widely spoken Semitic language after Arabic
Corsican (Island of Corsica, France) is closely related to Italian and was Napoleon's first language
Frisian (Netherlands and Germany) is the native language of over half the inhabitants of the Friesland province of the Netherlands
Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzstan) is the language of the Epic of Manas, which is 20x longer than the Iliad and the Odyssey put together
Hawaiian (Hawaii) has lent several words to the English language, such as ukulele and wiki
Kurdish (Kurmanji) (Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria) is written with Latin letters while the others two varieties of Kurdish are written with Arabic script
Luxembourgish (Luxembourg) completes the list of official EU languages Translate covers
Samoan (Samoa and American Samoa) is written using only 14 letters
Scots Gaelic (Scottish highlands, UK) was introduced by Irish settlers in the 4th century AD
Shona (Zimbabwe) is the most widely spoken of the hundreds of languages in the Bantu family
Sindhi (Pakistan and India) was the native language of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the "Father of the Nation” of Pakistan
Pashto (Afghanistan and Pakistan) is written in Perso-Arabic script with an additional 12 letters, for a total of 44
Xhosa (South Africa) is the second most common native language in the country after Afrikaans and features three kinds of clicks, represented by the letters x, q and c
We’ve come a long way with over 100 languages, but we aren’t done yet. If you want to help, International Mother Language day — just around the corner on February 21 — is a great time to get involved in
Translate Community
. To start, just select the languages you speak; then choose to either translate phrases on your own or validate existing translations. Every contribution helps improve the quality of translation over time. You can also share feedback directly from
Translate.Google.com
, so as you try out the new languages, we’d love to hear your suggestions.
For each new language, we make our translations better over time, both by improving our algorithms and systems and by learning from your translations with Translate Community. Today's update will be rolling out over the coming days.
No matter what language you speak, we hope today’s update makes it easier to communicate with millions of new friends and break language barriers one conversation at a time.
Posted by Sveta Kelman, Senior Program Manager, Google Translate
Translate Community: Over one million people and 50 million contributions
Monday, December 28, 2015
Over the past year, more than one million people speaking 117 languages have made 50 million contributions through the
Google Translate Community
.
With those contributions we’ve launched 10 new languages, including Chichewa (Chinyanja) and Malayalam (മലയാളം), and been able to make improvements in how we speak dozens of other languages. Now almost 50% of the most common phrases typed in Google Translate come from translations provided by the
Translate Community
.
Translate Community members come from all over the world and translate in many different ways - from translating on their own to hosting group events. This year, Bengali speakers worked together to host
events throughout the country
by partnering with schools and cultural groups. And Frisian speakers worked with their government to create
a week of events
dedicated to getting their language added to Google Translate.
This month, language lovers are participating in a
Translatathon in India
. With just a few more days to go, if you speak Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam or Punjabi,
sign up today
to help Google Translate deliver better translations in your community.
Posted by Mengmeng Niu, Translate Community Program Manager
India’s second Translatathon needs you!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Sometimes language isn’t straightforward. Only a Hindi speaker could tell you that although ऊँट के मुँह में जीरा may literally mean ‘cumin seed in a camel's mouth’, it actually means ‘a drop in the ocean’ or something too insufficient to fulfill a need.
There are 22 official languages in India. And while Google Translate can help you with nine of them at the moment, languages that are under-represented on the Internet like Bengali, Telugu, and Tamil could use a little help. This is where people who are passionate about their native languages can use the Translate Community tool to make a big difference.
We’ve just kicked off our second translatathon in India, this time for nine languages — Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam and Punjabi. You can use Google Translate Community on your phone, laptop or computer. Just type, swipe or tap translations in the languages you speak. You have the option to either translate phrases directly, or validate existing translations.
Last year 20,000 people contributed over one million new Hindi translations, helping improve the overall quality of Hindi content online. We’re now including all the Indic languages that Google Translate is available in, and we look forward to seeing how people from around the world can help Google say जंगल में मोर नाचा किस ने देखा? or আপনার পায়ে কুড়ল মারা more accurately. Millions of people in India are coming online for the first time and most of them don’t speak English. Bringing more Indian language content online, and improving Indian language translation quality, will help them have a better experience on the Web.
Validate phrases with the Google Translate Community tool
Once you join the translatathon, you can Translate and validate words and short phrases up until December 30. We will then reward the 50 most active and accurate contributors with an Android One phone*.
So why not stop by and say नमस्ते, নমস্কার, வணக்கம் and help India showcase the beauty and diversity of languages online. Register and participate at g.co/translatathon and thanks in advance for your help. You’re making the web better for everyone.
*Terms and conditions apply:
https://goo.gl/kEAehI
Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate
Fútbol, translated
Monday, October 19, 2015
We’re always amazed by the power of technology to connect people. Not long ago we
heard
a story involving the
Google Translate app
and a boy named Alberto who had recently moved from Spain to a small town in Northern Ireland, with little knowledge of English. When Alberto joined Portadown’s youth soccer club, his coaches Gary and Glen turned to Google Translate to communicate with Alberto and his mother, on and off the field. As they progressed from
protección de la pelota
to
retroceso de bicicleta
, Alberto grew to feel a part of the team.
We loved this story (and wanted to share it with you) because what Gary and Glen did was so much bigger than translating sentences from one language into another. They didn’t just find a way to coach Alberto in football—they found a way to invite someone who was on the outside into their community.
¡Vamos, Alberto!
Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate
Two new Translate features coming your way
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
We’re all about breaking language barriers, whatever language you speak or device you use. So with that in mind, over the next week, we’ll be rolling out two new Google Translate app features— instantly translating both English and German to Arabic and easier multitasking for iPad users.
See the world in a new language with instant visual translation
You can already have bilingual conversations from English or German to Arabic thanks to the conversation mode or text input in the Google Translate app. Today, we’re also adding the ability to translate printed text instantly between these languages.
To use instant visual translation, just open the app, click on the camera, and point it at the text you need to translate. You’ll see the text transform from one language to another in real-time on your screen. And the best part? There’s no Internet connection or cell phone data needed.
To try out Arabic with either English or German you'll be prompted to download a small (~2 MB) language pack.
Split View translations with the newest iPads
Starting today, customers using iPads supporting Split View will be able to use Google Translate along with the new feature. So if you’re sending an email or text and need to translate, you can see both apps at the same time. And it even works with text from online books or websites.
Whether you’re starting a new bi-lingual conversation on your iPad or using instant visual translation to find your way, Google Translate helps you see the world in your language. With today’s updates, we hope that we’re able to continue to help and give more translation options to the 500 million people using Google Translate to see over 100 billion words a day in their language.
Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate
Translate text within apps thanks to the latest Android update
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
We face communication barriers every day. Switching back and forth between apps and screens to translate shouldn’t be another one. We’ve heard your feedback, and have worked with the Android team to make translating text, chats, and other app content a whole lot easier.
Beginning this week, you’ll be able to translate in 90 languages right from within some of your favorite apps like TripAdvisor, WhatsApp and LinkedIn.
Translating a TripAdvisor review from Portuguese
Composing a WhatsApp message in Russian
This update works on any device running the newest version of Android’s operating system (Android 6.0, Marshmallow). To get started, you first need to have
the Translate app
downloaded on your Android phone. From there, just go to an app, like TripAdvisor or LinkedIn, and highlight and select the text you want to translate. This feature is already enabled in apps that use Android
text selection
behavior. Developers who created custom text selection behavior can also
easily add
the new feature.
More than 500 million people translate over
100 billion words a day
on Google Translate. With updates like this one, plus features like
conversation mode
and
instant camera translation
, we’re making Translate available anywhere you need it. So when you’re chatting with a new colleague from halfway around the world, conversation mode is perfect. Wondering which subway sign says “exit” on your next global adventure? Instant camera translation has your back. And now, when you’re sending messages or checking out reviews on your phone, you can translate right from within the apps you’re using.
Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate
Watch your language! 44 of them, actually.
Thursday, August 20, 2015
More than 500 million people use Google Translate every month across web and mobile phones, translating more than
100 billion words
every day around the globe. Now, we’re launching Google Translate on all Android Wear watches, too.
Translate is built into
the latest Android Wear software update
, so you can have bilingual conversations even if you don’t have Google Translate on your phone, or if you’re away from your phone but connected via Wi-Fi.
And it’s easy to use - just speak into your watch to see your conversation translated into any of 44 languages. Flip your wrist to show the translation to a friend. When they respond in their own language, flip your wrist back, and you’ll see in your language what they’ve just said. Google Translate will automatically recognize which of the two languages is being spoken, so once you tap to start the conversation, all you and your buddy need to do is keep talking naturally.
Google Translate covers 90 languages total (for text translation), and we are always working to expand the number of languages that work across various features.
Posted by Barak Turovsky, Product Lead, Google Translate and Nathan Beach, Product Manager, Android Wear
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